Can I get some help?

SFW234

Okay 7 months ago I had a shed made for me by a family run company who specialise in making all things wooden. It wasn't cheap but I wanted something built to last, I asked it be water tight as this was the most important to me and were assured it was water tight.


Forward the first lot of bad weather we had this year and the shed is soaking wet. Its awful


I contact the company various times and they said they'd sort it


No response for 3 weeks or so contact again, they say they will fix it but don't know when sadly.


Contact again mentioning a refund they say how much of a refund as it's just a tube of silicone it needs on it.


I have emailed consumer advice a few times and they say to write an official letter asking for a refund as its not fit for purpose, they say them start small claims if nothing improves.


I asked the original company could I get in others to quote a repair and they pay me instead of coming back here for me to pay someone professional to fix it, they said okay, so I did this had a few people in who told me all the issues, basically saying it is a poor constructed shed and the over lap isn't correctly nailed down so water will continue to come on and basically said it was a £150 plus job to repair, and I could have had it fixed tomorrow but sadly haven't the funds to pay them without a refund.


The original company came to see it finally yesterday after first contacting them about this issue on 9/10/14.


They very quickly silicone inside and outside part of the shed and hammered about a bit, but only siliconed parts and upon emptying the shed later to get heater in there to dry it out I noticed the other half of the shed is beginning to let water in to.


Its fair to say today I have felt like screaming and/or crying, have spent today throwing out the carpets in there and thinking what a mess this all is.


I looked into starting a small claims however there is quite a high charge around £60 to pay to begin which I didn't realise and which I don't really want to pay not knowing what will happen with this.


I am not happy with just shoving silicone on it and hoping for the best, I want it fixed properly so I can go ahead and insulate it for the winter months.


What do I do?? literally pulling my hair out now and times running out to get to properly fixed before the bad weather is in.


Where can I go from here please?

bod1467

Simple question - how did you pay originally?

SFW234

Cash sadly:(

SFW234

I paid half with paypal and half with cash now I remember but is it to late for paypal to help, shed was erected in march?

Lube

Where is the water coming in from, Roof, sides, windows etc? I got our shed in March too only slight bit of water came in from window which was soon sorted with silicon. We also applied two coats of preservative, shed costs us £650 for 10x6 potting shed and is tongue and grooved

SFW234

its difficult to know for sure, firstly the whole one side was very wet, the side that takes the most battering from the weather, it seems to be a mixture of a lot of things, windows not tightly fitted, a decent gap in the bottom corner which seemed to be letting the most rain in, overlap design which you can see a lot of outside light whilst inside the shed from lots of gaps., it seems to be coming in from all angles really. The roof seems to be pretty water tight at the moment it doesn't seem to be coming in from up there, there is a preservative on the outside. I guess with the extreme weather you expect a teeny bit sometimes but this is bad, the carpets were dripping wet, it hasn't rained badly for a few days now and its still not drying out

savemoney

Its sounds like its very poorly constructed then. Given your method of payment I think only course of action is to get to small claims court.

Firstly you write to the company (letter before Action) informing them that you believe the shed is unfit for purpose and that you want this shed rectified as soon as possible say 2 weeks. If they dont comply its with regret you will seek a independent report (it may cost) and you may go to small claims court. Onmce they get court papers sometime it may push them to do something. Always try and be reasonable

There is a small cost implication of this but if the shed is unfit and you provide evidence you may get all costs back.

savemoney

A over lap shed isnt as good as say Tongue and groove shed but it should still not let water in if its done right and or has had some treatment on it. I would keep door open when you can to allow it to dry, air circulation helps

SFW234

Thank you, I will get back in touch with them once again via a formal letter this time and hope for the best, hope it can finally be sorted without needing to go down the small claims route.

Bantex_2

Is this a bog standard shed or something like a garden office?

SFW234

I guess its a standard shed, I use it for stray cats to have shelter so its so important its dry and to store electrical stuff like the Lawnmower etc , if I could post pictures here Id show you the shed and the damage, I shall try figure out how to send pictures.