Our Anti Rot Guarantees
Our pressure treated and composite timber buildings come with a 15-year anti-rot guarantee, providing that they comply with our specific guidelines that will ensure your product qualifies. The guarantee doesn’t cover any splits or warping that can occur naturally over time or any other damage caused to the building that is not due to general rot or decay.
For your building to comply, a pressure treated building must be treated within 1 month of delivery to maintain the guarantee and it must be fully treated with an appropriate high-quality wood preservative. The wood preservative must also be applied annually where proof of purchase of the annual treatment must be shown.
For our pressure treated buildings, if any of the timber is cut, drilled, or notched during assembly, then it must be sealed with an approved cut-end treatment and treated annually where proof of purchase of the treatment must be shown. With pressure treated timber, it must not have any wood preservative applied to it until the building is fully dry, which would be at least 1 month after rain to prevent trapping any moisture inside the timber, which would also void the guarantee.
For our composite timber buildings, the building must also be treated annually with a suitable high-quality wood preservative, which would need to be applied to the composite timber cladding and also any untreated or pressure treated timber parts. The treatment will need to be applied annually and proof of purchase of the annual treatment must be shown.
To ensure that the timber is not exposed to any moisture buildup inside the building, all glazing must be fully sealed, inside and out, with silicone or an appropriate watertight sealant. If our uPVC upgrade has been purchased, then the uPVC units must also be fully sealed with silicone or an appropriate watertight sealant on the inside and out to ensure that the building is fully weatherproof.
The OSB (Orientated Strand Board) material used in our OSB roofs and OSB floors is not pressure treated and is not covered by our anti-rot guarantee. Our OSB material is supplied without any form of treatment and it is the responsibility of the customer to ensure that the OSB material is protected from dampness and moisture buildup to keep the building maintained. Any faults, damage, deterioration, or reduced structural integrity of the building as a result of any rot, decay, or moisture buildup from the OSB material is not covered by the anti-rot guarantee and product warranty.
The OSB roof sheets must not become exposed to the elements due to not keeping the building maintained, not following the assembly instructions correctly, or any misuse of the building. Any damage, deterioration, or faults to the OSB material and building as a result of the above, is not covered by the anti-rot guarantee. The roof covering material must be maintained and kept weatherproof to protect the OSB roof from being exposed.
The OSB floor must also not be exposed to damp weather for any extended periods other than those that are necessary for the everyday use of the building to prevent any moisture buildup, rot, and decay. Adequate storage used inside the building must not retain moisture, due to its material or contents to prevent any moisture buildup. Any other contents of the building must not retain moisture to prevent damage to the OSB material. Any damage, rot, and decay caused by the buildup of moisture from the contents of the building will void the product warranty and is not covered by the anti-rot guarantee.
Our 15 year anti-rot guarantee will also be voided if any of the following are not adhered to.
- The building must be assembled on a firm and level base made from a suitable material that has adequate drainage to prevent any moisture buildup and pooling of water.
- It must be assembled correctly according to the assembly instructions. Please contact our product support team for any advice or assistance if you are unsure to help prevent any damage to your building.
- It must not be modified or customised in any way as this could affect the integrity of the structure and could cause moisture ingress.
- The building must have had roof felting or a suitable roof covering material applied correctly that is not damaged that could allow any moisture into the building.
- Has not been in contact with an exterior wall or trees that may allow any moisture to penetrate the timber.
- The building must have been installed with adequate clearance on all sides to allow for annual treatment to be applied and to prevent any moisture buildup.
- The person claiming is the original purchaser of the building.
Due to the nature of the timber used in the manufacture of the building, there are characteristics that are not covered by the guarantee as minor defects will occur naturally in the material and are also due to changes in the external environment and won’t affect the integrity of the building.
These are:
- Splits in the timber that may occur naturally or due to damage from the assembly.
- Warping of the timber, as this will occur naturally over time.
- Chips in the timber from knot holes, as these can be repaired easily using non-toxic wood glue.
- Sap residue from timber as this occurs naturally.
- Colouration of the timber, where pressure treated timber will slightly change in colour over time.
- Gaps caused by the expansion and contraction of the timber throughout the seasons. In hotter months the timber will contract as its moisture content decreases, which can leave small gaps. When the timber expands in the wetter months any gaps will close back up again.
Any claims on faults upon inspection of the delivery of your building must be reported immediately before completion of the building assembly to allow the replacement of parts or any missing items to be arranged to remedy any issues. The building must also be checked regularly for debris and general maintenance made of the location. Any external changes around the building’s location must be kept within the guidelines as this could cause damage to the building. The minimum clearance must also be kept around the building to remain compliant with the guarantee terms.
- Types of Guarantee. We pride our products and offer two types of Anti-Rot Guarantees. Any product covered with the Anti-Rot Guarantee will display one of the following logos showing the length of guarantee that applies.
- 10 year warranty applies to Standard “dip” treated products
- 15 Year Warranty applies to Pressure Treated Products
- Anti-Rot treatments. Our anti-rot protection processes guard against fungal decay and insect attack. However, wood is a natural product and the guarantee does not cover the movement, warping, or splitting of timber products over time.
- Maintaining the validity of your guarantee. To ensure that your guarantee remains valid, you must:
- The product build instructions which are supplied with each building should be adhered to comply with the conditions of the guarantee;
- If any part of pre-treated timber is cut, notched, or drilled then an approved cut-end treatment should be applied to comply with the conditions of the guarantee;
- A suitable timber treatment should be applied to pressure treated products at the time of the first build and then applied every 12 months to maintain the appearance of the timber and to comply with the conditions of the guarantee.
- Pressure treated products are treated at our facility prior to delivery and will require treating annually after assembly with suitable exterior wood treatment. The application and/or mixing guidelines provided by the manufacturer of the timber treatment should be followed.
- Actions by you that would mean your guarantee is invalid. The guarantee is invalid if:
- If the building has been customised or modified in any way this includes but is not limited to electrical adaptations, the fixing of personal items or furniture to the inside of the building or any exterior adaptations;
- The person claiming is not the original purchaser of the building;
- The building has not been treated annually or as per the treatment manufacturers instructions;
- The building has not been erected on a suitable sized flat, solid level concrete/slab base or placed on pressure treated bearers and it is found to be water/moisture is rising from the base;
- The building has not been erected, fitted, or installed correctly;
- In cases of general wear and tear, misuse, or third party damage;
- The building is or has been placed without adequate clearance, for the application of the annual treatment, of any obstruction (walls, trees, fences etc) which can allow moisture to penetrate the timber.
- Any material that is OSB (Oriented strand board) must be protected from the weather as is not a waterproof material;
- What is not covered under the anti-rot guarantees. The following items are not covered under your guarantee:
- Warping cracking or splitting is not covered. Warping/cracking or splitting of timber can occur with the product being a natural material.
- Mineral Felt roofing is the standard option we provide on all of our buildings. In time the felt will deteriorate and need replacing. This can be caused by but is not limited to, weather conditions, movement in the building, and animal damage. We recommend our EPDM Rubber Roof product for lifelong roof cover protection.
- Felt tiles are a great addition to your building. They increase the aesthetic look of the building. However, adverse weather conditions can cause the tiles to loosen/come out of place.
- The pressure treatment process offered by us is long-life protection against rot and decay and is not a weatherproof system. Your garden building will require protection from UV light and water penetration, therefore a further preservative treatment is required. We do recommend that a weatherproof coating is applied as soon as possible but no later than 12 weeks after installation and then at regular intervals to increase the life of the building. Please follow the manufacturer’s recommendations as to when to apply the product.