• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
ukprepper.life

ukprepper.life

Practical Prepping in the UK

  • Home
  • Essentials
  • Stores
  • Kit
  • Skills
  • Knowledge
  • Self-Sufficiency

How To Build A Debris Hut Shelter

1 October 2021 by UK Prepper Life.
We use affiliate links; this won't affect products we recommend or price you pay. We may receive a small commission. See our disclosure notice for more.

A shelter made from natural materials

A debris hut is a simple shelter that you can make from easily found natural materials. It is not difficult to build a debris hut shelter, but it is very effective. It protects you from the elements with layers of natural materials that stop wind and rain entering, and insulate the interior. Your body heat warms the air in the debris hut shelter, while the layers of insulating material keep it warm.

Once built, the debris hut shelter will keep you warm and dry and will last for days without any maintenance. It does, however, take a lot of energy and time to build a debris hut shelter. Therefore you need to plan ahead if you intend to use this type of shelter; don’t start building just before it gets dark.

Where To Build A Debris Hut Shelter

Before you even start thinking about building a debris hut shelter, you should carefully select the location. You need to make sure that your debris hut shelter will be dry, safe and protected from the elements. Things to consider are:

  • Water: Make sure the ground is dry and won’t gather water if it rains after your debris hut shelter is built. Check for depressions in the ground that may gather water.
  • Shelter: Choose a sheltered site to build your debris hut shelter, with using areas with natural wind breaks if possible. Make sure there are no loose branches above if you build your debris hut shelter under a tree.
  • Materials: Build your debris hut shelter in a location that has all the materials you need close by. This will save you from having to transport everything long distances.

How To Build A Debris Hut Shelter

A debris hut shelter consists of a frame made from branches and sticks. The frame is covered with very thick layers of leaves and other natural materials to create the insulation.

Step 1: The first step is to make the basic structure consisting of two branches to make an A frame. Lash the two branches that make the A frame together where they cross using paracord. Add a third, longer branch to make the ridge pole, as shown in this diagram. The ridge pole rests on the A frame and can be lashed to the A frame with paracord. Rest the ridge pole on a rock at the lower end. This will create a little more height inside at the lower end of the debris hut shelter. The entrance to the debris hut shelter will be between the two uprights of the A frame. Make sure it is big enough for you to fit through, but not huge so it lets a lot of heat out.

Step 2: Next, add insulation that will be inside the debris hut shelter. The interior insulation is what you will sleep in. Collect clean, dry leaves and fill the inside space of the frame you have built. When you have finished building the debris hut shelter and you climb in, you will push some of the insulation down and some up to create a hole just big enough for you in the middle of this insulation material. The dried leaves will trap small pockets of air, which act as a good insulator to keep warmth inside.

If the weather is warm, and you want to make a shelter without the internal insulation, just skip this step. The debris hut shelter still provides a dry place to sleep, and you can always add a mat and sleeping bag. The photo at the top of this article shows a shelter like this.

Step 3: After adding the internal insulation, the frame needs more branches adding to give it enough strength to support the external insulation. Add smaller branches on either side of the ridge pole, angled to match the A frame. The diagram shows the layout of the A frame, ridge pole and smaller branches. Lash these smaller branches to the ridge pole using paracord. If the branches have small side branches, leave them attached. Cross them over other branches as it gives a little more support to add the insulation on top.

Step 4: Once the frame is complete, add the exterior insulation layers. This consists of layers of dry leaves, pine needles and other light, dry debris that you can find nearby. The thicker you make the layers of insulation, the warmer the debris hut shelter will be inside. Two or three feet of thickness is a good amount of insulation. Once you have completed this, add another layer of branches on the top to prevent the insulation blowing away.

Climb inside the interior insulation and rest in your dry and warm debris hut shelter.

UK Prepper Life
UK Prepper Life

The ukprepper.life family are UK preppers who love to be prepared for everything, from the minor day to day emergencies, all the way to major disasters and more. Between us we have many years of experience prepping, and we’d love to share our experiences with you.

Related posts:

  1. The 6 Most Useful Knots Every Prepper Should Know
  2. The 7 Most Important Survival Skills You Need To Know
  3. How To Choose The Best Bug Out Bag Tent
  4. Surviving Unnoticed: The Art of Being a Grey Man or Woman in Prepping

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Latest

Companion Planting for Self-Sufficiency: Boost Your Garden’s Productivity

Companion planting is a great way to make your food garden more productive, easier to manage and less reliant on chemicals.

How to Understand Ordnance Survey Maps

Master Ordnance Survey maps for confident wilderness navigation. Learn symbols, compass alignment, location, routes and tracking.

Surviving Unnoticed: The Art of Being a Grey Man or Woman in Prepping

Uncover the art of being a grey man/woman in prepping. Blend in, conceal supplies, build networks, and develop essential skills for survival.

Prepping in a Small House or Flat: Essential Tips for the Urban Prepper

Prepping in a small house or flat has unique challenges. Here are some tips and strategies for prepping effectively in a small home.

Post-Apocalyptic First Aid Skills: Treatment In The Wild

First aid skills in a post-apocalyptic world could mean the difference between life and death for you and your family.

The Sawyer Mini Water Filter

Footer

About ukprepper.life

Here at ukprepper.life, we have been interested in prepping, as well as bushcraft and survival skills for many years.

We hope to insipre you on your prepping journey.

A survivor in a post apocalyptic world

Privacy, Cookies, Terms & Conditions

  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Copyright UKPrepper.life © 2023

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo