“Delivery was on time & driver was very helpful. Let down by the fact there are screws missing, the bolt is partially rusted & bent, also one of the cover strips is incomplete due to knots in the wood have fallen out. This is very inconvenient & should have been quality checked before delivery. Just to add I wouldn’t recommend this company since customer service is very poor and quality control is even worse !!!! Sent me a rusted pad bolt on first delivery and the replacement is even worse ???did anybody even check this before it was sent to me ??? What a let down DISGUSTED!!! Oh just to add nearly 2weeks for 1 thin length of wood, 1 pad bolt & 2 screws. Give a wide birth if you are reading this”
“I bought a shed from Elbec Gardens which was delivered and provided by Shire Garden Buildings. They delivered a shed which had broken and missing items. I reported this straightaway and was told by Elbec that I could not get the missing/broken parts for another 7 days. It in fact took 10 days. After the wait they delivered wrong items. I sent several emails and wrote to Mr Smeeth CEO of Shire and received no response. I still do not have a complete shed. I am sure many have had good experiences but you only really know how good they are until an issue/problem needs to be resolved. Since posting my review I was contacted by Elbec who are in the process of resolving my issues so I have upgraded my rating to reflect that. I think much of the problem comes from Elbec sourcing the shed from varying companies and it is not made clear who the point of contact is if there is an issue as you receive emails from both companies. I ordered two sheds and this was the case in both instances. Also if parts are missing/broken then please be prepared to wait. Elbec have informed me that this is stated clearly on the website and in their terms and conditions.”
“Beautiful Summer House relatively straightforward to build so long as you follow the instructions. Window catch was poor quality and was broken and the wrong size felt tacks were supplied. The biggest disappointment is that the windows are bowing already so be prepared to have to do a bit of reinforcement”
“None of the glazing had any numbers so that cause some issues. Also some of the parts had no numbers on them. One piece was missing the light angle iron strapping that goes along the length of the side of the greenhouse”
“The delivery was less than satisfactory. The driver arrived at the correct time but unloaded the wrong item. He then loaded it back onto the truck, left, and returned some six hours later. Meaning I had to wait in all day. Poor start. The shed is adequate for the price. Fixing of the roof could be better.”
“Pleased with delivery and driver, the roof felting looks very bad quality , it's made the shed look old , not pleased about that. The door doesn't close very well.Apart from that I like the shed..”
“Loved the Wendy house the big disappointment was that there was a big gap around the door that would of let the rain in and damage the floor. I had to get a carpenter to add more wood to stop the rain getting in.”
“This is an update of a 1-star review complaining partly about late delivery, but also what seemed an unfair system of rescheduling and a lack of communication or hints about how much longer it would take. I was pleasantly surprised, then, to be told it would arrive only a week after the date first promised. Fingers were crossed and it did indeed arrived on the promised day (today), and only 30 minutes after the end of the promised 4-hour time slot. The shed is not up yet, but the quality of materials is actually better than some other reviews led me to expect. It's a shiplap 6x4 from Shire, with an opening window that is - surprisingly - real glass, not perspex. The instructions are comprehensive and thorough, although the printing is not too good (it looks like cheap photocopying, most of the images being too black to see all the details). So I'm taking two stars off, partly for the instructions, but mainly for what seems a rather chaotic delivery system. I suspect this is because they offer faster delivery times than competitors, and are then not prepared for the flood of sales they get as a result (I understand covid has played a part in short staffing too). I'm happy to recommend their sheds (this one anyway), but don't bank on receiving it exactly when promised.”
“Having decided on which summerhouse we wanted, we searched for a supplier with availability. Elbec offered the chance to select a delivery date so we chose one at the end of April, ordered and paid. Only subsequently did we find our order was now being handled by the manufacturer, Shire. They then gave us the earliest possible delivery date which was six weeks later. They told us that a delivery date should not be offered by retailers. So, a disappointing delay. Quality is pretty good although several panels had nails sticking out inside where they'd missed the frame. These needed to be ground off before children could go inside. The door bolts were very poor and fell apart right away. Some instructions a little awry but manageable. Allow time for painting all panels and buy in mastic for joints before assembly. Suggest ignore instructions and hang doors after roof is on as it slightly distorted the opening. Plan for some method to hold doors open - in a light breeze they risk flying back straining hinges. I use a batten fitted across the door tops. One panel was poorly made leaving a gap which needed filler.”
“The supplier is Shire Sheds and they have been poor. Delivery was on time but I’ve been trying to get a replacement door which was damaged for the last 6 weeks without success”
“The shed was OK and the instructions clear, but the quality of some of the panels not so good with various splits. Biggest problem was the delivery which arrived at 7am in the morning having only sent an email to let me know it was arriving 2 1/2 hours earlier at 4:30am that morning!”
“I bought a 6' x 6' potting shed with double doors from Elbec and the delivery was exactly as arranged. The driver who arrived didn't speak a lot of English but pointed out a broken panel where he had over tightened the straps. I refused the delivery and it was redelivered a week later in perfect condition. When I put the shed together it was sturdy and easy to put together. I was disappointed that the hinges were corroded in the bag. Again I called them and replacements arrived 3 days later so good customer care. The slide bolts on the door that are provided are of the wrong type in that they are straight locks and should be cranked to allow the locking part to have a clear hole to engage in rather than being close to the edge. I decided to buy some new ones on eBay and all is well. Overall a good shed with a few niggles that could so easily be addressed.”
“Ordered a Tuscany shed and arbour which was delivered on the 14th may put the arbour up which looks superb but when I started erecting my shed there was a part broken that screwed into the base I have been trying now to contact them for 10 days for a replacement but getting nowhere I’ve sent the image but they never get back to me so the shed is still not started I’m at my wits end what to do I feel like driving to kings lynn about 100 mile away to try and get it, so frustrating and such a shame”
“The website is easy to navigate and generally quite clear. The photo-shopped images of each product on a generic garden background are a little off-putting and not entirely useful, but it's not a big deal. The shed I chose was a great price and arrived on the day it was supposed to with a helpful delivery driver. The shed itself is good quality even if the photocopied instructions which I received were a little mixed up and therefore hard to follow. Why wasn't there a proper instruction manual? My issue with the shed is that it's taking water up from the bottom, even though it's on a solid base, so several of the joints in the corners are constantly damp. The shed roof and windows are waterproof, so it's not really a big deal. The reason I am a bit annoyed is that I contacted Elbec directly twice via their website and once on the phone and every time they ignored me completely. No acknowledgement, no call back, no explanation. Maybe the shed is fine, who knows, but they don't get in touch so if I had a bigger issue I wouldn't expect any help from them. Therefore, I would think twice about ordering from them again.”
“the 2 top triangles glass parts did not fit very well but otherwise ok and the delivery service was good but they could not help when I rang and told them of the tight fit of the 2 parts so I sorted out myself but had to leave a slight gap at the top of apex”
“Bought a 6ft X 5ft) Palram Skylight Plastic Apex Shed in grey. It was delivered on time and took about 4 hours to erect with two people. The instructions were very helpful and could easily be understood. The shed is very flimsy and must be secured by bolts to the floor. You should not lay anything against the sides as they will buckle outwards; if items stood upright then ok. It would have been better for the air-vents top at front and rear to have been adjustable to stop rain entering.”
“Some of the shed pieces did not fit properly and so had to be handsawn. Also the instructions were diabolical. Explaining which way round doors should go would have been far more helpful. Pre-assembly instructions should have been labelled Step 1. Door lock was faulty”
