shed faulty after 6 months

maty87

i purchaed a shed from online retailer summergardenbuildings that was supplied and devilered by a company called woodlands sheds ordered on 22/7/19 delivered on 17/09/19 erected 5/10/19  after ~6 months i noticed a few places where the cladding has bowed or shrank so much there are gaps in it i reported these issues and never had a reply from supplying the photos on the 24/04/20 and i noticed more defects happening around the shed so contacted again with no luck of replies so contacted citizen advice on the 9/06/20 and wrote a full complaint supplying several photos of all the issues and took ages to receive an official reply so wrote to them again in august 2020 and then finally received and update and conclusion of the complaint on the 15/10/2020 that basically stated it is not a fault it is the natural reaction the wood has to weather (i know and understand this happens) i let this go as i couldn't be bothered with the hassle of trying to argue but have noticed again that one of the worst part has got worse so contacted them again on the 21/01/21 and supplied photos again of this issue and still no reply as of today 23/02/21.

i know wood will expand and shrink to a degree due to humidity but on a shed that is less than 1 year old when this was first noticed i would not and it wasn't a cheap shed it was £530 shiplap cladding not the cheaper slat option i would expect it from a shed that's been up for 5 years plus i installed guttering to the shed in the novmber of 2019 before all the rain and slapped some shed & fence paint the ducks back stuff on before doing the guttering and also when it was dry again in march 2020 i put about 3 coats on the rest so it had a good covering and not left thang long without any treatment 

i just do not know where i stand with this as i believe im right that this shouldn't happen yet and they haven't even offered a solution like we will give a part refund or spare slats that i can repair it

its as if they didn't allow for the expansion and contraction of the wood when built so when it shrunk it opened up gaps
will try to insert some photos

any help will be much appreciated



another gap 

this is one of the gaps


this is the newest photo of the issue
this is the same bit as above but before it got to what its like now

Bradden

Not sure what you expect them to do to resolve this? It is part of the natural movement of timber. I'm assuming the shed was ok when erected so therefore it's not really a manufacturing fault IMHO.

neilmcl

I don't see any unexpected issues there.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

In the fifteen years I have had my shed, I have felted the roof twice and replaced the window once! I do not see any issues with your shed!

maty87

I get this happens but not to this amount in 5/6 months 

neilmcl

The bowing out of some of the panels can also be the result of you painting the shed, particularly if done before it's been able to fully acclimatise. Think about it, you slap some paint on one side of the shiplap, it'll then dry on that side pulling the wood fibres toward it, hence causing the bowing. The best thing you can do is fill the gaps with some wood filler, and repaint when suitable.

Aylesbury_Duck

maty87 said:

I get this happens but not to this amount in 5/6 months 

Why not?  In that period we've had the full range of temperatures, and loads of wind and rain.  New wood will react to those, it doesn't have weather-proofing for the first six months.  It will also react to whatever paint, treatment or stain you apply, particularly if you apply it to the outside only.

I don't see anything unexpected there, so I can see why the retailer isn't supportive.

williamgriffin

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth said:

In the fifteen years I have had my shed, I have felted the roof twice and replaced the window once! I do not see any issues with your shed!

Can't you see the daylight through the sides?

OP when did you paint it? They usually come treated and I would wait until it had some weather and sunlight on it before applying further treatment. 

mikb

neilmcl said:

 fill the gaps with some wood filler, and repaint when suitable.

... or a flexible caulk! Wood filler may be unwilling to flex with the wood between the panels as they move.

maty87

Yes daylight can be seen through some gaps when it shrinks right ok but im sure i read from the retailer it said about painting it straight away will see if i can find this info

maty87

neilmcl said:

The bowing out of some of the panels can also be the result of you painting the shed, particularly if done before it's been able to fully acclimatise. Think about it, you slap some paint on one side of the shiplap, it'll then dry on that side pulling the wood fibres toward it, hence causing the bowing. The best thing you can do is fill the gaps with some wood filler, and repaint when suitable.

According to tigger sheds they say it should be painted before or with in one month as its water based so it will wear away