Thank you very much for the well explained warning, as someone who was about to spend with Dunster; it has changed completely my decisions Not only that, but as I will be going to a different supplier, its given me vital insight into risks with an alternative build. I am surprised you didn't just get your local handyman to come and help you build it
Just bought a Severn Log Cabin. Our experience was very good, smooth purchase and great delivery. It was a self build and managed to put most of the cabin up ( 5mx4m ) in one day, we had a good flat base and all went up very easily. Watched a view Dunsterhouse videos and "heccie thump" TH-cam prior to building which all helped. Rang the company a couple of times for guidance during the build and was given advice as requested. Our experience was very good. Overall a great price and service. To get the best price order in January and prices are lowest then. I would recommend this company based on my experience.
Can someone please advise how to do the damp proof flap please. The builder incorporated a damp proof membrane into the concrete base - level but not square ... He left excess damp proof polythene at the edges and told us to fold them over onto the base and glue down with Bitumen but it looks hellish having a badly cut flap of black polythene glued around the actual 'surface' perimeter of the new concrete base, especially as part of our cabin is an open face outdoor pergola. Is this right?? Is it supposed to be glued to the 'edges' with Bitumen as opposed to on the 'surface' of the base instead?? Not one single TH-cam video covers this aspect .... Great reviews all. Thanks.
Wow!!! We are currently in the middle of building our dunster house cabin, when we ordered they tried to sell us the grid system but on the day of ordering they doubled the price from previous quote, we done the base ourselves and also opted to build ourselves. The instructions are appalling but luckily have a very good and willing chippy friend helping! I hope you get the issues resolved
I've just bought a 5x3 mtr and built it my self the main work roof and floor was in within 2 days. Built on a flagged base with my own hardwood shims. The price Dunster was trying to charge me was ridiculous.
Thanks for posting this video, we were going over to Bedford today to look at at buying a 6.5m x 4.5m log cabin in 44mm logs but after seeing this I'm going to bother. I cant believe the hastle you've gone through with the concrete base. In my view that base would surely be flat enough for a build. No wonder the cabin price is cheap on the website because they seem to be trying to pressure you into buying more products from them. Thanks for sharing, I'll be looking at Tuin
I'd still go to the showroom to get an idea of sizes, designs etc. I presume you have watched part 2 of my video and more.inportwntly read all the negative reviews on TrustPilot? Would be quite amusing to turn up and quiz them on their crap after sales service, their unfair terms & conditions and their warranty that isn't worth the paper it's written on.
@@randymch mate after the trouble you've gone through I'm not even gonna bother and waste my time. I did think about asking them about the after sales but if they ring me back I'll question them about it. I watched your second video and I admit it looks good but I would have thought that after getting them down and paying for a so called "professional " install everything should have been plain sailing. I was going to get a concrete slab laid and do it my self ,but not with them. I've read most of the negative reviews and all of them report about shit after sales so they've lost a sale from me. Best of luck with yours and I hope it's all ok now.
Hi Sharon, please don't take my word for it. Head to TrustPilot and filter by 1star, 2star and 3star reviews. There are HUNDREDS of negative reviews on there. The company just doesn't care. Presume you've seen my "Part 2" video?
@@randymch I havnt no. But I will still steer clear I think. I also looked at tiger and they seem to be the same. I'm going with forever timber now. And so far so good they are just two lads not trying to sell me anything I don't need even telling me where I can save by purchasing separately. So hopefully my experience won't be traumatic as yours has been.
Wow! Thanks for the warning. Most certainly never go there for anything. Did visit there offices in Bedford four years ago. Difficult to get in passed their reception and once I did get in there was extreme sales pressures followed by non stop follow up calls. Put me right off and simply stopped answering their calls.
Sorry to hear of your issues! I ordered my Cabin from Mercia garden rooms. We too had issues, with some major components of the cabin missing which held the whole build up for 3 weeks! I know this doesn't help you, but I suspect all these companies are much the same!
Bloody heck, thank you so much for taking the time to let us know of your dreadful experience. I feel totally deflated because my wife and I have just spent the weekend measuring and planning where our summerhouse should be. We intended to phone Dunster House in the morning to start the buying process. Stupidly we had only looked at all the videos of happy customers building their buildings and all seemed well. You mentioned that there were numerous others who have had bad dealings with this company so we will practise due diligence and make sure we look at all the reviews before we make a decision. I am also looking at timber self builds from a company called Summer House 24. Again many thanks Kyle for sharing your experience and I'm just sorry that what should have been a very happy time for you turned into a battle of wits not to mention the added costs. Hope all ends well for you.
It's a pleasure to know that my videos may have helped people. As I always say, don't take my word, Trustpilot is a good review site. Filter by 3 star to 5 star reviews. I personally don't trust many of the 5 star reviews on there. They tend to get added in clumps and have a generic feel to them.
You should do a TH-cam video on your woes. The more people who do, the more this appalling company can't ignore their failings. I wonder how many people haven't purchased from them as a result of my videos?
Glad I watched this, I am about to order one from Dunster so its given me plenty to check. I will be building mine myself and am using a very local guy to put the base in. I also have a cabin I built from a cheap eastern European kit about 15 years ago, was not happy with the quality and saw some of the problems you got with shifting wood. I suspect all kit cabin will suffer from these problem, just the nature of cheaper wood. My cabin has despite everything been great over the years and shows no sign of falling apart for many years.
Thanks for your comment. Don't take my word for it, please do read the numerous negative reviews on TrustPilot. If I were in your shoes, my biggest concern right now would be the number of customers reporting warped timbers to the point that it can't be used.
Maybe they have improved since this review was published. I had a great experience with them. The sales process was great and the after sales was good. The cabin arrived when they said it would and the product is excellent. The main difference was that my Son and I built it. In fact I was amazed how easy it was to follow the instructions, I'll agree there were a couple of sections where we had to think about it but in the main very simple to do. Hopefully, your comments have helped others have a better experience.
No, things haven't improved I'm afraid. The same themes run consistently through the negative reviews found of Trust Pilot. I've stated on a few occasions, when things go OK then on the whole, Dunster's customers are happy. It's when things go wrong that Dunster consistently show signed of being unable or unwilling to help properly. Significantly warped timbers is one such theme, with Dunster stating there's nothing wrong, wood is a natural product. Glad everything went OK for you. Keep an eye on your windows and doors and feedback a few months from now.
@@randymch I had an excellent experience with them as well. If I may Kyle, I think it could be worth you moving on with your life. Stop obsessing over Dunster, replying to comments like this one and reading all of their Trust Pilot reviews. What a sad little life Kyle! th-cam.com/video/lMvwEgb8_3Y/w-d-xo.html
Sorry to see you struggle and shame I didn’t come across the video sooner. Thankfully I opted for a self-build so headache of leveling the base is yet to come. But I have to say that their sales people are shocking. Their website is misleading when it comes to price match (not to say they’re lying on it), and the delivery guys were rather grumpy (at least to start with). Once I offered to help them off load they change their tone. All in all, bought from them as I couldn’t find a cheaper option in size and quality. But it def comes with a headache so everyone, please keep all eyes open.
Absolutely ridiculous, they’ve rinsed you there. Why on earth are you paying dunster house to build it?! They’re piss easy to build, if you didn’t have time a builder or someone like myself would only cost around £200 (2 short days) to put up the main structure.
I'd be interested to know if using their fitters was compulsory? I plan to build my own with my local builder so thanks for the heads up on this company.
The use of their own fitting team was not compulsory, I could have sourced a local team myself but this certainly isn't your typical "odd job man" task. I wanted the reassurance of knowing I was using their own teams who were familiar with their products and that if anything went tits up we'd be safe knowing the buck stopped with Dunster (how wrong that turned out to be). They have actually stopped offering their own installation. My gut feeling for that? Probably aa mixture of not moving the responsibility away from the company as well as having to deal with disgruntled fitters who were stuck dealing with unhappy customers. The kits themselves should be reasonably easy for traditional joiners or carpenters to build, with the caveat that a good proportion of the negative reviews are mentioning warped timbers.
You have just saved be 8k. Thank you! Sorry you have had such a bad experience. I did find them pushy when I asked for a build plan, they wanted 25% deposit to email it over.
I would just like to add for absolute clarity that even to this day there are still major unresolved issues with DunsterHouse, their products and the way they conduct their business. Don't take my word for it. You only have to look on the review websites to see this first hand.
Generally speaking you'll be looking at around £80 per cubic metre of concrete plus groundworks (with or without steelwork, with or without hardcore) plus waste removal. Our 13x6m pad cost us around £3500. Its steel reinforced and about 12cm thick. There are some good national websites that you can get quotes from.
Plane down or bulk up the floor bearers. We always do that because concrete is always out of whack. You should see how out of whack concrete stumps are sometimes. This is easy fixed.
Dubstep house products are very good. However when it comes to installation I would recommend using a professional summer cabin installer. The rapid pad system can be purchased from a trade wholesalers. I installed the same summer house on the plastic matrix with gravel. Me end to end tolerance was 30mm. I squared up the base using 2X2 wooden stacks 24inches long hammered into the ground and then screwed and squared up the ground bearers to the supporting stakes. This is a normal construction method for large summer houses. It's a shame that you have had such a terrable experience.
I have had 2 products from Dunster House. 1st one 2007 A large garage with flooring and insulation. Although I have moved away from that property, it is still in excellent condition. The 2nd is in my new house this year. All though I didn’t assemble this one and I helped the builder on the 1st morning to identify the starter pieces, it has come together nicely. A Rhine Grande 4x4 mgr kit with a 3 mtr extension. It has 1 packer Of approx 3mm under 1 corner. The extra money you have paid to Dunster should have paid for a better builder
wow delighted I saw this video on youtube, was getting ready to order a large unit app£11500, will 100% look elsewhere now, hope yours got sorted and thanks for uploading your video
Glad to have been of some help. Our cabin is still not sorted and never will be. Have you read all the negative reviews on Trust Pilot? The bad reviews you know are true because they are all along sinilar themes. Interesting that I recently discovered DunsterHouse were allegedly incentivising their customers to leave good reviews using Amazon vouchers.
I just bought one and almost done with it, I can send u the photos if u like, the thing is it’s not that easy to build it ur self, it needs a professional builder specifically the doorframe and roof part.
Or……….. you make sure the local builder (cowboy) doesn’t rip you off, then blame Dunster house. I’m waiting for my shed delivery, I’m not a builder & I’ve laid my own founds & they are within 3mm tolerance. Your concrete layer needs to put that right under supervision
DunsterHouse built it themselves. The front windows and doors go in mid-build as the kit goes up layer by layer (as the pieces are pre-cut. The side windows were cut in after.
I have a "part two" video on TH-cam... but I will say there are issues with the summerhouse we will never get resolved. Dunster House remain one of the worst companies I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. Furthermore, the negative reviews continue to flood in on TrustPilot. They just don't/won't learn.
Completed self build with son-in-law, constructed on our own timber base as ground level is far to low for a concrete base. We found the Severn 5x5 metre log cabin to be well designed and components mainly of good quality considering that it is mostly made of wood. Watching all the videos helped tremendously as the construction instructions were rubbish. This cannot be built in a few days if you want a well built log cabin. It's not a lego build, as you must install all the logs because they are not all straight. A large percentage were bowed, twisted or both. If install as advised they will go in but not without a struggle. We were supplied with one extra log, so the surpless log was extremely twisted and bent and only fit for firewood. Do not attempt to a self build if you have not got an excellent construction knowledge and certainly not on your own. Our delivery was offloaded from the lorry onto our shingle/stone drive onto the roof shingle packs. The ground was uneven and far from flat. This was restacked on timber inside the garage the same day in flat and even piles of logs, roof/floor boards. Good Luck!
Hi Brian, thanks for the comment. You should watch my second video and also read the countless 1-star and 2-star reviews of DunsterHouse on the 'TrustPilot' website.
For all of you who posted comments or are interested in what eventually happened, I have recorded a quick follow-up to this video. Please find here: th-cam.com/video/WQ2lb3IbclE/w-d-xo.html
They wriggle out of their warranty by citing their terms and conditions. The primary component being something along the lines of "wood is a natural material and prone to..."
sorry to hear you issues with Dunster House, but a very big thanks for the WARNING, I’m also looking into buying a log cabin summer house, I SHELL KEEP WELL AWAY FROM DUNSTER HOUSE FOR SURE
Absolutely atrocious company to deal with avoid at all costs. Once they have your money they will not address any issues unless it's via email. it's impossible to contact anyone in customer services on the phone.
Yes, you got screwed for the extras, but it does seem that all your problems stem not from Dunster House, but from the guy you see in the mirror. You employed a crap builder top lay the slab and then did not check that he had done the job properly before the erection team arrived on site. They arrived, could not do the job because the slab was faulty and charged you. You supposedly remedied the fault, they came back and the slab was still well outside tolerances so they left and charged you. Can you tell me anything that happened that would have cost you extra money if you had laid a proper concrete slab in the first place? Thought not!
Presume you've seen my second video? There were issues with the cabin immediately after the installation and nothing to do with the concrete slab. Me thinks you have some connection with Dunster? You'll find my main grievances with Dunster are: - shitty sales staff - inflexibility and lack of drive to work with the customer - appalling customer service - argumentative rude staff - unfair terms and conditions - substandard products Need I go on? Suggest you read the recurring themes in the negative reviews on the TrustPilot website.
If you look on Trustpilot you will find that I left a bad review for them before I even bought anything. The member of their sales staff at the branch I visited was far beyond rude. I bought off them ten years ago, erected it myself and was delighted with it. I have a 5 by 3 metre cabin in store ready for erecting this coming weekend. I bought off them because their cabins are good. I do not expect discount sellers to 'work with the customers'. If what I get is what I ordered and has no faults then that is all I expect from a supplier. If I had employed a builder to put a slab in with a certain maximum tolerance and it was outside that tolerance then you charge the builder the cost of remedying the fault, not blame the supplier for not working with faulty foundations.
Hi Ben. Good to hear my video is coming in useful. Presume you've seen part 2. You should read the shitty facetious response they posted to my review on Trust Pilot!
I've experienced their lack of customer care too. Disgraceful! I agree their instructions are sketchy. Charging £1200 additional cost for the builders and £1800 for the rubbish rapid pads is daylight robbery! And they don't give ANY guarantees for anything. Anyone know if there is a Facebook page to expose this company? I heard they delete any negative feedback. They have blocked me on Twitter. But I can still post about their disregard for customers after they get your money . 😂
@Eddie Turbine you are so wrong to suggest that things have changed on another thread. forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3880211/dunster-house-beware
Interesting video - just laying a concrete base just now. Most builders will try and build a small slope into a base to allow water run off. For these types of cabins they need to be told not to do that. 2cm doesn't sound like a lot but by the Time you get 2.5 meters off the ground joining the roof purlins the problems that can 2cm difference can cause further up the building can be pretty big. Dunster House are currently refusing to sell to Scotland due to problems finding digs for their hgv drivers due to covid . Im in Edinburgh, I wanted one of their cabin as my Inlaws have 2. Though for some reason the driver refused to offload the 2nd one for them and 2 65 year olds had to lift the house beam by beam from the street to their garden. The wood looks heavy but it's not bad, around 10kg for a long 5 meter length. Ive now bought a cabin from wayfair which has been delayed 5 times. I wanted to buy a cabin from tuin,but the day I went to place my order they changed their expected delivery dates from 6 weeks to 6 months... Then when I logged back in a few days later they've changed them back to 6 weeks. If they hadn't mucked about with their dates I'd be sitting in a nice warm cabin now. Definitely an industry that needs a bit of regulation. Self building these is easy enough, as I said 2 65 year olds can do it, I'd advise spending some time on the Tuin website, even if you don't buy their cabins, as the articles and guides there are very clear, common sense and written in plain English.
Except for the instructions (the side shed instructions were twice the size of the mainbuilding?) I managed to build myself in 2 days (3.5x3m with 2.5x1.5 side store) ... Pretty easy, placed the order online, using my own intelligence and 6 weeks later it was delivered. Friendly delivery guys helped my unload, not the 'kerbside' delivery described online. They even gave me a couple of great tips as i talked over the self build. I am guessing a lot of the whining is old reviews or people who cant manage simple projects without someone holding their hands?
My 50m2 logcabin in an awful condition after 4 years and I can't find other installers wiling to repair Dunster's work! Dunster won't repair their own work at my cost!
Can't fault Dunster house just purchased my second cabin. Forget all these fancy packing systems and use good old fashioned practices i.e wood packers etc
The key point Lawrence is that you can't fault Dunster unless/until something goes wrong - at that point support is useless. Have you read the number of 1-star or 2-star reviews on TrustPilot?!? Over 20% of the reviews are 1-star. uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.dunsterhouse.co.uk They're pretty much all of a similar theme. Please do me a small favour and comment back here after a few months. I promise you IF something goes wrong they will wash their hands of you.
Hi Kyle I'm waiting on the same cabin as yours will be with me Thursday. 5.90 x 4.0 with the wall insulation. I hope I don't have any of the issues that you have. Customer service is should be for any business no1 priority. People make decisions based on other people's experience. Yours would have put me off but I'm too late. I hope I don't have any of the problems you have had with Dunster House.
Hi Kyle yes building it myself cabin came couple of weeks ago but still in drive because of the weather. I'm going to order some adjustable feet online. Our cabin is 5.9 x 4.0 with the wall insulation. I think I will order some cheap polystyrene for floor via local building merchant. I'll give you a shout when I'm starting and I'll do some video
I too am experiencing problems with my Duster house large cabin. Those overlapping planks seen in the video above and pretty much all of their buildings let water ingress on the exterior corners. I'm attempting to solve that problem whilst consulting Dunster Customer Services, but I'm not convinced their solution of using a water repellant treatment is going to be a long term fix. I would never recommend this company, far too many issues and problems from day one.
I heard stories like this before so I bought their product and then searched for an installer that used to work for them to install it. I also opted for the rapid pad bases despite the expense.
I'm conscious I've not updated everyone but when I do (VERY soon) it will be an interesting and very long story. Just to say Dunster did that with us too. They quoted a price one day and then the following day (when we had no option but to buy the product) the price had gone up significantly. Unprofessional robbing bastards. Avoid like the plague!
I thought you'd be another internet grumbler - but your displeasure at Dunster House is entirely reasonable. Not building a single-skinned relatively lightweight wooden summer house on a solid *slightly un-level* concrete pad is laughable. Well done for sharing this, they deserve to be called out.
Thanks for the comment. By comparison, there are many MANY customers who have received twisted/warped timbers and have been unable to build their own, or have fallen foul of crappy customer service. I appear to be one of the last people who used Dunster's own installation team before they pulled that service. I should really consider myself lucky despite the issues, as I eventually got a working summerhouse (albeit with some issues), as there are people with far worse issues than we had. Have a read of the Trust Pilot reviews. It's laughable (and Dunster's sarcastic replies are just plain embarrasing). I even had one of their staff on these comments making a fool of themselves. All those comments miraculously vanished. I absolutely love the fact that this video has 63,000 views. If one in a thousand people are put off I've done my job. I will never forget how shitty/nasty they were with me
I bought a cabin weeks ago and I just finished build it up. I’m a plumber and builder and I know how to deal with problems on projects and instructions and I have to say,it’s not very easy as they say. Manual installation are joke, drawings are poorly done and they gave a manual with alternative optional installation of everything different types of cabin,which confused the hell out me. The wood is bend and it’s very annoying achieving a nice finish,needed to use extra screws . But the most complicated thing is the door they will never be in level and shutting properly. Took me all morning to get them straight. I made my base with that plastic things showed in this video and it is dead level in every angle. Building it self is not too bad looking but if you want safe money you need to do it yourself and know what are you doing or get a carpenter trade to solve your problem,otherwise you ll end like this customer on the video very disappointed
You'd be appalled at the DunsterHouse bearers. From memory they're about 30mm x 50mm and doubt they're pressure treated. I'm actually glad we're all raised up on those adjustable plinths.
@@randymch to lay 50x50 timber frame flat level is a disaster waiting to happen..water will rot the frame...and the floor will give way...raised and treated..and airflow is the correct way
It gets much worse people!!! I will hold my comments back for another week or so dependant upon if Dunster take some responsibility and resolve our problems. At that point we may pursue things legally.
Good for you. If nothing went wrong then so be it. But if something goes wrong you can clearly see from all the negative reviews that (i) they don't care, (ii) there are common themes, (iii) they don't change their ways and (iv) you're on your own! With the number of reviews stating there were twisted/warped timbers, you do genuinely surprise me. Guess it's a numbers game to them.
No worries Bobby. Have you read the reviews on TrustPilot? The negative ones are quite entertaining and all run along the same themes. If Dunster House were my company I'd be embarrassed. I also have concerns over many of the 5-star positive reviews on there.
Kyle Harrison. I actually had a dunster. I got it from a local dealer. They installed it for free. Well it was probably built into the price. I have moved house and was going to buy another one. My local supplier no longer do dubstep so I would have had to go through Dunster. I defo will not be using them. An absolute disgrace the way you have been treated. 40 MM is absolutely nothing over the full length.
The Eddie Turbine (aka: Dunster House) School of Sales... A sales quotation is actually by it's very definition an estimate and not a quotation at all. At least that explains why multiple customers pricing increased by over 20% overnight... they just make it up as they go along!
I wouldn't wish to risk my £10k investment on someone who hadn't built one of these before, let alone someone who only charges £50 per day. A good joiner is £150-£200 per day and this is a 4-5 day build.
The log cabin at around £3k was a lot of money for us and, like Kyle, we paid £600 for the installation service because we thought they'd be highly skilled craftsmen who knew their products inside out! However once ther highIy trained and efficient workforce arrived and condemned our base - even before the second installer had got out of the van - I wasn't prepared to be held ransom for a second time and made my own arrangements for the shed to be built. Thank God we I ended up with a proper joiner who was recommended to us by someone who'd used him before. He charged us £150 for the job done over Saturday & Sunday, helped by my husband & son but I would have gladly paid his normal rate of £150 a day (northern rates) because he made good any minor defects or problems as he went along, something it seems the installation team don't do!
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Jenny I think what you opted for was spot on. Just get the bloody thing delivered and good riddance to the supplier after that - they are a necessary evil in order to get the materials. Ideally build it yourself if you have the time and skill, but just as good is a decent joiner who, even if he charged the same 600 quid as the official installation team, will be able to use his skill and initiative to make up levels here and there and generally get the job done to a good standard - and just as importantly without scamming you for parts that you don't need. A guy like this will be mainly concerned with doing a good job for you. It sounds to me like the Dunster team's primary concern is finding technical faults and then summarily condemning the job until they can extort more ££ out of you in order to continue work.
That question has been answered before... 1. I personally don't have the skills. 2. I wanted someone who was familiar with the design to build it. 3. I didn't want the hassle of moving 2 tonnes of timber 50 metres down my driveway (they only offer curb side delivery). 4. I didn't want to give Dunster any excuse what-so-ever to say "we didn't built it, it's your problem" - something they do regularly.
I would be worried about rodents getting underneath with the building jacked up like that on those pads! I think a fifty quid a day handy man could have easily built it for you. I strongly doubt the guys that dunster send are apprentice-trained joiners and it's basically a flat pack kit, there's no fine joinery work involved. I suspect even if they do install it, the warranty is not worth the paper it's written on anyway. Also, a ten year warranty is pretty pointless for a building that you'd expect to stand for fifty years with the right care. Thanks for uploading though, I'm in the process of finding a log cabin kit (which I'll be building myself) and was strongly leaning towards dunster house. Maybe not as keen now after your terrible experience with them.
Liam my joiner stapled metal mesh along open,space on both sides of our cabin, before the floor was put in, to prevent and mice building nests. We also gave the joists three coats of preserve on all four sides and piped silicone along the front and end joist . Because the rear joist of our twenty plus cabin was the only thing that rotted by water seeping under it.
Why didn’t you just build it yourself, they are mega easy to set up and come with full instructions. I did one with no building or carpentry experience and had my 18yr old help me.
1. I work Monday-Friday 8am to 6pm 2. I suffer with a spinal condition that means I lack flexibility/mobility and can't lift heavy objects. 3. Dunster offered a legitimate installation option at the time of the sale. Let's be honest, who would you think are the best people to install? 4. I'm not a mind reader and can't predict the future.
No one forces you to spend money it's your fault that you did not research your idea and a reputable builder ,you can't blame them when you put your inadequate plans to them leaving you open to the problems you now have .
Can't argue regarding the Dunster customer services, but the whole issue in this video is largely nothing to do with Dunster. It is not hard to do a concreate base to within the tolerances you are talking about. A simple check level of the shuttering of the base every meter or so, The issue here is totally with your builder. Who as you say sounds as though he rushed the first attempt, and then somehow screwed up the second.
I think you miss the point about Dunster being... - unwilling to work with their customers. - changing their prices before point of order. - having shitty customer service (only via email) - falling back on questionable terms and conditions. - products which don't last the test of time and which often come warped. The list goes on And then there
@@randymch as per my first line...can’t argue with you on that point..but that was a fraction of the video, majority about the base. And which ever way you cut it the number you quote (even though they would be easily within reality of the build) are outside their quoted requirement. But certainly can’t see why they wouldn’t let you just supply your own adjustable stands..still hope all get sorted..👍
lol lol lol you have been severely ripped off! Assemble your selves! I have done one of these and my gripe is Dunster House Instructions are absolutely garbage
Not that their guarantee is worth the paper it's written on, but the fact you built it yourself is Dunster's get-out clause if anything goes wrong (and IT WILL).
Not entirely correct Ian. Had someone else been building it, they'd have washed their hands of all th problems encountered with the doors/windows/timbers. Then we'd have been even more in the shit.
@@randymch What was the matter with the Doors/windows/timber ? Only mentioned about the base and how they wouldn’t let you put different packers on etc
@@larky0007 - there's a "Part II" to this video, and if you go on TrustPilot you'll see some common themes including warped timbers. I would have hated spending thousands of pounds to be told I have to untwist warped timbers.
Can't say our experience with Dunster has been anywhere near as your saying.. product is great and no sales pressure... Looks to me like your builder is where you should be complaining... It's not difficult to lay a level base.. maybe you should have picked a better builder to begin with... Lol
If you listen properly you'll find out that I do blame the builder for not creating a perfectly level pad and yes I should have 'picked a better builder' as you put it, but that was one of umpteen issues that could have been controlled better by Dunster if they gave a fuck.
Charlie.J.Rance - Yes, I could have paid someone other than Dunster or set about building it myself but this was no small shed build and bearing in mind the cost of the cabin I wasn't prepared to add the extra risk. Figured safest bet was to have the guys build it who designed it. Also you must bear in mind... 1. Common feedback is that the paper instructions are very poor. 2. Common feedback is that many of the components are warped and Dunster deny responsibility once delivery signed off or take weeks to replace. At least if the items are damaged or warped it's going to delay their own team and not mine. 3. Common feedback is that Dunster blame customer and/or customer's installation team for any product defects. I have relative peace of mind that if the cabin falls down tomorrow (and their have been instances where these things do) I have some form of come back.
hmmm, they can delete my interest too then - perhaps they will learn, 'sharp practice' will not be tolerated by those that pay for product and service - guess they have lost £50 k due to this complaint alone...
Hi David, thanks for the comment. Take a look at the countless negative reviews on TrustPilot. There were at least six 1-star reviews in the past week.
@@randymch Kyle by freakish coincidence Dunster sent me a new link today to a promo video - I have left comment there highlighting your angst in the hope that a better balanced view is presented and that Dunster are motivated into improving their sales tactics
Sorry Kyle, Nothing wrong with there products, You should have just bought it and built it yourself, at the end of the day its just a big lego kit! and you could have shimmed it and saved hundreds! I did!
I think you miss the point of my videos Russ. It's not necessarily about the products but more about their shit customer service, brazen money grabbing and the fact they hide behind a wall of terms & conditions. But! For the record there are many customers who complain about missing, broken or warped components. It's a recurring theme and therefore the products are on occasion sub-standard. I ask you what type of situations arise when you get a combination of sub-standard product and shit customer service. You wouldn't be saying this if you'd been on the other end of things. And for the record, despite the cost it's 100 times safer to have Dunster's own team build the log cabin because you're not left in the shit when items are missing or warped (ie. they had to at least leave me with a built cabin)
You reckon? So what about the fact the summerhouse is up (built by Dunster) and yet 3 years on we have doors that don't shut, windows with handles fallen off, gaps appearing between the timbers, and water pissing in through not only the corners but also the numerous knots in the wood!?
Thanks Kyle, Glad I saw this before placing my order on Monday. You have saved a lot of people a lot of grief, good job mate!
Thank you very much for the well explained warning, as someone who was about to spend with Dunster; it has changed completely my decisions
Not only that, but as I will be going to a different supplier, its given me vital insight into risks with an alternative build.
I am surprised you didn't just get your local handyman to come and help you build it
Just bought a Severn Log Cabin. Our experience was very good, smooth purchase and great delivery. It was a self build and managed to put most of the cabin up ( 5mx4m ) in one day, we had a good flat base and all went up very easily. Watched a view Dunsterhouse videos and "heccie thump" TH-cam prior to building which all helped. Rang the company a couple of times for guidance during the build and was given advice as requested. Our experience was very good. Overall a great price and service. To get the best price order in January and prices are lowest then. I would recommend this company based on my experience.
Lucy Brothers, can you please reach out to me over LinkedIn or Facebook? I'd like to pick your brains on a couple of points please.
lol - think I've just been trolled by Dunster House themselves. Bit like all the 5 star so called reviews they post of Trust Pilot.
Can someone please advise how to do the damp proof flap please. The builder incorporated a damp proof membrane into the concrete base - level but not square ... He left excess damp proof polythene at the edges and told us to fold them over onto the base and glue down with Bitumen but it looks hellish having a badly cut flap of black polythene glued around the actual 'surface' perimeter of the new concrete base, especially as part of our cabin is an open face outdoor pergola. Is this right?? Is it supposed to be glued to the 'edges' with Bitumen as opposed to on the 'surface' of the base instead?? Not one single TH-cam video covers this aspect .... Great reviews all. Thanks.
Thanks for this information. I was considering Dunster House for my summerhouse, but I think that I will now give them a miss.
Wow!!! We are currently in the middle of building our dunster house cabin, when we ordered they tried to sell us the grid system but on the day of ordering they doubled the price from previous quote, we done the base ourselves and also opted to build ourselves. The instructions are appalling but luckily have a very good and willing chippy friend helping! I hope you get the issues resolved
Hi Hayley, how did your build go?
I had a log cabin in the basket with Dunster House. Over to Tuin for me
I've just bought a 5x3 mtr and built it my self the main work roof and floor was in within 2 days. Built on a flagged base with my own hardwood shims.
The price Dunster was trying to charge me was ridiculous.
Thanks for posting this video, we were going over to Bedford today to look at at buying a 6.5m x 4.5m log cabin in 44mm logs but after seeing this I'm going to bother. I cant believe the hastle you've gone through with the concrete base. In my view that base would surely be flat enough for a build. No wonder the cabin price is cheap on the website because they seem to be trying to pressure you into buying more products from them. Thanks for sharing, I'll be looking at Tuin
I'd still go to the showroom to get an idea of sizes, designs etc.
I presume you have watched part 2 of my video and more.inportwntly read all the negative reviews on TrustPilot?
Would be quite amusing to turn up and quiz them on their crap after sales service, their unfair terms & conditions and their warranty that isn't worth the paper it's written on.
@@randymch mate after the trouble you've gone through I'm not even gonna bother and waste my time. I did think about asking them about the after sales but if they ring me back I'll question them about it. I watched your second video and I admit it looks good but I would have thought that after getting them down and paying for a so called "professional " install everything should have been plain sailing. I was going to get a concrete slab laid and do it my self ,but not with them. I've read most of the negative reviews and all of them report about shit after sales so they've lost a sale from me. Best of luck with yours and I hope it's all ok now.
That's a really insightful review I have been looking at them but I'm so glad I've seen this first thankyou.
Hi Sharon, please don't take my word for it. Head to TrustPilot and filter by 1star, 2star and 3star reviews. There are HUNDREDS of negative reviews on there. The company just doesn't care.
Presume you've seen my "Part 2" video?
@@randymch I havnt no. But I will still steer clear I think. I also looked at tiger and they seem to be the same. I'm going with forever timber now. And so far so good they are just two lads not trying to sell me anything I don't need even telling me where I can save by purchasing separately. So hopefully my experience won't be traumatic as yours has been.
Wow! Thanks for the warning. Most certainly never go there for anything. Did visit there offices in Bedford four years ago. Difficult to get in passed their reception and once I did get in there was extreme sales pressures followed by non stop follow up calls. Put me right off and simply stopped answering their calls.
Sorry to hear of your issues! I ordered my Cabin from Mercia garden rooms. We too had issues, with some major components of the cabin missing which held the whole build up for 3 weeks! I know this doesn't help you, but I suspect all these companies are much the same!
Bloody heck, thank you so much for taking the time to let us know of your dreadful experience. I feel totally deflated because my wife and I have just spent the weekend measuring and planning where our summerhouse should be. We intended to phone Dunster House in the morning to start the buying process. Stupidly we had only looked at all the videos of happy customers building their buildings and all seemed well. You mentioned that there were numerous others who have had bad dealings with this company so we will practise due diligence and make sure we look at all the reviews before we make a decision. I am also looking at timber self builds from a company called Summer House 24. Again many thanks Kyle for sharing your experience and I'm just sorry that what should have been a very happy time for you turned into a battle of wits not to mention the added costs. Hope all ends well for you.
It's a pleasure to know that my videos may have helped people.
As I always say, don't take my word, Trustpilot is a good review site. Filter by 3 star to 5 star reviews. I personally don't trust many of the 5 star reviews on there. They tend to get added in clumps and have a generic feel to them.
been there, got the t shirt. good luck with the build!
You should do a TH-cam video on your woes. The more people who do, the more this appalling company can't ignore their failings.
I wonder how many people haven't purchased from them as a result of my videos?
Glad I watched this, I am about to order one from Dunster so its given me plenty to check. I will be building mine myself and am using a very local guy to put the base in. I also have a cabin I built from a cheap eastern European kit about 15 years ago, was not happy with the quality and saw some of the problems you got with shifting wood. I suspect all kit cabin will suffer from these problem, just the nature of cheaper wood. My cabin has despite everything been great over the years and shows no sign of falling apart for many years.
Thanks for your comment.
Don't take my word for it, please do read the numerous negative reviews on TrustPilot.
If I were in your shoes, my biggest concern right now would be the number of customers reporting warped timbers to the point that it can't be used.
Does anyone have any experience of Tuin log cabins. Some mixed reviews but they do look largely positive. Any advice appreciated.
Maybe they have improved since this review was published. I had a great experience with them. The sales process was great and the after sales was good. The cabin arrived when they said it would and the product is excellent. The main difference was that my Son and I built it. In fact I was amazed how easy it was to follow the instructions, I'll agree there were a couple of sections where we had to think about it but in the main very simple to do. Hopefully, your comments have helped others have a better experience.
No, things haven't improved I'm afraid. The same themes run consistently through the negative reviews found of Trust Pilot.
I've stated on a few occasions, when things go OK then on the whole, Dunster's customers are happy. It's when things go wrong that Dunster consistently show signed of being unable or unwilling to help properly.
Significantly warped timbers is one such theme, with Dunster stating there's nothing wrong, wood is a natural product.
Glad everything went OK for you. Keep an eye on your windows and doors and feedback a few months from now.
@@randymch I had an excellent experience with them as well.
If I may Kyle, I think it could be worth you moving on with your life. Stop obsessing over Dunster, replying to comments like this one and reading all of their Trust Pilot reviews. What a sad little life Kyle!
th-cam.com/video/lMvwEgb8_3Y/w-d-xo.html
Sorry to see you struggle and shame I didn’t come across the video sooner. Thankfully I opted for a self-build so headache of leveling the base is yet to come.
But I have to say that their sales people are shocking. Their website is misleading when it comes to price match (not to say they’re lying on it), and the delivery guys were rather grumpy (at least to start with). Once I offered to help them off load they change their tone.
All in all, bought from them as I couldn’t find a cheaper option in size and quality. But it def comes with a headache so everyone, please keep all eyes open.
Absolutely ridiculous, they’ve rinsed you there. Why on earth are you paying dunster house to build it?! They’re piss easy to build, if you didn’t have time a builder or someone like myself would only cost around £200 (2 short days) to put up the main structure.
I had similar experiences with other people, what did you do in the end?
Gary Arnold Follow-up video posted
I'd be interested to know if using their fitters was compulsory?
I plan to build my own with my local builder so thanks for the heads up on this company.
The use of their own fitting team was not compulsory, I could have sourced a local team myself but this certainly isn't your typical "odd job man" task. I wanted the reassurance of knowing I was using their own teams who were familiar with their products and that if anything went tits up we'd be safe knowing the buck stopped with Dunster (how wrong that turned out to be).
They have actually stopped offering their own installation. My gut feeling for that? Probably aa mixture of not moving the responsibility away from the company as well as having to deal with disgruntled fitters who were stuck dealing with unhappy customers.
The kits themselves should be reasonably easy for traditional joiners or carpenters to build, with the caveat that a good proportion of the negative reviews are mentioning warped timbers.
You have just saved be 8k. Thank you! Sorry you have had such a bad experience. I did find them pushy when I asked for a build plan, they wanted 25% deposit to email it over.
No worries my friend. You should try speaking to them when something goes wrong. The blame you and laugh in your face.
I would just like to add for absolute clarity that even to this day there are still major unresolved issues with DunsterHouse, their products and the way they conduct their business.
Don't take my word for it. You only have to look on the review websites to see this first hand.
Please can I enquire as how much the concrete pad was from the builder. I might need one half that size but was trying to get a guide price
Generally speaking you'll be looking at around £80 per cubic metre of concrete plus groundworks (with or without steelwork, with or without hardcore) plus waste removal.
Our 13x6m pad cost us around £3500. Its steel reinforced and about 12cm thick.
There are some good national websites that you can get quotes from.
Plane down or bulk up the floor bearers. We always do that because concrete is always out of whack. You should see how out of whack concrete stumps are sometimes. This is easy fixed.
Dubstep house products are very good. However when it comes to installation I would recommend using a professional summer cabin installer. The rapid pad system can be purchased from a trade wholesalers. I installed the same summer house on the plastic matrix with gravel. Me end to end tolerance was 30mm. I squared up the base using 2X2 wooden stacks 24inches long hammered into the ground and then screwed and squared up the ground bearers to the supporting stakes. This is a normal construction method for large summer houses. It's a shame that you have had such a terrable experience.
I have had 2 products from Dunster House. 1st one 2007 A large garage with flooring and insulation. Although I have moved away from that property, it is still in excellent condition. The 2nd is in my new house this year. All though I didn’t assemble this one and I helped the builder on the 1st morning to identify the starter pieces, it has come together nicely. A Rhine Grande 4x4 mgr kit with a 3 mtr extension. It has 1 packer Of approx 3mm under 1 corner. The extra money you have paid to Dunster should have paid for a better builder
wow delighted I saw this video on youtube, was getting ready to order a large unit app£11500, will 100% look elsewhere now, hope yours got sorted and thanks for uploading your video
Glad to have been of some help. Our cabin is still not sorted and never will be. Have you read all the negative reviews on Trust Pilot? The bad reviews you know are true because they are all along sinilar themes. Interesting that I recently discovered DunsterHouse were allegedly incentivising their customers to leave good reviews using Amazon vouchers.
I just bought one and almost done with it, I can send u the photos if u like, the thing is it’s not that easy to build it ur self, it needs a professional builder specifically the doorframe and roof part.
Alba Bespoke Cabins is who i would go with.
Or……….. you make sure the local builder (cowboy) doesn’t rip you off, then blame Dunster house. I’m waiting for my shed delivery, I’m not a builder & I’ve laid my own founds & they are within 3mm tolerance. Your concrete layer needs to put that right under supervision
I bought the 5x3 summer house and it’s really good, u should’ve done the door frame and the windows first then the roof mate!!
DunsterHouse built it themselves. The front windows and doors go in mid-build as the kit goes up layer by layer (as the pieces are pre-cut.
The side windows were cut in after.
Wooooo my log cabin coming in a week
Did you ever get this summer house completed
I have a "part two" video on TH-cam... but I will say there are issues with the summerhouse we will never get resolved.
Dunster House remain one of the worst companies I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with.
Furthermore, the negative reviews continue to flood in on TrustPilot. They just don't/won't learn.
Completed self build with son-in-law, constructed on our own timber base as ground level is far to low for a concrete base. We found the Severn 5x5 metre log cabin to be well designed and components mainly of good quality considering that it is mostly made of wood.
Watching all the videos helped tremendously as the construction instructions were rubbish. This cannot be built in a few days if you want a well built log cabin. It's not a lego build, as you must install all the logs because they are not all straight. A large percentage were bowed, twisted or both. If install as advised they will go in but not without a struggle. We were supplied with one extra log, so the surpless log was extremely twisted and bent and only fit for firewood.
Do not attempt to a self build if you have not got an excellent construction knowledge and certainly not on your own.
Our delivery was offloaded from the lorry onto our shingle/stone drive onto the roof shingle packs. The ground was uneven and far from flat. This was restacked on timber inside the garage the same day in flat and even piles of logs, roof/floor boards. Good Luck!
Hi Brian, thanks for the comment. You should watch my second video and also read the countless 1-star and 2-star reviews of DunsterHouse on the 'TrustPilot' website.
@@randymch Will do.
For all of you who posted comments or are interested in what eventually happened, I have recorded a quick follow-up to this video.
Please find here:
th-cam.com/video/WQ2lb3IbclE/w-d-xo.html
I have herd that , if you don't get Dunster House to install there products , they don't give you the warranty , Anyone know if this is true ??
They wriggle out of their warranty by citing their terms and conditions. The primary component being something along the lines of "wood is a natural material and prone to..."
sorry to hear you issues with Dunster House, but a very big thanks for the WARNING, I’m also looking into buying a log cabin summer house, I SHELL KEEP WELL AWAY FROM DUNSTER HOUSE FOR SURE
Absolutely atrocious company to deal with avoid at all costs. Once they have your money they will not address any issues unless it's via email. it's impossible to contact anyone in customer services on the phone.
Outcast - Follow-up video posted
A concrete pad that big 30 odd mm off is very level. Level enough for a brick built house
I'll take that comment since it has come from the President of the Internet!
Wow was just looking at buying from them. Guess I wont now.
Yes, you got screwed for the extras, but it does seem that all your problems stem not from Dunster House, but from the guy you see in the mirror. You employed a crap builder top lay the slab and then did not check that he had done the job properly before the erection team arrived on site. They arrived, could not do the job because the slab was faulty and charged you. You supposedly remedied the fault, they came back and the slab was still well outside tolerances so they left and charged you.
Can you tell me anything that happened that would have cost you extra money if you had laid a proper concrete slab in the first place? Thought not!
Presume you've seen my second video? There were issues with the cabin immediately after the installation and nothing to do with the concrete slab. Me thinks you have some connection with Dunster? You'll find my main grievances with Dunster are:
- shitty sales staff
- inflexibility and lack of drive to work with the customer
- appalling customer service
- argumentative rude staff
- unfair terms and conditions
- substandard products
Need I go on?
Suggest you read the recurring themes in the negative reviews on the TrustPilot website.
If you look on Trustpilot you will find that I left a bad review for them before I even bought anything. The member of their sales staff at the branch I visited was far beyond rude. I bought off them ten years ago, erected it myself and was delighted with it. I have a 5 by 3 metre cabin in store ready for erecting this coming weekend. I bought off them because their cabins are good. I do not expect discount sellers to 'work with the customers'. If what I get is what I ordered and has no faults then that is all I expect from a supplier. If I had employed a builder to put a slab in with a certain maximum tolerance and it was outside that tolerance then you charge the builder the cost of remedying the fault, not blame the supplier for not working with faulty foundations.
Wow thanks for review wont buy off them. Thankyou
Hi Ben. Good to hear my video is coming in useful. Presume you've seen part 2.
You should read the shitty facetious response they posted to my review on Trust Pilot!
I've experienced their lack of customer care too. Disgraceful! I agree their instructions are sketchy. Charging £1200 additional cost for the builders and £1800 for the rubbish rapid pads is daylight robbery! And they don't give ANY guarantees for anything. Anyone know if there is a Facebook page to expose this company? I heard they delete any negative feedback. They have blocked me on Twitter. But I can still post about their disregard for customers after they get your money . 😂
@Eddie Turbine you are so wrong to suggest that things have changed on another thread. forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3880211/dunster-house-beware
Interesting video - just laying a concrete base just now.
Most builders will try and build a small slope into a base to allow water run off. For these types of cabins they need to be told not to do that. 2cm doesn't sound like a lot but by the Time you get 2.5 meters off the ground joining the roof purlins the problems that can 2cm difference can cause further up the building can be pretty big.
Dunster House are currently refusing to sell to Scotland due to problems finding digs for their hgv drivers due to covid . Im in Edinburgh, I wanted one of their cabin as my Inlaws have 2. Though for some reason the driver refused to offload the 2nd one for them and 2 65 year olds had to lift the house beam by beam from the street to their garden. The wood looks heavy but it's not bad, around 10kg for a long 5 meter length.
Ive now bought a cabin from wayfair which has been delayed 5 times. I wanted to buy a cabin from tuin,but the day I went to place my order they changed their expected delivery dates from 6 weeks to 6 months... Then when I logged back in a few days later they've changed them back to 6 weeks. If they hadn't mucked about with their dates I'd be sitting in a nice warm cabin now. Definitely an industry that needs a bit of regulation.
Self building these is easy enough, as I said 2 65 year olds can do it, I'd advise spending some time on the Tuin website, even if you don't buy their cabins, as the articles and guides there are very clear, common sense and written in plain English.
Glad I saw this...I will be buying elsewhere👍🇬🇧
Except for the instructions (the side shed instructions were twice the size of the mainbuilding?) I managed to build myself in 2 days (3.5x3m with 2.5x1.5 side store) ... Pretty easy, placed the order online, using my own intelligence and 6 weeks later it was delivered. Friendly delivery guys helped my unload, not the 'kerbside' delivery described online. They even gave me a couple of great tips as i talked over the self build. I am guessing a lot of the whining is old reviews or people who cant manage simple projects without someone holding their hands?
You couldn't be further from the truth. Negative reviews continue to roll in on Trustpilot, all with common themes.
@@randymch Except my report is based on my own purchase?
@@juliabaker8074 I'm not sure what you mean?
thanks for the warning
You have the subfloor holding up the house? that's not right.
the subfloor should be floating in the center of the main walls.
Might wanna tell Dunster House that, as it's in their design
:-)
@@randymch Dude you have the whole house sitting on plastic cups, it common sense.
should be bolted down.
My 50m2 logcabin in an awful condition after 4 years and I can't find other installers wiling to repair Dunster's work! Dunster won't repair their own work at my cost!
Can't fault Dunster house just purchased my second cabin. Forget all these fancy packing systems and use good old fashioned practices i.e wood packers etc
The key point Lawrence is that you can't fault Dunster unless/until something goes wrong - at that point support is useless.
Have you read the number of 1-star or 2-star reviews on TrustPilot?!? Over 20% of the reviews are 1-star.
uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.dunsterhouse.co.uk
They're pretty much all of a similar theme. Please do me a small favour and comment back here after a few months. I promise you IF something goes wrong they will wash their hands of you.
Hi Kyle I'm waiting on the same cabin as yours will be with me Thursday. 5.90 x 4.0 with the wall insulation. I hope I don't have any of the issues that you have. Customer service is should be for any business no1 priority. People make decisions based on other people's experience. Yours would have put me off but I'm too late. I hope I don't have any of the problems you have had with Dunster House.
Dj Ziggy Curran - How have things gone with your Summerhouse/cabin?
Are you building yourself?
Cheers
Kyle
Hi Kyle yes building it myself cabin came couple of weeks ago but still in drive because of the weather. I'm going to order some adjustable feet online. Our cabin is 5.9 x 4.0 with the wall insulation. I think I will order some cheap polystyrene for floor via local building merchant. I'll give you a shout when I'm starting and I'll do some video
@@zigzagdisco7909 - how did your build go?
I too am experiencing problems with my Duster house large cabin. Those overlapping planks seen in the video above and pretty much all of their buildings let water ingress on the exterior corners. I'm attempting to solve that problem whilst consulting Dunster Customer Services, but I'm not convinced their solution of using a water repellant treatment is going to be a long term fix. I would never recommend this company, far too many issues and problems from day one.
Gareth Iwan Jones Follow-up video now posted.
I heard stories like this before so I bought their product and then searched for an installer that used to work for them to install it. I also opted for the rapid pad bases despite the expense.
Gary Smith Hi. Are you in the south east please. I have terrible problems trying to source someone to install mine, newly purchased
I'm conscious I've not updated everyone but when I do (VERY soon) it will be an interesting and very long story.
Just to say Dunster did that with us too. They quoted a price one day and then the following day (when we had no option but to buy the product) the price had gone up significantly.
Unprofessional robbing bastards.
Avoid like the plague!
I'll be keeping well away from them
I thought you'd be another internet grumbler - but your displeasure at Dunster House is entirely reasonable. Not building a single-skinned relatively lightweight wooden summer house on a solid *slightly un-level* concrete pad is laughable. Well done for sharing this, they deserve to be called out.
Thanks for the comment. By comparison, there are many MANY customers who have received twisted/warped timbers and have been unable to build their own, or have fallen foul of crappy customer service.
I appear to be one of the last people who used Dunster's own installation team before they pulled that service. I should really consider myself lucky despite the issues, as I eventually got a working summerhouse (albeit with some issues), as there are people with far worse issues than we had.
Have a read of the Trust Pilot reviews. It's laughable (and Dunster's sarcastic replies are just plain embarrasing).
I even had one of their staff on these comments making a fool of themselves. All those comments miraculously vanished.
I absolutely love the fact that this video has 63,000 views. If one in a thousand people are put off I've done my job. I will never forget how shitty/nasty they were with me
I bought a cabin weeks ago and I just finished build it up. I’m a plumber and builder and I know how to deal with problems on projects and instructions and I have to say,it’s not very easy as they say. Manual installation are joke, drawings are poorly done and they gave a manual with alternative optional installation of everything different types of cabin,which confused the hell out me. The wood is bend and it’s very annoying achieving a nice finish,needed to use extra screws . But the most complicated thing is the door they will never be in level and shutting properly. Took me all morning to get them straight. I made my base with that plastic things showed in this video and it is dead level in every angle. Building it self is not too bad looking but if you want safe money you need to do it yourself and know what are you doing or get a carpenter trade to solve your problem,otherwise you ll end like this customer on the video very disappointed
Use 75x50 shed timber bearers .concrete level...the Base should have a fall for water to run off...then build you Base on top...easy...and cheap
.
You'd be appalled at the DunsterHouse bearers. From memory they're about 30mm x 50mm and doubt they're pressure treated. I'm actually glad we're all raised up on those adjustable plinths.
@@randymch to lay 50x50 timber frame flat level is a disaster waiting to happen..water will rot the frame...and the floor will give way...raised and treated..and airflow is the correct way
It gets much worse people!!!
I will hold my comments back for another week or so dependant upon if Dunster take some responsibility and resolve our problems.
At that point we may pursue things legally.
Was considering Dunster House, not any more. That floor looks flimsy as ***K
The floor is the least of the problems! lol
Just don’t use them to install it and find out what you need to know before you purchase
2021 review - I’d rate them 5*
Good for you. If nothing went wrong then so be it. But if something goes wrong you can clearly see from all the negative reviews that (i) they don't care, (ii) there are common themes, (iii) they don't change their ways and (iv) you're on your own!
With the number of reviews stating there were twisted/warped timbers, you do genuinely surprise me. Guess it's a numbers game to them.
thanks for this video. What a really bad company. Not going to use them.
No worries Bobby. Have you read the reviews on TrustPilot? The negative ones are quite entertaining and all run along the same themes. If Dunster House were my company I'd be embarrassed. I also have concerns over many of the 5-star positive reviews on there.
Kyle Harrison. I actually had a dunster. I got it from a local dealer. They installed it for free. Well it was probably built into the price. I have moved house and was going to buy another one. My local supplier no longer do dubstep so I would have had to go through Dunster. I defo will not be using them. An absolute disgrace the way you have been treated. 40 MM is absolutely nothing over the full length.
Dunster house just lost a customer lol. Was on the brink of buying from them.
www.reviews.io/company-reviews/store/dunster-house-ltd
The Eddie Turbine (aka: Dunster House) School of Sales...
A sales quotation is actually by it's very definition an estimate and not a quotation at all.
At least that explains why multiple customers pricing increased by over 20% overnight... they just make it up as they go along!
Ridiculous on all accounts. Sorry to hear your misfortune. Plenty of easier ways to rectify the issues.
Why didnt you build it yourself or get a handyman in for 50 quid a day
I wouldn't wish to risk my £10k investment on someone who hadn't built one of these before, let alone someone who only charges £50 per day. A good joiner is £150-£200 per day and this is a 4-5 day build.
The log cabin at around £3k was a lot of money for us and, like Kyle, we paid £600 for the installation service because we thought they'd be highly skilled craftsmen who knew their products inside out! However once ther highIy trained and efficient workforce arrived and condemned our base - even before the second installer had got out of the van - I wasn't prepared to be held ransom for a second time and made my own arrangements for the shed to be built.
Thank God we I ended up with a proper joiner who was recommended to us by someone who'd used him before. He charged us £150 for the job done over Saturday & Sunday, helped by my husband & son but I would have gladly paid his normal rate of £150 a day (northern rates) because he made good any minor defects or problems as he went along, something it seems the installation team don't do!
Jenny I think what you opted for was spot on. Just get the bloody thing delivered and good riddance to the supplier after that - they are a necessary evil in order to get the materials. Ideally build it yourself if you have the time and skill, but just as good is a decent joiner who, even if he charged the same 600 quid as the official installation team, will be able to use his skill and initiative to make up levels here and there and generally get the job done to a good standard - and just as importantly without scamming you for parts that you don't need. A guy like this will be mainly concerned with doing a good job for you.
It sounds to me like the Dunster team's primary concern is finding technical faults and then summarily condemning the job until they can extort more ££ out of you in order to continue work.
£50 a day LOL
"beware of the (loosely named) installation team"....
Jenny Williams - what has been your experience Jenny?
Read my entry on Trustpilot which was where I found your original entry
why did you just build it yourself
That question has been answered before...
1. I personally don't have the skills.
2. I wanted someone who was familiar with the design to build it.
3. I didn't want the hassle of moving 2 tonnes of timber 50 metres down my driveway (they only offer curb side delivery).
4. I didn't want to give Dunster any excuse what-so-ever to say "we didn't built it, it's your problem" - something they do regularly.
@@randymch wow this really has got to you. I will buy from some other provider. Thanks for the insight.
At £10k wouldn't it have got to you too?
@@randymch Yes of course it would. What is sad is that what should have been a fun experience was ruined for you.
I would be worried about rodents getting underneath with the building jacked up like that on those pads!
I think a fifty quid a day handy man could have easily built it for you. I strongly doubt the guys that dunster send are apprentice-trained joiners and it's basically a flat pack kit, there's no fine joinery work involved. I suspect even if they do install it, the warranty is not worth the paper it's written on anyway. Also, a ten year warranty is pretty pointless for a building that you'd expect to stand for fifty years with the right care.
Thanks for uploading though, I'm in the process of finding a log cabin kit (which I'll be building myself) and was strongly leaning towards dunster house. Maybe not as keen now after your terrible experience with them.
Liam, don't take my word for it. Read to negative reviews on TrustPilot.
Liam my joiner stapled metal mesh along open,space on both sides of our cabin, before the floor was put in, to prevent and mice building nests. We also gave the joists three coats of preserve on all four sides and piped silicone along the front and end joist . Because the rear joist of our twenty plus cabin was the only thing that rotted by water seeping under it.
Why didn’t you just build it yourself, they are mega easy to set up and come with full instructions.
I did one with no building or carpentry experience and had my 18yr old help me.
1. I work Monday-Friday 8am to 6pm
2. I suffer with a spinal condition that means I lack flexibility/mobility and can't lift heavy objects.
3. Dunster offered a legitimate installation option at the time of the sale. Let's be honest, who would you think are the best people to install?
4. I'm not a mind reader and can't predict the future.
Totally out of order of Dunster house.
No one forces you to spend money it's your fault that you did not research your idea and a reputable builder ,you can't blame them when you put your inadequate plans to them leaving you open to the problems you now have .
Did IQs drop sharply of recent?
Disgraceful Dunster House!
I heard they're looking for a new MD to run the company... let's hope any new management's better than the current regime (not difficult)
Lol very true
Can't argue regarding the Dunster customer services, but the whole issue in this video is largely nothing to do with Dunster. It is not hard to do a concreate base to within the tolerances you are talking about. A simple check level of the shuttering of the base every meter or so, The issue here is totally with your builder. Who as you say sounds as though he rushed the first attempt, and then somehow screwed up the second.
I think you miss the point about Dunster being...
- unwilling to work with their customers.
- changing their prices before point of order.
- having shitty customer service (only via email)
- falling back on questionable terms and conditions.
- products which don't last the test of time and which often come warped.
The list goes on
And then there
@@randymch as per my first line...can’t argue with you on that point..but that was a fraction of the video, majority about the base. And which ever way you cut it the number you quote (even though they would be easily within reality of the build) are outside their quoted requirement. But certainly can’t see why they wouldn’t let you just supply your own adjustable stands..still hope all get sorted..👍
lol lol lol you have been severely ripped off! Assemble your selves! I have done one of these and my gripe is Dunster House Instructions are absolutely garbage
Not that their guarantee is worth the paper it's written on, but the fact you built it yourself is Dunster's get-out clause if anything goes wrong (and IT WILL).
No dumster house for me .
Not as bad as yzy.
Should of got someone to build it for you and then you could of done exactly what you wanted and saved money
Not entirely correct Ian. Had someone else been building it, they'd have washed their hands of all th problems encountered with the doors/windows/timbers. Then we'd have been even more in the shit.
@@randymch What was the matter with the Doors/windows/timber ? Only mentioned about the base and how they wouldn’t let you put different packers on etc
@@larky0007 - there's a "Part II" to this video, and if you go on TrustPilot you'll see some common themes including warped timbers.
I would have hated spending thousands of pounds to be told I have to untwist warped timbers.
Can't say our experience with Dunster has been anywhere near as your saying.. product is great and no sales pressure... Looks to me like your builder is where you should be complaining... It's not difficult to lay a level base.. maybe you should have picked a better builder to begin with... Lol
If you listen properly you'll find out that I do blame the builder for not creating a perfectly level pad and yes I should have 'picked a better builder' as you put it, but that was one of umpteen issues that could have been controlled better by Dunster if they gave a fuck.
You could have just built it yourself
Charlie.J.Rance - Yes, I could have paid someone other than Dunster or set about building it myself but this was no small shed build and bearing in mind the cost of the cabin I wasn't prepared to add the extra risk. Figured safest bet was to have the guys build it who designed it.
Also you must bear in mind...
1. Common feedback is that the paper instructions are very poor.
2. Common feedback is that many of the components are warped and Dunster deny responsibility once delivery signed off or take weeks to replace. At least if the items are damaged or warped it's going to delay their own team and not mine.
3. Common feedback is that Dunster blame customer and/or customer's installation team for any product defects.
I have relative peace of mind that if the cabin falls down tomorrow (and their have been instances where these things do) I have some form of come back.
hmmm, they can delete my interest too then - perhaps they will learn, 'sharp practice' will not be tolerated by those that pay for product and service - guess they have lost £50 k due to this complaint alone...
Hi David, thanks for the comment. Take a look at the countless negative reviews on TrustPilot. There were at least six 1-star reviews in the past week.
@@randymch Kyle by freakish coincidence Dunster sent me a new link today to a promo video - I have left comment there highlighting your angst in the hope that a better balanced view is presented and that Dunster are motivated into improving their sales tactics
@@randymch oh, and I thought your report was very measured and restrained considering the costs involved - I would be fuming!
Sorry Kyle, Nothing wrong with there products, You should have just bought it and built it yourself, at the end of the day its just a big lego kit! and you could have shimmed it and saved hundreds! I did!
I think you miss the point of my videos Russ. It's not necessarily about the products but more about their shit customer service, brazen money grabbing and the fact they hide behind a wall of terms & conditions.
But! For the record there are many customers who complain about missing, broken or warped components. It's a recurring theme and therefore the products are on occasion sub-standard.
I ask you what type of situations arise when you get a combination of sub-standard product and shit customer service.
You wouldn't be saying this if you'd been on the other end of things.
And for the record, despite the cost it's 100 times safer to have Dunster's own team build the log cabin because you're not left in the shit when items are missing or warped (ie. they had to at least leave me with a built cabin)
Nothing wrong with dunster. Found them helpful. You should have got a better builder to do the base. Send him the bill!
You reckon?
So what about the fact the summerhouse is up (built by Dunster) and yet 3 years on we have doors that don't shut, windows with handles fallen off, gaps appearing between the timbers, and water pissing in through not only the corners but also the numerous knots in the wood!?
Why wouldn't you build it yourself its easy
Terrible company. Don't buy from dunster !!!!