Generally very satisfied, Good design and it went up relatively smoothly. Only quibble is that some of the wood is not as smooth as it should be, maybe they need to sharpen their saws ...
We were recently excited to buy a vantage summerhouse for our nursery, as per the instructions we put it on a flat concrete base. It looked lovely painted in grey and chalk trim. Though one of the windows wouldn't operate smoothly as there was a twist in the wood supplied. But we could overlook this and leave it closed. Sadly the building has now been in use for 6 weeks and is already leaking badly. We discovered that the vertical gaps allow lots of rain water to enter and you must spend time adding sealant to every join, for any kind of chance to stop rain entering around the edges. More worryingly the floor is feeling springy and soft and the mat we have on the floor is suffering from damp patches. This suggests that we will soon have to replace the floor and regularly replace soft furnishings. It appears water comes up through the floor bearers making damp patches on the floor. I contacted customer care to enquire about this and received the answer that unlike the claim on their web page that a summer house isn't just for summer: "This product is designed for summer use." Summer ended on 23rd Sept, we are not even a month later. Am I to understand we need to empty it over winter and not use it. I am very disappointed that though it looks pretty the product is not at all suitable for British weather, making it unlikely to last. I would recommend adding a waterproof membrane prior to assembling it which is not mentioned in the instructions but would maybe help prevent another disappointed customer. At a cost of nearly £2000 I am incredibly disappointed that after 6 weeks use, I am paying a builder next weekend to take it down, redesign the floor bearers and add a waterproof membrane in order to stand any chance of having a structurally sound building next summer.
Easy to order as staff sold me what i wanted, not what they wanted me to buy. The delivery was as stated and the staff friendly. The quality of the product was good although the instructions were sometimes not so easy to follow but it did not stop us. There were a couple of marks on the wood, caused during manufacture but it did not distract from the final product. My only negative comment was that the doors could not be locked as the two did not match up. We had to take the metal work off and reinstall in a slightly different position. The Summer House looks very good and is very good.
