Style and Design
Sold exclusively by B&Q the Woodbury is a an attractive wooden playhouse in a traditional design with a covered verandah and two large windows to the front. It's a good size while remaining relatively compact and will fit nicely into the garden. With it's opening windows and glazed front door, the Woodbury's bright and attractive interior is perfect for tempting youngsters away from their screens and outdoors for hours of stimulating play.
Materials/Construction
The Woodbury is constructed in 12mm smooth planed FSC approved interlocking shiplap whitewood pine cladding mounted on a sturdy frame. The floor and roof are solid sheet, the roof finished in felt covering to keep the elements at bay. The windows are glazed in styrene for safety.
Dimensions
The precise measurements of the Woodbury including the verandah area are 5'10'' (1.79m) wide by 5'6'' (1.75) deep. Height at the roof ridge is 5'4'' (1.615m) including the decorative fascia feature.
Finish/Treatment
The playhouse is delivered with a water based dip finish only. A final preservative/decorative finish will require to be applied at the time of assembly or within six weeks to enjoy the benefit of the manufacturer's 10 year anti rot guarantee.
Options
An assembly option is available at additional cost. You can view the details here. Delivery/Assembly
The playhouse is delivered with detailed instructions and all necessary fixtures and fittings for straightforward diy home assembly. It's recommended this be undertaken by two people.
Availability
See the details of sellers and prices given above.
Our Verdict
One of several wooden playhouses in a similar style and design, the Woodbury is an attractive verandah model with large opening front windows. The 12mm shiplap construction is perfectly adequate and is precisely what you would expect in a playhouse of this size in this price category. Be aware though that this specification tends to be a little more prone to cracks, splits and knotholes than heavier duty cladding so don't be too surprised if you have to indulge in a little sanding and filling when you're putting the playhouse together.
As you would expect in this price range, the playhouse is dip treated only prior to delivery meaning you will have to take care to apply a suitable decorative/preservative finish at the time of assembly or very shortly thereafter, We'd actually recommend that you do this just prior to construction. That way you should be able to ensure that you don't miss any nooks and crannies which might be difficult to reach once the playhouse is assembled - and it also tends to be easier to keep children away from an unassembled building while you're applying the final finish. Note too that depending on the degree of exposure to the elements you will also have to maintain the finish on a regular basis throughout the life of the playhouse. We'd suggest that you don't skip this essential work. Apart from the fact that it will probably invalidate the warranty if you do, a playhouse which has not been properly finished will quickly take on a tired and weathered appearance when exposed to the elements.
You shouldn't have any safety worries with the building. The windows are glazed in styrene which is virtually unbreakable and the fact that there are three of them means that you can easily supervise play inside without being too intrusive. The two windows mounted in the wall can be opened so the playhouse can be easily ventilated on a hot day. There's a good sized internal play area too with decent headroom for the smaller child so the Woodbury should last a good few years.
Structurally the playhouse should be robust enough to withstand the roughest play. The roof and floor are solid sheet which, while quite acceptable is not as resistant to exposure to damp as tongue and groove boarding. There are a few of playhouses in this category - the Cubby, Pixie and Stork for example, which offer a tongue and groove boarded floor and we'd suggest you have a look at those too. The roof is protected by roofing felt but if the playhouse floor is likely to be exposed to damp you might just find that a tongue and groove floor is longer lasting.
One point about the Woodbury is that some users have been reporting that there's no real way to adequately secure the door during day to day use. If you find this a problem it can easily be rectified by fitting a good quality child friendly catch - in our view a strong magnetic fitting is best to use here.
Assembly should be a reasonably straightforward exercise for the average diy'er. Being an economy model, some of the panels of the Woodbury might be prone to warping prior to delivery but we don't see this as a major problem as everything should screw together firmly in the end. Assembly of the windows can be a little trying though and you may find it necessary to glue the panes in position if they have a tendency to fall out. We wouldn't however recommend the supplier's assembly option unless you really have no confidence in your own skills. It doesn't seem good value to us relative to the price of the playhouse.
To sum up, we see the Woodbury as a perfectly acceptable budget wooden playhouse with a decent standard of manufacture although you might need to fit a secure child friendly door catch and do a little extra work on the windows. It's worth checking the current prices of the models listed below too though as these may prove slightly better value, particularly in the case of the Cubby, Pixie and Stork which offer tongue and groove boarded flooring. Taking all this into account we give the Woodbury three and a half stars.