Advice for buying summerhouse?

Furts

boots_babe wrote: »

I've just tried to look up the Sadolin Classic, based on what you've said I expected it to be really expensive but all I can find are what look like normal stains like this one:

https://www.toolstation.com/shop/p29448?mkwid=soNWYc7Uz_dc&pcrid=189687010201&pkw=&pmt=&product=29448&gclid=Cj0KCQjw557NBRC9ARIsAHJvVVNya2X0

Is this product you're meaning? Thanks.

That is it. Do not bother about base stains, but bear in mind a point here. These types of product are fantastic on rough sawn timber like fences - they will last a lifetime. However if your summerhouse has planed up timbers it is more difficult and less durable, because the stain cannot penetrate as much.So do follow the instructions then. Also some summerhouses seem to have a waxy smooth appearance - I do not know what will have been applied but logic says staining over the waxy whatever will not be ideal.

More coats equals more protection. But there are north facing houses near me which received one or two coats, 30 years ago, on barge boards and fascias and have not been coated since. They dull will age and loose their shine but all things considered it lasts.

Ahrlene

If you don’t take any other advice this year then heed this – do not buy a shed, garden hut, summerhouse or log cabin from Summerhouse 24 aka Hansa Garden Products Ltd.
Nasty is not a word that normally comes across my radar often but when it comes to Summerhouse 24/Hansa Garden Products it is the most appropriate word in the dictionary.
In our experience their customer service was very nasty, their financial arrangements for paying was very, very nasty and their after sales service was very, very, very nasty.
We purchased a snooker room from the company costing £9500 – a substantial amount of money especially when you have no guarantees that they are a legitimate business. So - and as they were demanding full payment up front - we did a few checks and while there were no favourable comments about the company there were also no adverse ones.
So we decided to go ahead but negotiated paying half on ordering the cabin and half on delivery as we were still a bit nervous about paying so much money upfront. Ten weeks later they said it was ready and they wanted the balance. We paid it and then they called to say that the cabin had been damaged and they would needed to return its to Estonia for the part we were very uneasy. Fortunately THEIR employee had made a mistake taking our second payment and it had not gone through.
No apology and no offer of compensation was given- we went five weeks without any feedback from them at all and in that time they ignored all our calls and emails to them .
Finally they called to say they wanted the balance of the money and they would then send up the shed. By this time we were into a Scottish winter so we asked them to cancel until spring but their manager refused and said the best they could do was £500 compensation. The delay however meant that the shed was on its way without the second payment being completed – not our fault!
This however set the scene for what turned out to be a lesson on what not to do when it comes to customer service! We received the cabin which is advertised as having full instructions and every part numbered - a fact also claimed on their videos and website.
Only twenty eight pieces out of hundreds were numbered, there were no instructions and ten parts were the wrong pieces and our joiner had to re-engineer them on site and this took several extra hours work which cost us. By the time we got to the roof we discovered that the felt was so old that the adhesive on the back had disintegrated and the felt would not stick to the roof unlike the product they show on their video. It was also splitting and breaking when we handled it cracking and ripping like writing paper again because it was so old.
Overall it cost us another £1776 over and above the £9500 to put things right. We complained to Summerhouse 24 and set out the problems on paper. They refused to acknowledge they had any responsibility for the issues we raised and instead used their reply to further insult us by claiming that we had been “high handed”, “righteous” and that we had treated them with “utter contempt” and that we had tried to “brow beat and intimidate them”. We were completely gobsmacked.
By this time we had sent them a further £3000 in an attempt to get some response to the problems we had. Seven days after receiving the cabin we received a letter telling us they were instructing a debt collection agency and then a couple of days later we received a letter from their solicitor. At this time there was only £1000 outstanding and we decided to pay as we could not be bothered by the stress of it all at Christmas time.
We are however, appalled at the aggressive nature of this company and their manager and their complete failure to come up with a solution to the problems that they had created in the first place.
We urge anyone looking for a shed, cabin, summerhouse or garden room to simply shop somewhere else!!!!!....and to not endure the ordeal that we went through with Summerhouse24 aka Hansa Garden Products. If anyone would like photographic or documented evidence of our problems with this company please contact us and we will be delighted to share.

Warwick_Hunt

Ahrlene wrote: »

If you don’t take any other advice this year then heed this – do not buy a shed, garden hut, summerhouse or log cabin from Summerhouse 24 aka Hansa Garden Products Ltd.
Nasty is not a word that normally comes across my radar often but when it comes to Summerhouse 24/Hansa Garden Products it is the most appropriate word in the dictionary.
In our experience their customer service was very nasty, their financial arrangements for paying was very, very nasty and their after sales service was very, very, very nasty.
We purchased a snooker room from the company costing £9500 – a substantial amount of money especially when you have no guarantees that they are a legitimate business. So - and as they were demanding full payment up front - we did a few checks and while there were no favourable comments about the company there were also no adverse ones.
So we decided to go ahead but negotiated paying half on ordering the cabin and half on delivery as we were still a bit nervous about paying so much money upfront. Ten weeks later they said it was ready and they wanted the balance. We paid it and then they called to say that the cabin had been damaged and they would needed to return its to Estonia for the part we were very uneasy. Fortunately THEIR employee had made a mistake taking our second payment and it had not gone through.
No apology and no offer of compensation was given- we went five weeks without any feedback from them at all and in that time they ignored all our calls and emails to them .
Finally they called to say they wanted the balance of the money and they would then send up the shed. By this time we were into a Scottish winter so we asked them to cancel until spring but their manager refused and said the best they could do was £500 compensation. The delay however meant that the shed was on its way without the second payment being completed – not our fault!
This however set the scene for what turned out to be a lesson on what not to do when it comes to customer service! We received the cabin which is advertised as having full instructions and every part numbered - a fact also claimed on their videos and website.
Only twenty eight pieces out of hundreds were numbered, there were no instructions and ten parts were the wrong pieces and our joiner had to re-engineer them on site and this took several extra hours work which cost us. By the time we got to the roof we discovered that the felt was so old that the adhesive on the back had disintegrated and the felt would not stick to the roof unlike the product they show on their video. It was also splitting and breaking when we handled it cracking and ripping like writing paper again because it was so old.
Overall it cost us another £1776 over and above the £9500 to put things right. We complained to Summerhouse 24 and set out the problems on paper. They refused to acknowledge they had any responsibility for the issues we raised and instead used their reply to further insult us by claiming that we had been “high handed”, “righteous” and that we had treated them with “utter contempt” and that we had tried to “brow beat and intimidate them”. We were completely gobsmacked.
By this time we had sent them a further £3000 in an attempt to get some response to the problems we had. Seven days after receiving the cabin we received a letter telling us they were instructing a debt collection agency and then a couple of days later we received a letter from their solicitor. At this time there was only £1000 outstanding and we decided to pay as we could not be bothered by the stress of it all at Christmas time.
We are however, appalled at the aggressive nature of this company and their manager and their complete failure to come up with a solution to the problems that they had created in the first place.
We urge anyone looking for a shed, cabin, summerhouse or garden room to simply shop somewhere else!!!!!....and to not endure the ordeal that we went through with Summerhouse24 aka Hansa Garden Products. If anyone would like photographic or documented evidence of our problems with this company please contact us and we will be delighted to share.

Cool story, how many times are you going to tell it?

Ricardo51

We have a Lillevillas Hamina corner cabin and paid for it to be erected.

The design is good but we didn't notice the small print in the T's and C's which said that and it was the customer's responsibility to dispose of all surplus material and waste. Surely its normal to clear waste from a site where a building has been erected?

We were left with 2 cubic yards of very awkward rubbish and had to pay £100 for it to be taken away. Our waste disposal capacity is 1 wheelie bin per fortnight!

Some may miss the fact, until they've sold themselves on it, that these products are delivered entirely untreated and unpainted. So add £350 for the recommended paint and £600 for painting.

Ricardo

nicks1_2

Hi,
Real sorry you had such a bad experience with this company, hope your room is now what you wanted. We are considering buying one of their buildings so am keen to hear about how they operate and treat their customers.

Would you be able to share any correspondence or give any more details so that we can make a considered decision on whether to deal with them ?

Many thanks
Nick

J_B

There's a company near here that does 'sheds'


May be worth a call??


https://www.smithssectionalbuildings.co.uk/Category/Garden-Buildings/Summer-Houses

Coalacre

Thanks Furts for posting a response to the question posed.. :rotfl:so many thoughts and opinions around log cabins and summer houses - alas an answer around treating timber..:money:

gavin3111

We recently purchased a Dunster House Modetro log cabin, assembled it ourselves and filmed the progress on YouTube (check out Maintenance Made Simple)
 I really recommend Dunster House, they delivered the timber well protected on the front lawn. There was 1 piece that was twisted and unusable, but Dunster House provide a spare. The log thickness of 45mm will provide some insulation - there are options for having a really insulated, twin or triple wall, but they were outside our budget. The assembly instructions could be better, but YouTube has a number of instructional videos - including my own - which help you through the process. The bearers are pressure treated, however you should avoid using pressure treated timber where you might be exposed for prolonged periods in enclosed spaces. Not only is it environmentally unfriendly, it can also out-gas and has been linked to lung, bladder and skin cancers. Although the main culprit, chromated copper arsentate (ARSENIC) is now outlawed, the chemicals used still leach from the wood and can be taken up by the soils, passed to animals and transferred into the food we eat! Hard wood was outside our budget, so the cabin is  therefore soft wood and required treatment immediately. We used a stain supplied by Dunster House for the outside and I made an oil preservative to nourish and protect the inside - the oil could also be used outside for additional protection. This cost a fraction of what a shop bought treatment would cost and was fun to make - although I got into trouble for coating the pans in beeswax.
The floor and roof has additional insulation and a shingle covering provides protection from the elements. In summary I wouldn't fault Dunster House. If you're on the look out for a quality summer house or garden room, check out the videos and you'll see what I mean.

Le_Kirk

You do realise you've signed up and posted on a thread from two nearly three years ago!