Rowlinson Potting Station

Let Down by Careless Manufacture of Some Parts

First the good bit. Rowlinson delivery was excellent. The assembled product is good and solid. But it was a major task. Other reviews on various sites mention the back panel falling apart. It was the same for me. Interestingly this panel had dried mud on the base despite being in a sealed package. On opening the package the panel bent and the tongue and groove fell apart. There were two causes. First the batons retaining the T&G were stapled and held with cheap panel pins. Secondly the batons were too long and had forced the tongue out of the groove. I was lucky that none of the tongues snapped off. I had to dismantle the back, remove pins and feeble staples, shorten batons, square it off and reassemble using screws to give it sufficient structural integrity to force (actually had to use a mallet) the back piece into the side piece rebates. This was a major pain and took up valuable time. Other niggles are that the rebates run the full length of the side panel legs and this is unnecessary. It reduces the material in the 4 feet making them more likely to split on any lateral movement. The thin metal table cover is a few mm too narrow leaving a slight gap and a few mm too deep causing a slight upward bulge when fitted.. The forward edge is sharp and needed to be covered in tape to reduce the hazard. While parts are predrilled, the holes are often too close to the wood edge and in any case they don't have a receiving hole in the main carcass so you end up drilling anyway. Do I regret buying? No. It is a solid piece that should last but I was angry that the back panel was so carelessly constructed and that despite previous reviews, over time, the parent company had done nothing to improve it. Frankly I expect better. It may help future purchasers to note that to build it took several hours and I needed a drill, a strong screwdriver, a tenon saw, a decent mallet to force back and sides together, a pencil, a tape measure, a spirit level and a supply of extra screws to reconstruct the back. It was not an easy job but it was worthwhile as I have a pretty decent bench now. Allow time for this job. Four hands would be a lot quicker than two.

By William Black, From dumfries - dumfriesshire, on 23rd, August, 2016

Good Day William, Thank you for your honest detailed review. I have to say we do not sell many of these as we do with other brands of potting benches but I certainly would not not have any concerns recommending this product as knowing the brand and the people who run it I would say the item you received has slipped through quality control checks and we would replace accordingly. Please feel free to give us a call should you need too, we are open 7 days a week. Kind Regards David.