slab hut
A kind of dwelling or shed made from slabs of split or sawn timber.
slab hut: rough shelter built from timber offcuts
A slab hut is a dwelling or outbuilding constructed from slabs, the outer portions of a log after the main square beam has been cut free during primary sawing. These slabs retain the curved outer surface of the tree on one face and a flat sawn face on the other. They are cheap and plentiful in regions with active timber mills, making them practical for workers' housing, sheds, and temporary structures where material cost must be kept low.
The slabs are laid vertically or horizontally as wall cladding, often overlapped like shingles or butted edge to edge. Interior framing is typically simple timber studs or rough poles. Gaps are sealed with clay, mortar, battens, or mud chinking. Roofing follows standard practice: bark, shingles, iron, or thatch laid over rafters. The curved outer surface sheds water naturally, which is why the slab is left that way rather than flattened.
Historical and regional context
Slab huts are strongly associated with frontier logging regions, goldfields, and rural areas of North America, Australia, and New Zealand from the mid-nineteenth century onward. They appear throughout mining camps, sawmill towns, and agricultural settlements where timber was abundant and cash scarce. The form is sometimes called a slab cottage in Australia or a slab shanty in North America.
The durability of a slab hut depends heavily on timber species, maintenance, and climate. Hardwood slabs resist rot longer than softwood. Slabs left unfinished or uncoated split and crack as they season, opening seams to weather. Many that survive today are weathered and uneven, with sagging roofs and visible daylight through wall joints. Those built with careful chinking and regular maintenance hold up better.
A slab hut differs from a log cabin in that it uses offcut material rather than whole round logs, making it simpler and faster to build but less structurally robust. The term also distinguishes these structures from cob, rammed earth, or stone buildings. Slab huts remain recognizable heritage structures in regions where timber milling was the economic foundation.