Quonset Hut Transformed into Outer Banks Fitness Facility

When SteelMaster customer John K. purchased a Quonset hut, he didn’t intend for it to become a gym.

“I bought the arch in 2016 and was using it as a drive-through cover for my tree business. I was parking my vehicles under it,” John said.

However, a few years after the structure was assembled, John decided to enclose the structure and move his wife’s gym, The Fort Strength and Fitness, into the building.

The gym is located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. John heard about SteelMaster while he was doing tree work around SteelMaster CEO Rhae Adam’s home in Hatteras.

“The Quonset hut was exactly what we needed. It’s utilitarian and we didn’t need the frills of siding, windows and all that.”

John says one of the biggest advantages of using a Quonset hut for a gym or athletic facility is the 100 percent usable space. Because the arches of a Quonset hut are self-supporting, there’s no need for beams or trusses inside.

“There’s no interior support that you have to move around or workaround. We’ve got almost 1,300 square feet of open space,” he said.

This is especially beneficial for The Fort Strength and Fitness because it’s a 90 percent free weight facility.

“We have enough height in the middle of the facility for rope climbs. We attached steel beams to the roof so we could put ropes on and rope climb right in the middle of the gym.”

John says another benefit to owning a Quonset hut is the disaster resistance, especially because the Outer Banks is an extremely hurricane-prone area.

“Down here everything is weather tested. So you need to be wind rated for category 3 hurricanes to survive down here. There have been no problems with any hurricanes or damage to the building. I have no concerns that this building will stand up for another 50 years.”

John assembled the building with the help of a few other people and says the overall process went smoothly. He attached a wood addition to the front endwall to create additional space for the facility’s bathrooms and utility room.

“It wasn’t bad at all. It came with all the pieces we need so putting it together was fairly simple. We got some scaffolding and in a day and a half we had the whole arch system put together,” he said. “I ordered metal ends where I didn’t want wood and that went together pretty quick within a day. And then the cutouts for the wood were open so that took us a few more days to put together.”

John says overall, the process and support from the SteelMaster team were wonderful and he’d love to assemble another SteelMaster Quonset hut in the future.

“I would love the opportunity to build another building from SteelMaster just because of how simple it was and how sturdy they are,” John said. “I appreciate the simplicity of the structure for utilitarian use. It doesn’t have to be ornate or fancy. You can put your own signature on the building depending on how you want to finish it out.”

Whether you require a larger facility or a personal fitness center, SteelMaster has you covered!