http://www.sotterley.com/slavecabin.htm

Housing for slaves was poorly constructed. The houses were overrun with holes, which let in rain and wind. They would plug the  holes  with a mixture of mud and straw.   Most cabins were the same--they had dirt floors and shutters that covered window openings. Glass material was rarely used because of the price.

      Some cabins had chimneys that were constructed like the house , cheap and poorly , and most were made of mud and sticks.  Many were rarely or never used, because of the risk of setting the whole cabin on fire.  The cabins were normally built with two rooms.  There could be as many as 4 people in a room.  The over crowdedness led to  the  cabins  being barely used in the summer they would sleep under trees.  They would again sleep in the cabin in the wintertime, because of the cold weather returning.

The heat allowed them sleep outside, because they were always cramped up.  They slept outside as much as possible.

Historic Latta Plantation, Cabin for African-American Experience Exhibit. Retrieved November 7, 2006, from Historic Latta Plantation Web site: http://www.lattaplantation.org/AfricanAmerican/africanamericancabin.shtml