FAQs

It is very important that the base you afford your building is firm, level, well drained and is able to accommodate the size of your building as the base is an important part for a long lasting building.

Timber Sheds: We recommend for smaller sheds a firm and level concrete base or paving slabs with good drainage. For larger sheds we would recommend a concrete base. There are some products which have a ‘portabase’ as an option which means you do not have to prepare either a concrete or paving slabs base. The portabase is easy to construct and once constructed you will then assemble the sheds directly on top. There are spikes provided with the portabase to allow a very slight adjustment where the ground is not quite level. We do not supply the portabase option on our larger sheds or Professional sheds as the weight of these buildings are not suitable for this type of base. You can request guidance for preparing a base from our Customer Care Team.

Summerhouses: We recommend for smaller summerhouses a firm and level concrete base or paving slabs with good drainage. For larger summerhouses we would recommend a concrete base. There are some products which have a ‘portabase’ as an option which means you do not have to prepare either a concrete or paving slabs base. The portabase is easy to construct and once constructed you will then assemble the summerhouse directly on top. There are spikes provided with the portabase to allow a very slight adjustment where the ground is not quite level. We do not supply the portabase option on our larger summerhouses or our Goodwood Gold summerhouses as the weight of these buildings are not suitable for this type of base. You can request guidance for preparing a base from our Customer Care Team.

Log Cabin: As these buildings are extremely heavy we would always recommend a concrete base. We have guidelines available on “How to Prepare a Concrete Base” which you can request from our Customer Care Team.

Metal Sheds: We recommend either a concrete base or paving slabs. There are many metal sheds on our website which have a floor option which will not require you to prepare a base of either concrete or paving slabs. Flooring options are not available on our larger metal sheds due to their weight. We have guidelines available on “How to Prepare a Base”. You can request this from our Customer Care Team.

Plastic Shed: There are some plastic sheds which are supplied with a floor or a floor option. Otherwise we recommend either a concrete base or paving slabs. We have guidelines available on “How to Prepare a Base”. You can request this from our Customer Care Team.

Playhouses: We recommend for our playhouses a firm and level concrete base or paving slabs with good drainage. For larger playhouses we would recommend a concrete base. There are some products which have a ‘portabase’ as an option which means you do not have to prepare either a concrete or paving slabs base. The portabase is easy to construct and once constructed you will then assemble the playhouse directly on top. There are spikes provided with the portabase to allow a very slight adjustment where the ground is not quite level. We do not supply the portabase option on our larger playhouses as the weight of these buildings are not suitable for this type of base. You can request guidance for preparing a base from our Customer Care Team.

Please contact us straight away. A manufacturing or delivery issue may exist of which we're unaware.

Timber Sheds: All our timber sheds are supplied with a floor, roofing felt and glazing as standard as well as all the hardware.

Log Cabins: All our log cabins are supplied with a floor, roofing felt, glazing and hardware as standard. The only exception is the Bradenham (garage) and the Bere (hot tub cabin) which are not supplied with a floor as standard. There is however the option to purchase a floor.

Metal Sheds: It is standard for metal sheds not to be supplied with a floor, as they are usually constructed on a firm and level base of either concrete or paving slabs. We give you the option to purchase a floor.

Plastic Sheds: The majority of our plastic sheds are supplied with a floor. Where a floor is not supplied as standard we give you the option to purchase a floor.

There are three types of wall claddings used on timber wooden sheds. This section intends to outline the benefits of all three cladding so you’ll be able to choose your shed with confidence.

Overlap: Overlap is exactly that, each of the horizontal boards overlaps each other and is nailed to vertical bearers. Even though this style of shed is in our ‘Pricewise’ range it still provides a perfectly stable and secure structure but it is not as strong as a shiplap tongue and groove or tongue and groove building. Overlap sheds lend themselves well to smaller garden sheds.

Tongue and Groove (Shiplap): The tongue and groove wall cladding are made up of boards which interlock this benefits the sheds with a stronger and more durable build as the locking together gives a tighter grip. This wall cladding has all the same characteristics of the Tongue and Groove with one special feature that being a lip between each individual board that helps to prevent rainwater from getting in to the wood panels. This lip promotes the quicker run off of water thus helping to dry the shed quicker after exposure from the rain and helps to protect you shed from water damage. It is the interlocking of the boards which makes them stronger than overlap design. You’ll find Shiplap Tongue and Groove sheds in both our ‘Popular’ and ‘Professional’ ranges. A good choice if you are looking for a heavy duty shed and a more secure shed.

Tongue & Groove: The tongue and groove wall cladding is interlocking boards which connect like wooden and laminate flooring. Like the shiplap tongue and groove its construction provides a stronger and more durable build. Again, the Tongue and Groove sheds are stronger than overlap sheds. You’ll find the tongue and groove sheds in our ‘Popular’ range of sheds. A good choice if you are looking for a heavy duty shed and a more secure shed.

You will find that our timber products are either dip treated for transportation and storage purposes or pressure treated (with the exception of Log cabins). Please check the specification box on each product for further information on the finish of the product.

With any of our Goodwood Professional Sheds, Goodwood Gold Summerhouse, Log Cabins (except our corner log cabins) and our Metal fencing we can make to whatever size you require. There is a ‘Tab’ on the relevant product page which gives you more information on this service.

Again with any of our Goodwood Professional Sheds, Goodwood Gold Summerhouse and Log Cabins (except our corner log cabins) we can design to whatever size you require. There is a ‘Tab’ on the relevant product page which gives you more information on this service.

Timber Sheds - There is a range of standard 'windowless' sheds or any professional shed can be ordered without windows at no extra cost by selecting the 'no windows' option. 

Timber Sheds – You will find on the individual product page that if the picture is showing the windows on the left hand side that you will be able to locate the windows on the right hand side and vice versa.

Timber Sheds:
Dip-Treated - These sheds are pre-treated this is to protect the product during the manufacturing and delivery process. You must treat the shed with a high quality water based treatment on all surfaces either before or after construction, and as often as the treatment being used recommends. Please refer to the care and maintenance section in the assembly instructions which will be delivered with your product for further information.

Please Note: The 10 year anti-rot guarantee will only be valid if the product is treated in the first instance and annually thereafter or as often as the treatment used recommends. Failure to treat the product as recommended will null and void the guarantee

Pressure Treated – Sheds which are supplied pressure treated mean low if any maintenance at all. This special treatment is forced deep into the timber to ensure every part of the timber is protected. Whilst you do not have to treat pressure treated timber some customers like to personalise their building with a colour of their choice, you can then use a water based coloured treatment.

Summerhouses:
Dip-Treated - These summerhouses are pre-treated this is to protect the product during the manufacturing and delivery process. You must treat the summerhouse with a high quality water based treatment on all surfaces either before or after construction, and as often as the treatment being used recommends. Please refer to the care and maintenance section in the assembly instructions which will be delivered with your product for further information.

Please Note: The 10 year anti-rot guarantee will only be valid if the product is treated in the first instance and annually thereafter or as often as the treatment used recommends. Failure to treat the product as recommended will null and void the guarantee

Log Cabins: We do not supply log cabins pre-treated. As the timber used on our Log cabins is kiln dried, a process that reduces moisture content, this drying ensures that all wood is reasonably sized and capable of locking together tightly and securely. If timber was to be pre-treated at this stage each piece would absorb varying amounts of treatment and drying times would be inconsistent. The treatment would cause the timber to expand to different sizes and this interaction from the treatment at this stage would prevent the interlocking log walls from fitting together tightly and securely, if at all.

Please note: We supply pressure treated bearers on all our log cabins.

Metal Sheds: Our metal sheds are constructed from hot dipped galvanised steel throughout. It is this process which ensures no cracks, rust and leaves you with a maintenance free metal shed. Perfect for coastal areas as the protection against rust is able to stand up to the high salt content of the atmosphere. This type of construction presents you a maintenance free storage solution.

Plastic sheds: These are manufactured from high quality PVC that is fire retardant and weather resistant. This type of construction presents you a maintenance free storage solution.

Playhouses:
Dip-Treated - These playhouses are pre-treated this is to protect the product during the manufacturing and delivery process. You must treat the playhouse with a high quality water based treatment on all surfaces either before or after construction, and as often as the treatment being used recommends. Please refer to the care and maintenance section in the assembly instructions which will be delivered with your product for further information.

Please Note: The 10 year anti-rot guarantee will only be valid if the product is treated in the first instance and annually thereafter or as often as the treatment used recommends. Failure to treat the product as recommended will null and void the guarantee.

Fencing:
Dip-Treated – Fencing which is supplied dip-treated means it is pre-treated, this is to protect the product during the manufacturing and delivery process. You must treat your fencing with a high quality water based treatment on all surfaces within 3 months of construction.

Please Note: The 10 year anti-rot guarantee will only be valid if the product is treated in the first instance and annually thereafter or as often as the treatment used recommends. Failure to treat the product as recommended will null and void the guarantee. As part of this guarantee the product must not be directly placed on the ground but must be used in conjunction with either pressure treated or concrete gravel boards.

Pressure Treated: Fencing which is supplied pressure treated mean low if any maintenance at all. This special treatment is forced deep into the timber to ensure every part of the timber is protected. Whilst you do not have to treat pressure treated timber some customers like to personalise their fencing with a colour of their choice, you can then use a water based coloured treatment.
Please Note: The 15 year anti-rot guarantee. As part of this guarantee the product must not be directly placed on the ground but must be used in conjunction with either pressure treated or concrete gravel boards.

Garden Structures: All our garden structures are supplied pressure treated which means little or no maintenance for you. This special treatment is forced deep into the timber to ensure every part of the timber is protected. Whilst you do not have to treat pressure treated timber some customers like to personalise their garden structure with a colour of their choice, you can then use a water based coloured treatment. We also supply garden structures which are pressured treated and painted too.

Whilst our buildings are easy to assemble you can opt for our Installation Service. Installation is offered on all sheds, log cabins, playhouses, metal sheds and plastic sheds. This installation service is offered throughout the majority of the UK Mainland. Installation is by one of our manufacturers experienced assembly teams. If this is not displayed as an option on the product page, please call our Sales Team on 01159 659 900 for a quote. Choosing this option will increase your lead-time by up to 15 days working days. Please Note: where the item is to be constructed and there is an existing building you’ll be responsible for the dismantling and removal of this prior to the installation.

Sorry, the driver is not insured to take your order through your property.

This does depend on what level of DIY skills you have and more than one person is needed to construct our products. It can take for one of our smaller sheds from half a day to a weekend for a larger log cabin. Installing fencing will depend on the ground and how complex the area is.

With our varied range of products you generally need basic tools. The instructions you’ll be supplied with lists the tools required.

If for some reason you are unhappy with the product and wish to return it, please email into us within 14 days to cancel your order. In the majority of cases a full refund will be issued, there are some products where we reserve the right to charge for collection of the item. Personalised orders cannot be cancelled. Please refer to our Terms and Conditions for items which cannot be cancelled.

Please note: Items must be returned in the same condition that they arrived in to be eligible for a full refund.

Please contact elbec within 7 days of delivery of the item by email and we will arrange with our manufacturer for the parts to be raised and delivered to you as quickly as possible.

Whilst we can provide you with generic information on this section, we strongly advise you to seek professional advise and if in doubt to check with your local planning authority as local authorities can differ and change rules without notice.

All our Shire Log Cabins and professional buildings are made to order. As well as our extensive number of sizes you have the option to have the buildings designed by you from scratch. Just some examples of how you can change these buildings to suit; a different size, additional doors, room partition(s), add an annexe, change positioning of windows and removal of the floor, to change the window and door style to another style you have seen on another Shire Log Cabin, there are endless options, you can obtain a FREE quote or further advice on our made to measure and design service by simply calling our Sales Team on freephone 0800 019 3865 or 0115 965 9900 or email in to: customercare@elbec.co.uk.

Our Metal Railings & Fencing are all made to the specific heights as advertised on the product page and unfortunately this measurement cannot be changed, we can however offer a cut down service to amend the width measurement to your requirement. Please contact one of our sales team for a quotation.

This typically happens when the timber has been wet and dries out too quickly. Usually the panels will go back to normal when the humidity rises. Hosing down the panels can mitigate the effect in dry conditions (but always check there is not a hosepipe ban in operation)

Timber is a natural product and is subject to movement and weathering as it seasons. It is not uncommon for small splits to occur in timber when drying and are known as 'shakes' and do not normally affect the integrity of the structure.

On our Sheriff and non branded fencing there is a Saturday delivery service to certain postal codes. You can use the postcode checker on these product pages to check Saturday availability for your postal code.

Processing of your order: Your order will be processed usually the same day, or next working day if placed in the evening, during the weekend or a Bank Holiday.

I want to change my order: Please contact our Customer Care Team who will be happy to help. You can change your order before it has been loaded/despatched. This does not apply to personalised/bespoke orders.

Login-Register: When you create an account with us you can view and amend details by clicking on the “Login-Register” which is located at the top of the screen on the right hand side.

Sales and Marketing Calls: A concern of many people who generally shop on line is how their information is used, with elbec we can assure all our customers that your details will only be used for the sole purpose of processing your order, unless you have selected to join our Newsletter. We do NOT sell or pass on any of our customer’s details to any third party.

Completely, you can be confident that elbec have created a 100% secure shopping environment by using a third party payment gateway.

This web site uses 128-bit SSL (Secured Sockets Layer) encryption to ensure that no-one can see your credit/debit card details and thereby protects you against credit card fraud. All transactions take place via secure phone lines and behind a firewall, preventing your personal information being visible in any way to the outside world. Your order is transferred to our secure server. Most browsers will show this extra security by displaying a lock icon to confirm that you are in a secure area.

We are also a member of the ‘Trust Shops’ Organisation which carries the leading ‘Trustmark’ for online shops with integrated buyer protection. All their members are required to fulfil strict criteria. They are solely there to protect all our customers. They regularly audit their members to ensure they observe commercial law and to ensure their IT systems are robust.

Our FREE delivery applies to the vast majority of the UK Mainland. We do our utmost to try and provide free delivery there are some areas that may attract an additional delivery surcharge. The postcodes affected will vary across products. Please refer to the individual product pages for details of any delivery surcharges that may be due.

The individual product pages show the delivery timescale for that product, this may vary according to the product and the time of year. We do offer our timescales in good faith from our manufacturer’s you may also find that some deliveries arrive sooner than stated. Variations to this time do apply in extenuating circumstances. We will endeavor to contact you at the soonest possible time to arrange the next available delivery date for you.

There are some products where we do deliver to some of these areas, where we deliver to these areas the information appears on the individual product page. Where no information is offered for deliveries to these areas, it is always worth emailing or calling us to check if this is possible.

This will depend on the product you have ordered you will be contacted with a delivery date by either: telephone, text or email. This information is supplied on the individual product page. You can of course change your delivery date if the first date offered is not suitable but you must contact us before the item has been loaded and/or despatched.

Yes, on our Sheriff products and non branded fencing (there may be a few postal codes where this is not possible). You will need to select the appropriate date on the individual product page.

Yes you can pick your own delivery date:

Sheriff and non branded fencing products:
You have the option to request a delivery date on individual product pages. Please ensure your chosen date appears on your confirmation email.

Shire and Goodwood products:
1-2 working days after placing your order you will be contacted with an automated telephone message or text message requesting you log into the ‘Booking’ website, you will be prompted to input your order number and postcode to access the system where you can go on to choose your delivery date.

All other products:
A delivery date is offered either by text, telephone or email. If the date offered is not suitable you’ll be able to change the delivery date to suit you. Also should you change your mind about the delivery date offered you’ll be able to change the date but you must contact us before the item has been loaded and/or despatched.

A quick bit of information about Elbec, we have selected the best garden products from the top 3 manufacturers in the UK to save you time shopping around. You can access on line 24 hours a day 7 days a week all of our products and with peace of mind as your privacy and security is important to us or you can place your order with one of our helpful sales advisors.

Home page: You can access our Home Page at any time by clicking on the elbec logo on the top left hand side of the screen.

Navigation bar: Near the top of the screen directly under the elbec logo are the "departments" of our online shop. If you hover over one of these a drop-down menu appears showing further product categories within that department. Clicking on one of these categories takes you to a new page containing all sections and associated products. The menu (filters) on the left of the screen will give you more refined options.

Search box: Towards the top of the screen and in the centre you’ll find the search box. You can search by the product’s name or product code. Our search facility works by checking your search term against all the product titles on our website and will then shows products on the page that may match your query. The search facility will show similar relevant terms; ie a search for 8 x 6 sheds will show all wooden sheds, metal sheds and plastic sheds in that size. A generic term like wooden sheds will return far too many results. From the search results page, you'll be able to refine your search by using the filter on the left hand side. You can also sort your results by price, name, newness or popularity. If you can't find what you're looking for, try browsing using the navigation bar at the top of the page.

VAT on products: All the prices shown on our website are inclusive of VAT.

Payment methods accepted: We accept most Debit Cards, Credit Cards, PayPal, BACS and cheque.

Basket: The basket is located at the top right hand side of your screen. The basket symbol displays the number of items and the total value of your basket. If you click on the "basket symbol" link, you can view your basket, and you will be able to remove items or change quantities. Also by clicking on the “basket symbol” this takes you straight to our secure checkout area.

Placing your order: You have now decided on the product(s) you wish to buy and would now like to make the purchase. You can either place your order online or you can call our Sales Team. You will now need to click on the “basket symbol” this will take you straight to our secure checkout area. You will have the choice to either register with us so that you can obtain your information for future orders to make shopping faster or checkout through our “Guest Checkout” where no registration is required.

At the checkout you’ll be able to review and amend your order details.

Confirming your order: When you’re ready to complete your order, click the ‘place order’ button. Once the payment has been completed you will receive two email confirmations; one from WorldPay confirming the payment has been taken and the second email will be from elbec confirming what you have ordered and about the delivery details for your order. You will receive further correspondence either by email, text or telephone from our supplier/manufacturer regarding the delivery of your product.

You can change your delivery date but you must contact us before the item has been loaded and/or despatched if you wish to change your delivery date.

Our delivery service is a kerbside delivery only, we typically plan to deliver to the front garden or drive (ie a safe location adjacent to the main roadway, but off any public highways). Health and Safety and insurance liabilities prevent us from entering your property further. All our products are delivered flat packed ready for self-assembly. Due to the size of some of our buildings, some panels may not fit through a house or garage door.

Yes we can deliver to an allotment. Our delivery service is still kerbside delivery only, (ie a safe location adjacent to the main roadway, but off any public highways). Health and Safety and insurance liabilities prevent us from entering the allotment. All our products are delivered flat packed ready for self-assembly. You will need to ensure that you are able to take the product to the desired location on the allotment.

The vehicles are usually flatbed lorries about the same size as a Dustbin cart. Please ensure you advise us if there are any access issues to your property. There are occasions when our manufacturer can arrange for a smaller vehicle.

No, the drivers will not request any help with the unloading of your order.

We would prefer for you to be present to sign for your order, as this allows you to check the product is what you have ordered and to allow you a quick cursory check of the product. If you will not be available on the day of delivery, you will need to either email us confirming that your order can be left and that you accept liability, or you can leave a signed and dated note in a prominent position for the driver, advising that the order can be left and that you accept liability. In both instances your order can only be delivered kerbside. (ie a safe location adjacent to the main roadway, but off any public highways).

As we use different manufacturers who have many warehouses when ordering more than one item this may mean that the items are delivered at different times. Generally if you order from the same branded named these will arrive at the same time but if they are different branded names they will be separate deliveries. On the product page and during the checkout stage you’ll be supplied with the information on how the product you’ve order will be delivered.

Yes, we understand that there are occasions that this needs to happen.

We can postpone your delivery date. You’re able to do this at the time of order or you can drop us an email once you have ordered. You will find that with most of our products you are in control of your own delivery date.