My new corner summer house is leaking like a sieve! The water is coming in from the joints and between the tongue and groove slats on all sides. I had this pressure treated when I bought it and also gave it two coats of good wood preserver once it was up. I bought an eco base from the company at the same time for it to sit on. I have sent photos to the company and they say that it should have been put 2 ft away from the fence , which it isn't. I would have thought that a 6ft fence would have given it protection rather than being a negative, but anyway it's leaking at the front/sides too and that has no obstruction to the front and sides. please can anyone help? Thank you.
Hi Vick333. You have erred slightly in not posting this in the carpenters talk forum. In my opinion, having not seen the actual structure....This is an off the shelf shed. It was made with tanalised, and consequently quite wet, timber, which has sat in a warehouse under cover through the last 5 months of very hot, dry weather and dried out. 5 inch shiplap can easily shrink by 1/4" and is no longer weatherproof. Unless you've done something very silly, like assemble the panels upside-down (and I'm not suggesting you have) this is the only explanation I can come up with. These pre-fab sheds vary in quality from reasonably good to utter carp. They are made as cheaply as possible, and few are really fit for purpose, however a summer house is just a pretty shed for keeping your deckchairs in and providing a bit of shade. It isn't the same as a garden office, or cabin- so in some ways maybe your expectations were a bit optimistic. I am very interested to learn how siting the structure less than 2' from the fence could possibly cause it to leak- sounds like waffle to me. So, in my opinion, the shed you've been supplied is sub standard- but I build actual garden structures, garden offices, cabins etc, which I expect to withstand all that Britain's climate can throw at them for the next 50odd years and you could live in. Try re-posting this in the carpentry forum, and see what the others think.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and give advise, I really appreciate it. I will try and post on the carpentry forum as suggested. I feel that the manufacturers should take some responsibility but they can only come up with it should be 2ft from the fence, which I think is stupid as it is sold as a corner unit. Thanks again, Vicky
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