Calamitous Cleveland Joinery
We commissioned a set of fence panels and gates for our property from Cleveland Joinery, in Lowestoft Suffolk, in 2015, and subsequent to a site visit from Mr Kevin Cleveland, Proprietor of Cleveland Joinery, costings and timescales were agreed upon.
The items were manufactured in softwood, painted, and subsequently installed.
It became apparent within a few months that something was wrong with both fence panels and gates, as they started cracking and Mr Cleveland suggested there had to be something wrong with the paint, despite it being a proprietary brand-Ronseal, and the situation worsened.
Mr Cleveland was being very defensive at this stage, and subsequent to many unsuccessful attempts at “repairs” finally deduced there could be a manufacturing problem with preservative/ and or application of same
Following repeated requests from myself and attendant site visits, the fence panels panels were removed, replaced and re-installed.
The gates fared no better, and following many visits, and again with attendant unsuccessful attempts at remedying the situation, Mr Cleveland, agreed to replace the softwood gates with Mahogany Hardwood type.
Within a very short time, we had to advise Mr Cleveland that the gates were jamming. And there was no gap at the top of the gates -when we attempted to close the gates-but a gap at the bottom. This is why they were jamming, and necessitated many unsuccessful attempts at resolutions.
After a great many of these repair attempts Mr Cleveland advised me that the problem was that the Brick piers -to which the gates were attached-should have been filled with concrete, and strengthening bars installed. This was not indicated by Mr Cleveland when I commissioned the Gates, and would have been helpful to us both, as it seemed a pre-requisite, and should-due to his many years of operating in this sphere-have been identified before the job was undertaken
We arranged for the Builder to return and he removed the concrete pier caps to allow Mr Cleveland to install hinge plates inside the piers to provide anchorage plates to which new heavy-duty hinges would be attached
Mr Cleveland has returned on a number of occasions, at times, registering disbelief at the quality of some repairs-including that of his Son-and he has replaced the hinges-claiming “hinge-creep” and a variety of other contributory factors, including weather conditions,
.
We are after-five years- left with a pair of gates that are not able to be closed, not fit for purpose, and left in a shocking state after their final attempt at repair on 21st December 2019, which left a large hole in the locking mechanism, and the gates are unable to be locked, some 5 minutes after the two operatives left, after spending an hour in an abortive repair attempt.
Mr Cleveland has advised us that they will not be returning, which is acceptable to us, as after nearly five years-their “expertise” is somewhat concerning, and in my layman’s thinking, does not look like that it will ever improve.
In summation, this project was clearly ill-conceived as far as design, manufacture and installation was concerned, and whilst Mr Cleveland is as frustrated as we are, the lack of planning, manufacture and installation is clearly evidenced by our photographs and many emails requesting a satisfactory resolution, and our patience with bad repairs, and Cleveland Joinery’s attendances on so many occasions.
I would never again use or recommend this Company, and intend to seek redress in the Courts