Need any help? Our friendly customer service team are on hand to help guide you through your purchase so please feel free to give us a call on 03452 505502 or send us an email at online@downtownstores.co.uk and we'll be more than happy to help you make your dream garden a reality.
The Lark is a 1400mm (4'7) wide single door model which is available in a multiple of lengths from Swallow Garden Buildings. This is an extremely popular model, ideal for smaller gardens.
Built using high quality Thermowood in a range of sizes and colours, The Lark is perfect for gardens on the smaller side or for anyone who is just starting out in the gardening world.
KEY FEATURES:
INCLUDED AS STANDARD:
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED / OPTIONAL EXTRAS:
Important information:
The delivery lead time is a guide only. The will supplier aim to have your new greenhouse delivered and installed between 5-8 weeks from the date that you confirm that your base is ready. Deliveries to certain remote postcodes are not possible, if you have any questions please do get in touch with us before placing your order.
The delivery cost of your order depends on the size of the item you are ordering.
A product that can be delivered by one person, is standard delivery and costs £5.95. This is is free if you spend £60 or more. Delivery will take between 2 - 3 working days for in-stock items.
A two person delivery is required for furniture, appliances and items over 30kgs. This costs £25, or is free if you spend £2999 or more. Delivery will take between 5 - 10 working days for in-stock items. For items that are available to order, the delivery timescales will be confirmed in the checkout.
Deliveries to some remote postcodes are possible, and carry an additional premium delivery charge. This will be charged in checkout, but please contact us if you have any questions.
We also offer a basic furniture assembly service for most furniture items, the cost of this varies depending on the item requiring assembly and your location. Please contact us for more information.
Click and Collect is available on in-stock items from our Grantham site; NG32 2AB. This will be offered in the checkout for small items, but please contact us if you require click and collect on Furniture.
Please be aware that we do not offer free returns, so unless there is a fault with your item, then you will be required to cover the cost of returning it to us, or for us to collect the item.
Please be aware of the order cancellation policy attached to furniture products, and in particular, that items configured to your choice attract a 25% restocking fee. Please also be aware that if it is not possible to gain access to the room of choice, with the product, then the cost of that failed delivery is met by the customer. If an item in this instance is made to your specification, then the order cancellation policy applies.
Unique to Swallow Greenhouses, all Thermowood used by Swallow (GB) Ltd. is manufactured from quality red wood pine and this high performance timber from Finland is perfect for wooden greenhouses. It’s heat treated to over 200 degrees to remove moisture and resin.
This process results in a consistently coloured timber, with improved dimensional stability and most importantly improved durability against decay. This a long lasting performance wood developed for exterior cladding of buildings in harsh Scandinavian weather, making it perfect for building tough wooden greenhouses.
Benefits include:
Natural ThermoWood Option:
This option has had no treatment at all, it needs to be treated within 3 months after installation, to prolong the life expectancy of the building. Water, condensation can stain the timber and may discolour it, unless it gets treated and also needs regular maintenance.
Oiled Option:
If you choose the oiled finish, then Swallow will give the building one coat of oil treatment before it’s all glazed and sealed ready to be installed.
Swallow recommend that you oil the building annually, outside, and also you can coat the inside to help cut down on water staining which can happen from condensation. This keeps the building looking fresh, it helps to maintain its original colour, and protects the timber from the elements. Swallow recommend something like Osmo Oil or a similar quality.
Painted Option:
When you choose the painted version, firstly the building goes through quality control, then it’s given its first topcoat, once its dry it’s then re-checked and it’s given its second topcoat, then finally once dry it’s glazed and sealed.
When Swallow have installed the building, they will leave you with a pot of touch up paint, as sometimes the building may occur little marks from transportation. Their fitters will inspect the building once it’s installed and do a walk around with you once it’s finished.
Painted buildings won’t need re-painting annually, it may be every 3-5 years depending on where the building is situated in the garden. If it’s tucked away and not in direct sunlight, and not open to all the elements, then it may last longer before you need to re-paint it. You would have to trust your own judgement on this.
The ideal base for the greenhouse would be:
i) Paving slabs to encourage natural drainage OR
ii) Solid concrete base to the size of the greenhouse with a minimum 4 inch thickness OR
iii) Concrete strip footing with a minimum 4 inch thickness
iiii) Dwarf wall can be built - heights to be advised
The base can be larger than the greenhouse if required by the customer but it must not be any smaller. Most importantly the base must be level.
On all buildings Swallow encourage regular maintenance, to keep Mould, bugs to a limit.
Condensation is something that cannot be avoided in Greenhouses/Potting Sheds, when the temperature heats up the water will run to the lowest point, if left then this will start to turn the timber black, please clean these area’s as regular as possible to keep it to a bare minimum. The key to controlling it is plenty of ventilation, open the door whenever you can, use a heater in the winter months if possible.
Clean the inside with Jeyes Cleaning Fluid on a regular basis. It is normal for a Greenhouse to have some water ingress. As far as Swallow are aware there is not a mainstream greenhouse on the market that is 100% leakproof. Water can get in from the roof vents, side vents, under the door, this is all a common occurrence and not a fault in the manufacturing of the Greenhouse/Potting Shed.
If you decide to make the base larger than the actual size of the building, then this can cause water to get in under the damp proof barrier, it can also allow spilt water inside the greenhouse to escape.
We point this out in the greenhouse information that we do not seal under the damp proof barrier, we leave this to the customer, if you decide to seal it just use a Black Waterproof Silicone Sealant.
Another issue with making the base larger than the building is heavy rain can bounce on the outside and hit the bottom of the building, where it can get in between the boards and the bottom rail and rise up the bottom boards and may start to go discoloured. Once the building is installed, then it may be an idea to lay pea gravel/shingles around the bottom to stop the rain bouncing on the floor.
One thing Swallow do not recommend is hanging anything from any part of the roof, legs, supports, trusses etc these are there simply to hold the roof in place and support the roof. Hanging any items ie: Hanging Baskets, fans, heaters etc. will just pull down on the structure and may cause damage to the building over time, the roof may then begin to bow and break the seals on the sealant. This will make the warranty void.
Once the building has been installed, we ask that you look around the building before the fitters leave your property, to make sure you are happy with the building.
