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Used welfare units for sale

A welfare cabin for sale on its own, or a set of them off a finished compound. Second hand welfare cabins, canteens and drying rooms for sale across England, Scotland and Wales. Static units, set onto the plot and left there — seating, a servery, drying space and, in the larger sizes, a WC compartment built in. Most are bought for construction sites, where welfare has to be standing and working before the first shift starts.

What you are buying

Somewhere to sit down, dry off and eat

A welfare unit does a job no office cabin does. People come into it wet, they eat in it, and they leave clothing in it to dry. That means the fit-out takes more punishment than an office fit-out does, and it is the part worth inspecting first on any used unit.

  • The servery and sink — water heater working, taps sound, and the counter not swollen at the edges.
  • The drying area — heating and ventilation actually reaching it, not just a rail on a wall.
  • The floor deck — the wettest cabin on any compound, so soft patches under the sink and by the door are common.
  • The WC compartment — where fitted, whether the plumbing is intact or has been stripped.
  • Seating and tables — fixed benching lasts; loose furniture usually disappears long before the cabin does.

We refurbish welfare units in our own yard, plumbing included, rather than passing that job on to you, and we tell you exactly what is fitted in the unit you are buying.

Interior of a used welfare unit fitted out as a canteen with seating

Sizing

Welfare unit sizes and how many they seat

Working figures from what we see in use rather than a standard, and we will talk them through against the way your site actually runs.

Common used welfare unit sizes and typical layout
Nominal size Approx. floor area Seats Typical layout
16ft x 8ft 12 sq m Six to eight Single room, bench seating, small servery with a sink and water heater.
20ft x 8ft 15 sq m Eight to ten Seating and servery, sometimes with a drying rail at one end.
24ft x 10ft 22 sq m Ten to twelve Canteen plus a partitioned drying area, or a WC compartment at one end.
32ft x 10ft 30 sq m Up to twenty Canteen, drying room and WC compartment. The commonest single welfare unit on a large compound.

Sizes are nominal external footprints and the seating figures assume bench layout.

Before it leaves the yard

Plumbing, drying and power

Plumbing put back

Sinks, water heaters, taps, WC pans and the pipework between them are refitted here. We buy welfare cabins with the whole lot stripped out, so putting it back is ordinary yard work rather than an exception.

Drying that works

A drying area needs heat and air movement reaching it, not just a rail. Where a unit has a drying compartment we check it does what it is meant to, and we say when a unit has a rail on a wall and nothing else.

Power and connections

We give you consumer unit rating, circuit count, heating load, tank sizes and connection positions. Electrical certification is supplied with units we have refurbished.

Sizing the incoming supply, the water connection and the drainage arrangement are for your own electrician and groundworker.

The other direction

Welfare units coming off a finished job?

We buy static welfare units, canteens and drying rooms as well as selling them, fit-out intact or long since gone.

Send photographs including the servery and any WC compartment, rough dimensions and the postcode. You get a figure for the unit and a separate figure for the transport, a collection date, and payment by bank transfer on collection.

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

Used welfare units

What is a welfare unit?

A cabin fitted out for people to take breaks in rather than work in. Seating and tables, a servery or sink, somewhere to dry and hang wet clothing, and very often a WC compartment at one end. Welfare unit, welfare cabin, canteen and mess room all describe the same building with the emphasis in a slightly different place.

Do you supply static welfare units or towable ones?

Static units mostly - cabins that are set onto the plot and stay there. Towable welfare units come through occasionally, so ask us for availability if a towable is what your site needs.

What is normally fitted inside a second hand welfare unit?

Bench or table seating, a servery counter with a sink and a water heater, a drying area with pegs or a rail, lighting, sockets and a wall heater. Larger units add a WC and wash basin behind a partition. As with any used cabin it varies, and we describe what is actually in the one you are looking at.

How many people does a welfare unit seat?

As a working guide: a 16ft unit seats six to eight at a squeeze, 24ft comfortably ten to twelve, and 32ft up to about twenty when it is laid out as a canteen rather than split into rooms. Those are comfort figures, and we will talk through what a particular unit realistically seats for the way your site works.

Does the plumbing have to be working?

Not for us to buy one, and not necessarily for you to buy one either. We buy welfare units with the plumbing long since stripped out, put it back in the yard, and sell them working. If you would rather have a unit as it stands and do the fit-out yourself, say so and we will price it that way.

What connections does a welfare unit need on site?

An electrical supply, a water supply and a drainage arrangement - either a connection or a tank. We tell you exactly what the unit has: consumer unit rating, circuit count, heating load, tank sizes and connection positions. Sizing and connecting them on your plot is work for your own electrician and groundworker.

Do you buy used welfare units as well as sell them?

Yes. Static welfare cabins, canteens and drying rooms, with the fit-out intact or long gone. Send photographs, rough dimensions and the postcode and you get a figure for the unit, a separate figure for the transport, and payment by bank transfer on collection.

Tell us how many people take breaks in it

Numbers, whether you need a WC compartment, what services are available on the plot and the delivery postcode. We come back with what we can supply and what the unit and the transport each cost.

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