Is This Pressure Treated Summerhouse The One? Free Installation and On Display

When choosing a summer house cabin it’s a good idea to think what you would like it to do for you. What are you going to use it for and how are you going to maintain it. And besides that the general specification of the building is important. You will find that all our Platinum summer houses are pressure treated for long life. Besides that the timber is redwood and not the cheaper whitewood used on the cheaper buildings available.

The framing of the building are normally 3″ x 1¾” (nominal size) where as the cheaper cabins from other companies have framing as small as 1″ x 1″. Why? I can only assume to try to cut costs. There is no skimping on the glass which is toughened as standard – you won’t find any imperfect horticultural glass or noisy perspex on these buildings. There is a choice of three claddings – shiplap, loglap and featheredge so you can select the one which you like the best. Add in proper joinery doors and windows and you have a great building for your garden.

On many of the garden cabins available on the web you will find that they are delivered and you are left to assemble them. You may fancy doing this for the panels tend to be very heavy and it’s important to ensure that they are built correctly so that they will resist all the weather thrown at it. Can you be sure you are able to do this. The other option is to have you summer house cabin delivered and assembled FREE by 1st Choice Leisure Buildings. You can then be sure it has been built correctly and you should have no worries. All you would need to do is to provide a solid level base for it to go onto which can be concrete, paving slabs or maybe timber decking. We can even provide a timber subframe base for you if you wish. In this instance all you need to do is to put your feet up and let the base guys get on with the hard work.

We have a great range of buildings and cabins available for you in all sorts of sizes and styles. All suitable for garden offices or maybe as a good looking garden workshop. However, one of our specialities is that we can make the cabin to suit your needs. Whether it’s a different size, taller, the doors and windows moved, extra or less windows we can do that. So you don’t have to compromise – ensure you buy the pressure treated building to suit you and your family. Give us a call on (0800) 999 6995 or visit our display sites and talk through what you would like. There will be no pressure and we are happy to provide a quote to suit you.

It’s always worth considering lining and insulating your new building to ensure you get the most use out of you all year round. By doing so it will keep the building warmer in winter and also cooler in summer. You can do this yourself reasonably easy but on all the Platinum range of cabins we do offer a service to do this for you. Normally it’s only the walls and roof but the floor can be insulated as well Details on lining and insulating service on this page or give us a call or pop in. If you take this option then all you need to do it to think of all the ways you will be able to enjoy your new building in the great outdoors. This is what I would do if it was me, being a little older, some might call me an old codger. Again we are very happy to provide a quote for your consideration.

Before deciding on a new building for your garden you should always do your homework as it’s very easy to be taken in with a flashy web site, colour brochure or colour leaflet. The behest advice is to make a trip down to a display room where you can examples on display. This will allow you to make an informed choice about what you are buying. You are very welcome to visit one of our two Surrey display rooms in Surrey where we have a large collection of summerbuildings. We will be delighted to show you them and answer any questions you may have and, or, provide quotations. Another bit of advice is to take a look at the feedback from previous customers which can be enlightening.

The summer comes and goes very quickly, that if it arrives at all, and those days in the garden relaxing has to change to accommodate the colder and wetter weather of the winter.

Your summer house cabin being outside – well it would be silly to have your shed inside, but it take all sorts – will face the brunt of our, increasingly, wet winters. So now is the time to spend some time preparing it for its battle against the elements – sounds serious.

The most important thing to do is to ensure that the treatment will be up to the job. If your garden cabin is new, i.e. in its first winter, then if possible try to paint all over the walls with a good quality preservative. Only use a spirit or oil based preservative and steer clear of any water based treatments. The way to tell what type of treatment you are buying is to look on the can in your local DIY store (known as sheds in the business), such as B&Q, Wickes or Homebase and see if you can wash your brushes out in water. If you can then that is a water based treatment. As I say avoid these types of treatments as most are only really suitable for fences and gates.

If you have had your building for a few years then you need to check it over to see if it needs a further coat to enhance its protection. Generally speaking it will only be the sides of the building facing into the weather which will need treated very regularly The sides protected by fencing and away from the prevailing weather will normally go many years without being treated.

I know this for a fact. Besides my 40 years in the garden building business I built a pressure treated summer house in my garden in 2000. After I assembled it, not sure if I could still do that now as I’m now 68 but I would have a go, I painted the summerhouse with an oil based treatment. Upon checking the back wall and the right hand wall both look as good as the day I treated them. There is also about 2-3ft all the way around the summerhouse.

The choice of a pressure treated summerhouse will always be a good choice. The wood which will be tanalised is designed to protect against rot for at least 15 years.

It must be noted though that, whilst the timber will become resistant to rot and decay after being subjected to this process, it is still important to apply a suitable weather protector to the outside of the building, certainly to the sides of the building facing into the weather. This will protect the timber from the effect of sun, wind and rain which can combine to reduce the effectiveness of the treatment, cause the timber to shrink excessively or allow moisture to permeate through the timber itself. We recommend Protek Stable Coat as this has been developed specifically to protect pressure treated timber. You can order directly from Protek Timber Products

Remember that pressure treatment is inherently a wet process and it is therefore common for the timber to take a little while to dry out so patches of moisture on the inside of the building are nothing to worry about whilst the timber dries. These do not signify a problem and neither does the natural shrinkage or movement of timber which can be seen in all timber.

I will say that the gutters which I put on it may have helped so if possible always try use gutters if possible. It can be difficult to do that with conventional gutters which have to be screwed on but Marley have introduced a gutter system which just clips into place – perfect.

Never paint your building when the timber is wet as you can make it worse, always try to wait for the timber to be dry so autumn can be a good time. By ensuring the timber is dry you will find that the treatment will soak into the timber giving even better protection.

Other issues to look out for are broken or cracked window panes. If your building have any of these defects then mend or replace them before winter as well. Are they any broken boards then again take the trouble and replace them as these are weak points which may let you down in the depth of winter. These broken boards can also allow small rodents to get into your building away from the cold winter weather. You may not mind this is you are sympathetic to this wildlife but do bear in mind the damage they can cause.

Besides the above also take a look at your garden furniture and ensure before you put it away that it is clean and if showing signs of its age then maybe re-treat with an exterior garden paint. As this comes in a range of colours you could brighten up your furniture ready for the spring. You could, of course, brighten your garden shed or log cabin up in the same way and this would provide a little colour throughout the winter months.

By protecting your pressure treated summer garden buildings, furniture and decking before the onset of winter you will be prolonging the life of these well used items. This course of action will also help to prevent peeling, cracking, splitting or greying. This will ensure that come the spring you will be thinking to your self ‘Didn’t I do well?