Used jackleg cabins for sale
Second hand jackleg units for sale across England, Scotland and Wales. Adjustable legs at each corner, so the unit stands and levels itself on ground that has not been prepared — which is most ground, on most jobs, most of the time. It is the standard choice on a construction site for exactly that reason: hardcore, a slab, compacted muck or the corner of a yard, and the legs take up the difference.
Why the legs matter
The unit brings its own base with it
A jack leg cabin is an ordinary portable building with one useful addition: a threaded leg at each corner, wound down until the unit sits level. That single detail is why it is the default choice on a compound. There is no base to lay, nothing to cure, and when the job finishes the legs wind up and it goes on a lorry.
- No prepared base — a pad under each foot is enough on most ground.
- Levels on a slope — within the travel of the legs, which is a few inches rather than a few feet.
- Comes back up cleanly — nothing left behind when it is collected.
- Moves repeatedly — the reason hire fleets are built almost entirely from jackleg stock.
Look at the legs when you inspect a used unit. Seized threads, bent shafts and missing feet are common, all repairable, and all worth knowing about before it arrives rather than after.
Sizing
Sizes and leg counts
Nominal external footprints, with the leg arrangement you will usually find on used stock of that length.
| Nominal size | Approx. floor area | Usual legs | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12ft x 8ft | 9 sq m | Four | Single-desk office, gatehouse, lockable store. |
| 16ft x 8ft | 12 sq m | Four | Two desks, or a small mess room with a table and kettle. |
| 20ft x 8ft | 15 sq m | Four to six | Three desks, or an office with a partitioned corner. |
| 24ft x 10ft | 22 sq m | Six | Two rooms. The most requested single jackleg unit. |
| 32ft x 10ft | 30 sq m | Six to eight | Two or three rooms, frequently with a WC compartment. |
| 40ft x 10ft | 37 sq m | Eight | Three or four rooms, or office, mess and drying space in one unit. |
Sizes are nominal.
Before it leaves the yard
What gets checked on every used unit
The legs themselves
Every leg is wound through its full travel. Seized threads are freed or the leg is replaced, bent shafts are straightened or swapped, and missing feet are refitted. Every unit goes out able to level itself on the ground it is standing on.
The frame above them
Legs take a beating from machines and the bracket welds take it with them. We check the mounting brackets and the chassis around them, because a sound leg on a torn bracket is worse than a bent leg on a sound one.
Deck, glazing and electrics
The same checks as anything else we sell: a deck with no soft patches, sealed units that have not blown, a door that locks, and a consumer unit with something left in it. Electrical certification is supplied with units we have refurbished.
The other direction
Selling jackleg cabins?
We buy them with the legs sound, seized, bent or missing entirely. The legs are the part we expect to put right.
Photographs including the corners, rough dimensions and the postcode where it is standing. You get a figure for the unit and a separate figure for the transport, a collection date, and payment by bank transfer on collection.
Related
More from the used range
Used site cabins
The everyday working unit, on legs or on a skid base, 12ft through to 40ft.
See the range →Used site offices
Fitted out to work in all day — flooring, lighting, sockets, heating and partitions.
See the range →Used anti-vandal cabins
Steel clad with shutters, for compounds left unattended overnight and at weekends.
See the range →See also all used cabins for sale and how delivery and collection work.
What are you looking for?
What is standing in the yard changes from week to week, so the useful conversation starts with what you need rather than with a list. Describe the size, the layout and where it is going, and we will tell you what we can supply, in what condition, and what the building and the transport each cost.
Have something to trade in? Tick the part exchange box. A building coming the other way usually improves the arithmetic in both directions.
- Two figures — the building and the haulage — so you can see what you are paying for
- Refurbishment to your specification before delivery is usually possible
- Part exchange welcome — a building coming the other way is part of the deal
Common questions
Jacklegs, legs and levelling
What is a jackleg cabin?
A portable cabin with adjustable legs at each corner, screwed down through a bracket welded to the frame. The legs let the unit stand level on ground that is not level, without a prepared base underneath it. Jackleg, jack leg and jacked-leg all mean the same thing, and it is the most common unit on any construction compound.
What is the difference between a jackleg cabin and a skid-base cabin?
A skid-base unit sits directly on the ground or on a prepared base and has no adjustable feet. A jackleg carries its own levelling. On rough hard core, on a slope, or anywhere the base is temporary, the legs save you the cost and the time of preparing the ground first.
What sizes do used jackleg cabins come in?
The usual lengths are 12ft, 16ft, 20ft, 24ft, 32ft and 40ft, with widths of 8ft, 9ft or 10ft. Longer units carry more legs - typically four on a short unit and six on a 32ft one, with intermediate legs to stop the frame sagging in the middle over a long span.
Do the legs need to sit on anything?
They need something solid under each foot to spread the load. Concrete pads or proper spreader plates are the usual answer, and soft or made-up ground needs more area under each foot rather than more legs. Tell us what the ground is like where it will stand and we will tell you what to put under each foot.
Can seized or bent legs be repaired?
Yes, and it is routine yard work rather than a reason to reject a unit. Legs seize, bend or get sheared off by a machine far more often than the body above them gets damaged. We repair or replace them here before the unit goes out, and we buy them in with the legs seized, bent or missing entirely.
How is a jackleg cabin moved?
The legs are wound up and the unit is lifted or forklifted onto a flatbed by its lifting points, not by its legs. What matters at your end is hard standing the vehicle can reach and stand on, and a clear swing for the lift with nothing overhead.
Do you buy used jackleg cabins as well as sell them?
Yes. Send photographs including the legs, rough dimensions and the postcode where it is standing, and you get a figure for the unit, a separate figure for the transport, and payment by bank transfer on collection.
Tell us the size and the ground it is going on
Length, width, what the base is like and the delivery postcode. We come back with what we can supply, the condition of the legs and the body, and what each of the two figures is.