Preparation
Getting your garden ready.
A little preparation makes delivery day effortless. Here's exactly what your building needs from you — and what we take care of.
First, the base
Firm, level, free-draining.
Every timber building lives or dies by what's underneath it. A good base keeps the frame square, the doors swinging true and the floor dry for decades. Any of these three will do the job:
Concrete pad
The gold standard — solid, permanent and dead level, at a minimum 4″ depth. Cast it at least the size of the building's footprint and let it cure fully before delivery day.
Paving slabs
Ideal for most sheds and summerhouses — laid flat and level to a minimum 4″ depth on a compacted sub-base, with no rocking slabs and no low spots that hold water.
Decking
Works when the frame beneath is sound and level. If your deck flexes underfoot, tell us — we'll advise whether it will carry your building.
Two things we can't build on: uneven ground and loose gravel or hardcore. And leave roughly 1 ft of clearance between the base and any trees, fences, bushes or walls — your building needs room to breathe (and so do our fitters). All groundworks are the customer's responsibility.
Base not sorted yet? Choose "Not yet — please advise" in the configurator and we'll talk you through the best option for your garden before anything is ordered.
Second, the route in
We carry everything by hand.
Your building arrives as finished panels, carried through to the base one at a time. That means no cranes and no lorries on your lawn — but we do need a clear route.
- Minimum 8 ft × 3 ft clear
- Height by width, along the whole route — and no tight corners, because shed panels aren't made for bending. Allow for the roof overhang in confined spaces.
- No lifting over
- We don't lift buildings over walls, garages, fences or dwarf walls higher than 4 ft — the route in has to be walkable. Trim back branches and shrubs along the way.
- Unusual route? Tell us first
- If the only way in is through the house, or there are steps and slopes, contact us before delivery day — a photo with your enquiry settles most questions.
Then, delivery day
What happens when we arrive.
01
We arrive
Our own team — the same people who built your building in the workshop — arrives with everything on board. No couriers, no subcontractors.
02
Panels come through by hand
We carry each panel through your access route and build up from the base: floor, walls, roof, then doors, windows and trim.
03
Up in a day, garden left tidy
Most buildings are finished the same day. We take our offcuts and packaging with us and leave your garden as we found it.
Before we arrive
The five-minute checklist.
Run through this the week before delivery and the day itself will be effortless. Unsure about anything? Call us on 07913 371 295 — we'd rather answer a question than reschedule a delivery.
- Base is solid and level — concrete or slabs at minimum 4″ depth, at least the building's footprint
- Roughly 1 ft clearance between the base and any trees, fences, bushes or walls
- Access route is clear: minimum 8 ft high × 3 ft wide, no tight corners, gates unlocked
- Nothing needs lifting over walls, garages or fences — the route in is walkable
- Old building (if any) removed, or ask us about clearing it when we quote
- Somewhere for us to park within reasonable carrying distance
- Thinking about power or lighting? Mention it when we quote so we can advise
And afterwards
A little care goes a long way.
Your cladding leaves the workshop tanalised (pressure-treated), and the EPDM roof and standard guttering keep the worst of the weather moving off and away. Three small jobs keep everything at its best: check the air gap beneath the base once a year so debris doesn't build up, re-coat with a wood preservative or paint at least every two years depending on exposure, and give locks and hinges a shot of oil annually.
Timber is a natural material — small movement, surface splits, knots and colour change are part of its character, not a fault. If anything ever doesn't look right, call us: every building is guaranteed for 12 months against faulty workmanship.