Best Summerhouse Manufacturers in Glasgow (Part 1)

Guess who’s back!!

This time we’re in Glasgow, to see what’s on offer when it comes to Timber Summerhouses in the Glasgow area.

Just like my other reviews, this is entirely my own professional opinion on who I think makes a decent Summerhouse. The research I have done is purely desktop and I use all the information that is available to me via the internet.

This is the same information that is available to anyone who wants to review Timber Summerhouses in the Glasgow area themselves.

THE RULES

1. We don’t talk about ourselves! Nope – this is not a sly skanky ad for Gillies and Mackay, we are not in this review. This article is for the greater good of the Shedlife world and to help you make the best buying decision for YOU, not me.
2. We try and match the size and style of each building reviewed per Summerhouse Manufacturer to keep it as fair as possible.
3. We search Google using the same search terms to ensure consistency in the results for the area in question, We do not review online-only companies or the paid ads.
4. The opinions in this blog are based on my own personal judgement. Looking at specification, price and service alone, I can then decide which Summerhouse Manufacturer would be the best option (in my opinion) and what I believe is important.

DISCLAIMER: If you do not want to know what my opinion is then you do not need to read this post. Simply close the window and get on with your life. 🙂

FIRST UP!

McCallum Timber Buildings

The first thing I notice about McCallum Timber Buildings is the copy on their website isn’t shit.

Most timber building company websites are jam-packed with ugly SEO, which makes it difficult to figure out what they’re saying!! McCallum’s site is basic but honest – I genuinely feel that this stands them in good stead when it comes to the customer choosing who to buy from.

McCallum are straight in with the explanation about Scandinavian/Russian wood – Arctic Circle origin, which is great to read. However, they could be more specific with what type, thickness and profile they’re using.

Looking at the pictures, and from what has been said on their Facebook page (their last post was in 2018), I can identify that they’re using 19mm thick tongue and groove log-shaped cladding. Although I can’t say 100%, I’m pretty sure it’s whitewood they’re using.

I’m personally not keen on the log cladding, as its shallow meet between each board isn’t, in my mind, good enough to streamline the water off the walls. I prefer weatherboard, which allows the water to gather pace to get off the wood as quickly as possible. Log cladding is an upward struggle with a clear divet to rest.

It’s really hard to tell what framing size McCallum Timber Buildings are using. It looks to me like 70mm x 40mm which would be pretty decent if it is redwood.

When looking for prices, McCallum Timber Buildings let us know they have a set price list, but it’s not on their website.

Normally I’m all-out furious with shed companies that don’t disclose their pricing!! It’s insane. That’s the first thing we want to know, right?

BUT, one thing I’ve noticed, over the hundreds of websites I’ve reviewed, is that the websites themselves aren’t that great. Tells me they probably don’t have the budget or skills to be able to do website stuff. This then means they don’t want to digitalise their pricing as they’ll not be able to update it.

Makes sense, yeah?

Nevertheless, we still want to know.

So here’s what I’ve found from McCallum Timber Buildings:

McCallum Timber Buildings have stated the price and description which is perfect for getting at least an idea of their pricing range. The cost for the building pictured seems fair. It’s a substantially large building and they’re disclosing that the customer supplied the windows and doors, which obviously has an effect on the price, as well as letting us know this is possible.

The customer service aspect of their build and service is detailed in their handful of reviews on Facebook – honest reviews, not paid for – and tells us they’re a decent firm to work with. There’s one piddly review on Google giving them 1 star which is not cool as there’s nothing to tell us why.

All in all McCallum Timber Buildings have faired well.

NEXT!

Clyde Valley Sheds

Hiya Clyde Valley Sheds. I know you’ve been disappointed before about NOT being reviewed so I’m hopefully going to do the Sheddy world justice in this article.

First off Clyde Valley are doing their absolute best and we have to assume that that is the case for all shed manufacturers. I’ve had a good look at their site, the reviews and Facebook and without a doubt, their customer service is spot on.

Unfortunately, the information on specification and price is very limited. Their site is an SEO mash-up and if you’re reading this Clyde Valley Sheds – you deserve your money back from whoever butchered your website.

We know that you make garden sheds, kennels, children’s playhouses, summerhouses and timber garden buildings – that’s exactly why we’re on your website. So, you don’t need to tell us that 15 times in the same paragraph.

The reason I could not include Clyde in my previous post was because they have no full specification, no pricing and no detail.

The style and design of Clyde Valley’s buildings are pretty good. There’s a lot of UGLY sheds out there and Clyde are making a proper effort. It’s so easy for joiners to see just the practicality and not consider the look of a build.

Similar to McCallum, Clyde appear to be using the same cladding which we can only presume is 19mm thick Scandinavian/Russian whitewood in the log-effect.

I’ve got an internal shot from their Facebook page which tells me there’s possible 4’ x 2’s in the roof frame and CLS wall framing. It’s also ply on the roof – I would hope this is marine ply of a decent thickness, but I can’t tell from the picture. This is a fair construction, if only we knew the price…

We don’t have any pricing at all online from Clyde Valley Sheds, which is a total nightmare for new Sheddies trying to determine what budget they have or should have. Worth mentioning there’s a shed company out there for everyone!! Price is not everything and Clyde Valley show that in how they treat their customers.

My favourite story is one where Clyde Valley are assembling a building for a customer and the customer asks them to help with a drainage problem they have with their inground trampoline, that an entirely different company installed. Clyde Valley fix the drainage and the customers review speaks for itself.

This is what you get when you buy from a company that has true values and heart.

NEXT! (Sticking with the Clyde)

Clydeside Garden Sheds (TGB Sheds)

Like many independent companies out there, Clydeside are a wholesaler of TGB Sheds, which means they do not make the sheds themselves. Clydeside Garden Sheds order in their buildings from TGB and sell them on for delivery and installation.

The fact that Clydeside are wholesale does help us when we’re looking for the specification and price as TGB Sheds have their information readily available online.

Looking at the Kensington, the specification is as described below:

Clydeside Garden Sheds state that all their timber is ‘top-quality red pine cladding’ they don’t however, tell us the origin. The origin is so important because we want redwood pine grown in the furthest northern point called The Arctic Circle.

I had a look on TGB’s own website and although it doesn’t tell you there either, they do link out to what I believe is their timber merchants, who operate in Germany, Poland and France. It’s likely the timber is from Poland and is often referred to as ‘Deal’. It’s not as good as arctic but it’s not as bad a spruce whitewood!

The reason this is important is for the movement that occurs in timber. The more dense and tight the grain, the better the resistance, especially in our Scottish climate. We need timber that will be able to withstand the rapid spikes and drops in temperature.

I’d like to see thicker framing and clarification on the finished timber size.

The Kensington biggest size is 10’ x 8’ which is about half the size of McCallum Timber Building’s summerhouse featured above.

The cost as standard is £2139.00.

Excellent Clydeside! Prices and specification!!

Their customer service reviews on Google are great and although we need to be careful with the reviews, given that some are either fake negatives or paid positives, it’s clear to see the genuine ones.

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So that’s the first part of my review of the best Summerhouse Manufacturers in Glasgow.

Next time we’ll be reviewing Elite Fencing and Sheds, Logspan and Barras Garden Shed Co. Stay tuned to find out who wins the title of Best Summerhouse Manufacturer in Glasgow!!

Natty x

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• Cabins Vs Summerhouses: What’s the difference?
• The Best Summerhouse Manufacturers Scotland: Top 3
• What are Gillies and Mackay Summerhouses made of?