One of our lovely customers, who I will refer to as Mrs A has sent us a review of their experience of building their Chloe Log Cabin which would be used for a garden gym! As well as their service that they had received from our team here at Tuin.
Introduction
At the bottom of my garden sat an 8x9ft Summer House, not a very old one around 18 months old which I purchased on-line. Sadly, the quality reflected the price I paid from the online supplier. It was purchased for use as a gym for my son, but it was soggy and damp and not fit for purpose. Likewise, the walls were super thin and badly manufactured.
We took it down to the tip as I don’t think we would have been able to burn and sing around it as it went up in flames. Even we couldn’t curse the on-line supplier who’s rating on Trustpilot seems to have more red stars than I have ever seen.
We decided it was time to spend our savings on something bigger and much better quality. Likewise, we could divide it and use half as his gym and the other half as a nice relaxing space.
I started the search. So many places to buy but as I had made such a bad purchase the first time, I didn’t want to make the same mistake again. My friend at work had been talking about a large summer house. I found that her friend had brought from a company called Tuin which she helped to build. She couldn’t fault the company or the quality.
Searching the Website
So off to the Tuin website I went and started to look, the range of products was fantastic so many choices of all sizes, my imagination went wild and before I could stop myself was looking at the biggest ones I could get and imagining what I could put in side! However reality hit me that evening when I got home and measured the space I could use and although I was going to build a giant palace the biggest I could purchase was a 4x3m. I then found Chloe, she was the right size and looked perfect and even better in budget.
Talking to Tuin
I contacted Tuin and after fantastic service from Richard, who I say goes over and beyond for customer satisfaction I placed the order in late February. As we had yet to build the base I picked the furthest delivery slot I could to allow us to build a concrete base where Chloe was going to take residence. Building the base seemingly took forever due to bad weather and finally it was done. Left it for a couple of weeks to dry off and then Chloe arrived and we were ready to build – have to say I enjoy DIY work but both me and my husband were really looking forward to the build it’s like giant Lego for adults and you get to use big mallets!
Now, onto the process of building Chloe…
The Delivery
When we ordered we selected a required delivery week and the Sunday before I received an email for payment, once this was complete I received a call from a very nice lady from the delivery company to arrange a delivery date.
We knew from looking on the Tuin website how the cabin would be packaged and the size of the packaging. I would recommend you take a look at the site so you have an idea how large your delivery will be so you can work out where you want it to be put. We knew that it would be a couple of weeks before we would be able to start the build so by having it placed in the garden next to the driveway would mean that we didn’t have to worry about not being able to use the driveway for the next couple of weeks.
She arrived on the advised date as promised, no sitting around for a delivery that doesn’t turn up when advised and we have all done that. I received call from driver that morning advising us roughly what time he would arrive, my husband was at home and was watching for the lorry, then down the road came a forklift with the cabin. The driver had had to park up the road and drive the forklift into our close as once he had the lorry in he would not have been able to get back out again. My husband asked if he could drop it other side of the drive which he did with no problems.
Unfortunate Damage
A couple of my concrete edging blocks were slightly damaged and the driver was very apologetic but it’s wasn’t a problem, he had nearly a ton of cabin plus whatever his forklift weights driving over them which we asked him to do you cannot make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. He was unable to stop for a well-deserved cuppa as his very large lorry was parked up the road and didn’t want to upset anyone so he had to move it quickly. Chloe then sat in the front garden for a couple of weeks until we were ready to start the build.
Unpacking the Cabin
Picture taken after we had started to move the parts into the back garden (sorry I forgot to take a picture of the wrapped package). If you don’t start your build straight away, don’t worry. The cabin is so well wrapped it will be fine, and will wait until you are ready.
As you move parts, sort them as you go putting all the parts into piles according to size. Then you can use the checklist provided to check you have all the parts. I did expect parts to be numbered which would make it easier but none of them were. However, as you start to check off the larger parts then it does become easier.
When we finished checking parts I noticed that one of the parts had a large crack. We wanted to start build over the weekend so I emailed Tuin out of hours, seeing if we could use the part or needed a replacement (9pm on a Friday night). Fortunately, I received a response within 15 mins. I sent over pictures of the damage and was advised it was fine to use or if I wasn’t happy they could send a replacement. We opted to use it but receiving a response on a Friday night was great service. Really I wanted peace of mind it was ok to use, last thing we wanted to do was use it only to find out we should have waited for a replacement.
Building the Chloe Log Cabin – Day 1
The build started at… 10am…
I am helping, but someone has to take pictures ☺ however to get to this stage has taken 30 mins and most of that time it was checking that everything was square. The whole cabin is slotting together very nicely.
By the last image we were ready to put in the doorframe. A quick email to Tuin as from the instructions, we were not 100% sure on orientation of the frame. Saturday morning and quick response received from Tuin clarifying our question and we are good to go again. Tuin’s contact team can go back to watching Saturday morning Kitchen ☺
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- The dogs seem to like it already!
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- Once you get going the build is going so fast and it’s great fun!
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- Window is now in and most off the walls built up..
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- It’s early afternoon and now ready to start the last section.
To be honest, the build is so much quicker than we expected!
It’s now around 5pm and the cabin is built! We are calling it a day as it seems the neighbours have had enough of us banging in the garden all day. Despite me not being in any of the pictures it has taken just 2 of us to build this in one day. The build went very well, only one slight problem with the door not shutting correctly, this was a job for the next day.
Building the Chloe Log Cabin – Day 2
Time to put on the roof tiles… Not so many pictures of this as we were both on the roof. One slight problem nothing to do with the cabin but the ladder being on very uneven ground meant that it slipped when we were up on the roof and neither of us could get down. The cabin might not look very high from the ground but it is high when you want to get down. After a few minutes of us laughing about me trying to step onto damaged shed roof, our neighbour noticed and asked if we wanted her to hold the ladder. We arrived on the ground safely which was a bit of a relief as after too many cups of tea before starting on a cold day nature was calling.
The shingles do take a long time to put on, most of the day to be honest but once you get the hang of putting them on it is very easy. Yes it would be quicker and easier with felt but once you take a step back and look at the result well I think it says it all!
So Chloe is now completed and looking great. The base around Chloe does look a bit of a mess but that job is for next weekend.
The Finished Log Cabin
Finally finished!
The quality of the product is excellent! Well designed and slots together so well, very pleased to say the least. Chloe now stands as the pride of our garden.
The whole Tuin team are a pleasure to deal with. They are all very knowledgeable they know the product inside out and I would have no problem in recommending them.
You may be wondering why none of the pictures show the inside of the cabin. Well, I intend to write another review once the floor is down. Since we blew our budget on the cabin we have been saving for the floor. Also, a few bits of furniture and a weight bench sitting on concrete does not really show her off. We intended to put down a plywood base with laminate floor on top. However, after sitting inside and looking at the walls this would not do her justice. The floor would look so much better with ‘real’ wood. As a result, we have just placed an order for the wooden floor pack. Then that will look so much better. Once this is down then I will take some more pictures of the inside.
Well think I have just about covered it, thank you Tuin!
Thank you to Mrs A for your article.! Reading how our customer service helped ease your confusion on building was great to hear. Your Chloe log cabin looks stunning! We’ll be looking forward to see images of your Log Cabin to make your gym/relaxation area!
Other customer experiences, build articles and ideas can be found here: Pictorial Tuin Reviews
