Gabriel Ash Reviews 232

We ordered a Grow&Store combination shed/greenhouse in July 2020, knowing that the pandemic meant we would have to wait months for it to arrive. During that time the contact we had with Gabriel Ash staff was always helpful and informative. As promised, once the company started making our order the process followed the given timetable. The delivery was made as arranged; care was taken to ensure the parts were not damaged and were carefully stored. The team which erected the shed/greenhouse arrived promptly a few days later and efficiently put it in place.
We are very pleased with it, both the design and the quality. It has been well worth the wait of nearly a year.

Unfortunately I am sharing the same experience as Mr Andrew Dodd below except that my greenhouse was purchased in 2006 and the glass has now started to fall out. On Good Friday morning I went to the greenhouse only to find a pile of shattered glass on the floor outside the door. The pane had fallen out from above the door due to the door lintel having rotted. I could turn it in my hands. The corner posts are rotting at their base, I have already had to renew the door sill - it was rotten, and repair a window. I have tried to contact Gabriel Ash on the number they list on their website only to be put through to a German speaking voice mail, needless to say I understood nothing. I have e-mailed them but no reply as yet. If you are contemplating purchasing a Gabriel Ash greenhouse then BEWARE it does not last as long as they say it does. When I purchased mine I was told, "you will get 30 years out of it". I've managed 15 with the prospect of either taking it down altogether or patch repairing it, if that is possible, what I don't want is shattered glass all over my borders. I'm beginning to think that I should have bought a good quality aluminium frame greenhouse and not the timber from Gabriel Ash. I await their response but if Mr Dodd's experience is anything to go by I'm not holding my breath.

The shed is beautiful. Very well crafted and we are delighted with it. However the process of ordering and getting information post ordering has been frustrating and time-consuming and left us at points wondering if we had done the right thing. Changes in staff and the Covid situation clearly were normal and unprecedented respectively but given this we would have expected more communication rather than less to let us know what was happening to our order. It took nearly 11 months in total. When we did call, it was hard to place the order, we were repeatedly ask to confirm details and we did this in writing and verbally only to asked again and again and again leaving us wondering if staff actually made any notes or actually talked to each other. This was all completely confirmed when despite having repeatedly asked for and seemingly had it acknowledged the wrong door was supplied. I would like to say I was surprised. I wasn’t. Staff seemed unclear what was happening and we were often left on hold for long periods when calling, this changed surprisingly when it came to asking us for the final bill when they did get in touch to tell us the shed would be another week late. Overall having spent a large amount on this I would have expected superlative customer service but I have had better communication and information when buying something for £1.99 from ebay. Would I order again or recommend based on this experience – No, as I say the shed is beautiful but was it worth the hassle and uncertainty and lack of service? Up to the day it was installed I had misgivings it would be right and … it wasn’t right. This company is unfortunately a shambles.

I was very shocked when I asked for a quotation for a greenhouse. The price was astronomical and they wanted 50% up front. With nearly a year for delivery.
I used to work for this company and this service is diabolical.

50% deposit paid no communication for ~9 ETA following a call next year

Reviewing the greenhouse itself is impossible because 8 months on from ordering and paying 50% deposit on Black Friday 2019 I am still waiting for delivery and installation. So that leaves customer service.... originally promised delivery Jan/Feb but mid Feb I was advised the powers that be at Gabriel Ash had decided to move their factory just when the majority of greenhouse owners plan to sow seeds. Next promise was April/May but then Covid-19 got in the way. Surprisingly not a word during that period when other companies that had orders to carry out work here kept me up to date from the beginning and throughout. Finally a long email extolling the virtues of the company and a vague apology for the delay. A call from customer service May 28th looking through orders I should receive my greenhouse July/Aug but past experience told me I could certainly forget this month.
And so I wait while Gabriel Ash sits on over £3,000 of my money!

our upright cold frame is a nightmare. On completion the wrong parts were supplied staging missing impossible to fit doors on sliding rail. It took five weeks to resolve, when new sliding rail arrived doors still would not fit. Many phone calls emails no result. In the end I had to modify the frame my self to be able to fit the doors. Nice red cedar looks good but BEWARE THE COMPANY IS GOING TO POT.

I ordered a Classic 12x12 cedar greenhouse on 6 Dec 2109. It was explained that delivery would be may/June 2020. despite lockdown the greenhouse duly arrived on June 6th. Richard and Carl the installers were efficient and polite and the job was done by lunchtime. the instructions for the greenhouse base were quite clear and I was able to lay it quite easily with the help of a friend. The structure and finish of the greenhouse is of the highest quality. my only regret is that I did not buy one earlier.

I ordered a very expensive greenhouse and was given “a hard sell”to buy extras which would then be fitted while the greenhouse was installed.

Each of the companies put forward by GA to instal the concrete base ignored my many emails and so I lost my installation date.

Poor communication about the rescheduled delivery and installation date.

Had been told by sales that I could decide where the staging would go but by the time I had come back from the school run it was already decided upon by the installers.

Checked in with installers as I was leaving for the 10 min home school run to be told that some bits hadn’t been sent so couldn’t be installed. When I returned from school installers were driving away and all rubbish was left in the partly installed greenhouse.

Well, that was over a year ago and trying to a) figure out what parts were missing and b) trying to get those parts delivered have been a nightmare.....

The inside of the greenhouse has become wet and I am not sure if the installers failed to put it together properly or as others have said on here wether they wood has not been treated properly but all items put inside for the Winter have been soaked.
The attached coldframe both leaked and filled up with rain water.
Finally got the blinds and heater delivered but then lockdown began. We have been told to shield ourselves due to underlying medical conditions so didn’t want the original installers back to fit the blinds and heater ect.

Still have parts missing but have been told by customer services that they have passed it to their solicitor as they have a term that all money is due not on fitting but when they deliver the parts...

Customer services have refused to allow me to communicate with their “superior” who deemed it should be passed to solicitors. Their solicitors have written to say I need to reply to GA and so we go round and round in circles.....

I am loathed to pay the balance of the order until I have all the parts of the order as I have no faith in the customer services of Gabriel Ash....

Beware this outfit...
They lie and do not do what they say they will do. This has happened three times now. Luke Smith, plus a George, plus another Luke all said they would 'look into' why I had not received my order and 'get back to me'.....not one of three did so. In the current call Luke put me on hold then cut me off after several minutes.
This company feels like a scam and I have notified my credit card company accordingly

I called Gabriel Ash in late Nov 2019, black Friday as I recall, spoke to a guy called Luke. Enquired about one of their units, which he then proceeded to quote me in dollars, huh? Then apologised, said he'd just come back from Oz. I said fine, happy to proceed, gave him my details and asked him to email me order confirmation. A few days later, no order confirmation so phoned and was told this would be with me shortly. Arrived in due course, address wrong so emailed back with correct details. 3 or 4 days later still no confirmation of receipt so emailed back to see if anyone at this company was actually alive and understood how to deal with customers. Receptionist sounded as if she was on valium. Eventually reached agreement that the unit would be delivered on the 8th Jan 2020 but already highly dubious due the flakiness of communications to date. Delivery date came and went and nothing. I thought I'd just leave it and see what happens. Eventually, Friday 24th Jan the courier arrives, no email or call to advise delivery, pure chance I was about. These people are a bunch of grade A amateurs. Their website goes on about how focussed they are on customer service but they haven't got a clue. They promise the earth and deliver zip. They are not cheap so you put your money down at your own risk. Avoid at all costs. Thank you.

Further to my earlier review “after my initial order” I am pleased to say Gabriel Ash got in touch with me, I now have the information I needed. I hope my amended review reflects that. But I’m still missing the down pipes for the gutters, so can’t attach a water butt, had nothing from Gabriel ash so have no idea if they’ll even turn up!!! Communication from this company is sadly non existent.

If you were doing a sales training course, a communication course, a workmanship course, a delivery course and a customer services course then you would put up all the emails from this company and do exactly the opposite.

Their lack of care is second to none and their inability to reply, chase up and do what they say is as bad as I’ve come across. Having worked in a distribution business shipping 100s of thousands of items I have never had any problems like these.

“.......you will never have to treat the wood if you don’t want to.”

“......you won’t have to deal with the tedious staining and protection you'll have to endure with most other timber garden sheds!”

Take these statements from the Gabriel Ash website at face value and you will live to regret it. I was gullible enough to do so, and now own a greenhouse riddled with hidden wet rot in key structural locations.

The oldest review for this company is dated February 2013, and almost without exception purchasers are delighted with their buildings, as I was when I purchased my 10’ X 8’ classic in the autumn of 2001. The cost then, excluding foundations and erection was a little under £3,100.
Last year, when the building was 16 years old, I discovered wet rot in three of the gable to eaves junctions. On stripping the building of all glazing bars and beads, and removing all the glass, concealed wet rot to a greater or lesser extent was found in every base rail to upright joint, in two cases having completely separated, and the base rail rotted through to the aluminium. Further rot was found in the base panels, and the joints in the base rail of one of the windows was at the point of separation, all of these defects being concealed and the extent of the problems only becoming apparent on dismantling, or thorough inspection.

I recently contacted the company, attaching a comprehensive series of photographs showing the decay, which I am happy for them to make available to anyone wishing to see them. Whilst I made no demands of them, realising that the building was outwith the guarantee period, I invited them to comment on their claims about the durability of their buildings, and requesting that they supply a small quantity of machined timber at cost to enable me to undertake repairs. After some delay, their operations manager replied stating that the building was out of the guarantee period, attaching a copy of their terms and conditions. The request for timber was ignored.
I then wrote to the managing director, who regretted the earlier dismissive tone from the company, and offering to supply timber at cost, although with me bearing the cost of delivery. I declined the offer, which I considered less than generous from a company I thought would be anxious to protect their reputation as the suppliers of high quality buildings.

The sole reason for my posting this review is to alert purchasers to be aware that if they do not take action the treat their building then it will rot. The Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA) classify Western Red Cedar as durable, with an expected life under normal exposure of between 15 and 20 years. Gabriel Ash offer you a guarantee of 10 years. Why? I suggest that a number of design faults predispose their buildings to premature rot. Unsealed joints, unprotected end grain, timber in close contact with other timber, glass, and aluminium leading to ingress of water through capillary action, where it will become trapped to provide ideal conditions for wet rot to establish once the natural oils in the timber have diminished with age. Sadly, you may have another problem: TRADA state that Westen Red Cedar is very difficult to treat when new, probably due to the presence of the timber's natural oils. You will therefore have to judge when your building will be receptive to treatment, but before rot sets in. In my experience this is likely to be after about 12 years, i.e. shortly after the expiry of the guarantee period. Again, and in my experience, you will need to strip the structure back to the bare skeleton, treat all vulnerable areas with preservative - I used a Sika water based product, and then treat the entire structure with a water repellent finish - I used Osmo u.v. protection oil.

Finally, don't expect any meaningful response from Gabriel Ash, who have declined to engage with me. You may also be aware that the company are proud to be the only manufacturer of greenhouses to be endorsed by the RHS. For its part, the RHS also declined to engage with me when suggesting that they might wish to review Gabriel Ash's assertions concerning the durability of their products.

I wish you luck with your purchases, and hope you are still enjoying them in 15 years time.

The glass house may be a little expensive for some but it is worth every penny. Excellent company with an excellent product.

Great product and easy to assemble even in the snow! Only slight niggle is one of the roof panel gives a slight gap letting rain in.

We bought an 'off the peg' cedar greenhouse which looks stylish in our garden. Well made and sturdy. From the ordering to the arrangement of delivery date was very straightforward. It was delivered on time by a driver who couldn't have been more helpful in unloading it to a suitable location. All staff were friendly and helpful. Our gardeners who erected it found the printed instructions comprehensive.

Very helpful phone conversation initially to establish the right model to buy after my previous greenhouse was destroyed in the latest hurricane. The greenhouse arrived within the stated timeframe and was relatively easy to assemble.
Down to 4 stars because I had difficulty in fitting one large pane of glass as the rebate wasn't quite large enough, resulting in the pane breaking into fragments. Thankfully, I was able to board up the section as it was under the staging by the door.