Gardman 8x6 Polycarbonate Greenhouse

I struggle to comprehend some of the negative reviews. This arrived promptly, well packaged and with all parts clearly labelled. The instructions are clear with text and diagrams. It says read all carefully beforehand and during construction - very good advice. OK it's a bit fiddly and you need to take your time and pay attention but it's not rocket science and when completed this is aesthetically pleasing and very sturdy. This is my 5th greenhouse and I can't fault it

Very dissapionted with the constant replacement of panels which pop out in relatively mild windy conditions even after replacing original thin panel clips with a better quality same design type, the greenhouse is anchored and fitted by a professional on a concrete base

Based on my own experience with this product over the last two years, I am surprised that as many as 35% seem satisfied with it. like many other customers, I have found that:

Assembly instructions are very poor

The quality of materials is inadequate

When assembled, it cannot withstand even a moderate wind

The door and panels are blown off and need refitted

The wire clips for securing the panels are dreadful

The roof vent is poor etc...

I know that £400 is not a lot to spend on a greenhouse but for that money, I still expect something a bit more robust that this. I will not be recovering and refitting any more panels as it isn't worth the bother. Instead it will be dismantled and dumped. It has turned out to be a pile of rickety, flimsy rubbish.

This cheap and nasty greenhouse came with poor assembly instructions and a complete lack of profile details to ensure you were fitting things the right way around. The polycarbonate panels were a nightmare to use due to the over-complicated fitting of trim edging pieces. I am a very experienced DIYer and offered to erect this greenhouse for my father in law. It's now taken 3 days to try to apply logic to where the instructions are wholly inadequate. Avoid this product at all costs.

Erected greenhouse in spring 2012 ,not easy but got there eventually , noticed couple of weeks ago several of the polycarbonate panels are full of holes and very brittle after 3 years ,rubbish quality .Have emailed Gardman 4 times and sent pictures with each email ,no reply. Have phoned every number at head office from customer service ,management training ,sales,exports,accounts,recruitment non answere a phone all go to recorded message .So far 10 messages have been left but no one rings back.If you are thinking of buying a gardman product my advice will be don't bother get another ,non can be as bad as these. The company i bought from won't do anything as the 12 month warranty is up. I have polycarbonate panels on my car port been on 20 years still as good as new ,greenhouse ones are rubbish.

Where to start? Lets knock off the Polycarbonate Glazing pack first;

1. No real sweat that the panels did not have their ID as per the instructions, would have helped though.

2. Profile Ends; why are they the same width as the panels they are supposed to 'slide' over? Left to work out that with considerable pressure you can force the thinner side over the panel, un-necessarily difficult! Nice slice cut to the palm of the hand, plenty of 'red stuff' as the End again popped off under hand pressure.

3. GLOVES AND GOGGLES recommended and NO Tools !! required. The googles are to stop the Spring Glazing Clips taking out your eye as you struggle to get them engaged to hold the panels into the frame. NO chance if you wear gloves. The ends of the wire clips push deep into the skin under your finger nails. Both my thumbs and index fingers have dried blood and are painful. I improvised by using a screwdriver with a notch in it to engage the clip behind the metal groove, but not before my thumbs were too painful to do anything other. How about telling us how to fit them!!

THE GREEN HOUSE CONSTRUCTION - NEVER HAVE I EVER USED SUCH TERRIBLE INSTRUCTIONS!!

1. WHY Plastic door base runners. Should be stronger. "ease the slider onto the bottom track" yes, ease it so it doesn't break, what a joke - one broke straight away - NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE.

2. Glazing Beading - why not put this bunch of knitting on a reel? So it doesn't kink, causing it not fit over the Glazing metal beading on the greenhouse frame.

3. The door seal, - "Note- Stretching can occur whilst fitting". NO stretching WILL occur and forcing the seal by pulling and pushing will try your patients to the limit.

4. Quality of nuts and bolts. So poor and WHY WHY isn't a tool provided to stop the bolt rotating when tightening the nut with the recently added cheap spanner? Why not provide a Box spanner to stop it rotating, it's not rocket science.

5. We are told to tighten all nuts and bolts. Then to mount it onto the Base Assembly and in Section Four of the instructions, told to undo the nuts at the bottom of the greenhouse corners and vertical glazing bars and fit the clips to secure the Base to the greenhouse. THE NUTS AND BOLTS STRIP OUT So cheap!

6. How about angling off some of the inner base sections so the diagonal supports can fit?

There is more, but why should I bother? How many manufactures of greenhouses get repeat customers? I am 60 years young, have had a career in the fire service, worked on farms and can turn my hand to most jobs, but these assembly instructions for the GARDMAN GREENHOUSE with POLYCARBONATE GLAZING has to be the most frustrating job I HAVE DONE FOR YEARS. Even the end caps and door slider stop are cheap. I suggest Gardman management sit down with some novice customers and take heed of what they say. Because if they don't they will soon be out of business with such bad reviews. Over to you Gardman ......

We bought one of these because they appeared to be good value. How wrong we were, there were pieces missing and the whole construction process was a nightmare. The instruction booklet was appalling a complete waste of time. Erecting the frame took forever the door came without runners and was v. flimsy. When if came to glazing the problems only became worse. In all it took us 4 days and lots of expletives before it was finished. I have put up a greenhouse twice the size in 2 days without the hastle we experienced here.

Am half way into building this greenhouse despite the worst instruction sheet I have had the misfortune to encounter. Having discovered that the front two front apex sections are the same and should be opposites to form the apex I noted the customer services number on the instructions to use "in case of difficulties" which went to an answering machine. Left a message to ring me back. After several attempts to speak with someone without success I contacted their Marketing Section who said he would put me through to customer services. I told him that numerous messages had already been left and he said he would get someone to ring me back. After this too failed to illicit any response I contacted their Media Section and asked them whether anyone actually answered their Customer Service number. She responded that I must have experienced difficulties and she would take my details and get someone to call me back - guess what? I'm still waiting!

I bought a 6 X 4 Greenhouse 6 years ago. It wasn't easy to put together at all but my husband and i managed it. The first wind blew most of the panes out!!Some of them we never found again - heaven knows what happened to them. I complained to Gardman and they sent me 4 replacement panels. This time I siliconed them in and put extra glazing clips in them, but the next wind blew them out again and moved the greenhouse off it's base. The next time i cemented the base to the ground and re-silconed the panes in and put even more clips on, but instead the door blew off and the wind got inside and still took about 6 of the panes out, two of them completely disappeared. I have now given up with this utter pile of rubbish. My advice to anyone is don't buy it unless your are going to set it up indoors where there isn't a breath of wind. My garden is small and quite sheltered - not on the top of the hill or in an exposed position.

We purchased the greenhouse late in 2013. It was difficult to erect and parts were missing. Some parts did not have the holes pre drilled and we had to re order. It was very difficult to put together. The door did not fit well and has gaps around it. The first sign of wind blew over half of the panes out. We are lucky we retrieved most of them; goodness knows the damage or injury it could have caused. We got in touch with Gardman and they recommended we buy the glass clips from B&Q as they were of a better quality. I mentioned that the panes did not stand up to the weather at all well; they suggested we use clear silicone under the panes. It does not bode well when they do not have faith in their own product. We have not even used the greenhouse; it stands in our garden with missing panes. What is the point of putting new ones in when you know the next gust of wind is going to blow them out again. I am getting in touch with the Citizens Advice about the sale of goods act to find out where we stand with a refund as I strongly believe the greenhouse is being miss sold. I strongly believe the greenhouse is being miss sold. This item is not good value for money and I would suggest you stay clear of this greenhouse and invest in a better quality one, I truly wish we had.