written by on 11/12/2013
Waltons market this £2,000+ cabin as a home office. So I thought it would be perfect as my "man cave"; part workshop and part home office.
It arrived back in May. It was assembled on an 8 inch concrete base originally intended for a brick built garden room. I've lovingly treated the outside in a pastel shade and the inside with white acrylic paint. From a distance it looks fantastic. But its now December and the cabin is still not ready for me to move into! Because I had an electrician around who refused to install sockets and lights until I'd made the cabin sufficiently weather proof.
The problem is that there's a front double door frame assembly and also a single door assembly on the side. And they've dropped down relative to the cabin carcasse. The worst affected door has a gap of over over an inch (30mm) along the top and its letting in wind and rain. I've just had a local supplier around and he reckons the screws the fitters used weren't long enough to penetrate through the door frame assembly and sufficiently deep into the cabin carcasse to hold them fast.
Waltons have philibustered for 6 months, asking me to send photo after photo of the problems and asking me to check aspects of the cabin that had nothing to do with the door assemblies. They finally asserted that the gaps are within acceptable tolerance.
I'm now progressing the issue under the trades descriptions act on the basis that Waltons knowingly supply and fit cabins which are not fit for the purpose they claim. There is simply no way this cabin could be used as a home office or workshop.
There are a couple of less consequential failings. I've raised several times with Waltons but they have been deathly silent about them:
- 3 of the 6 storm braces (vertical strips of wood screwed into the cabin wall to stop the roof blowing off in a gale) have fallen away from the cabin walls and 2 of the other 3 came away in my fingers. Reason, screws not long enough! Easy enough for me to fix with longer screws
- Several screws have been driven right through the fascia boards causing them to split at the ends (they're an eyesore as well as being loose). They need completely replacing.
Key learning: If there's a next time I will buy from a local supplier despite them typically being several £100 more expensive.