Storms and chickens

[sallyhennypenny]

Hi there

 

Just received my eglu and been trying to assemble the run but I'm having a few problems getting it lined up. Do the panels overlap at the top of the run or just butt up against each other? If I follow the illustrations in the guide then there are gaps along the side of the eglu. Does it matter where the screws go through the panel. The illustrations show the bottom one going through the smaller hole in the panel and the top going through the second hole from the edge.

 

Any thoughts or ideas would be very gratefully received!

[Trish]

It took me a while to get tthe run lined up and even then it's wasn't an exact match but after it was in place for a while the thing seemed to find it's own level. So long as you have the clips in place you should be fien. I followed the pictures for the screws as I had a trouble getting things to match up evenly if not. Hopefully someone more technical will come along soon and give a clearer reply

[sallyhennypenny]

Thanks for this advice, I'll have another go tomorrow!

[Penny]

Hi -

 

I think "20 minutes" to assemble is pretty optimistic - took me around 1.5 hours. The biggest trouble I had was figuring out the difference between the four big green pieces of wire netting stuff - they all looked the same.

 

In the end I noticed that, if you think of the netting as being made of equally sized "checks", then two out of the four bits of netting have a small area (at one edge only) which has an extra little bit in it, making two of the "checks" there a bit narrower. These two bits are where you join them to the Eglu.

 

Once they're on, the idea is to match the edges but not to overlap them. I, too, found that once the first few clips were on, the rest went on easily and the structure is surprisingly solid too.

 

Burst two fingernails though, including a really bad one quite far down !

[Mel (& Paul)]

  Penny said:

Hi -

 

I think "20 minutes" to assemble is pretty optimistic - took me around 1.5 hours. !

 

My husband's words exactly!!! I think the chaps at omlet are far more skilled and practised than us - but glad you got it together eventually - even at the expense of broken nails - ow!

[Louise]

Hey speak for yourself I only took about 30 minutes to put it together which includes reading the instructions

 

Mind you I put a flat packed bed together by myself in half the time in the instructions which said you needed 2 people

 

I like to be different

[Mel (& Paul)]

  Louise said:

Hey speak for yourself I only took about 30 minutes to put it together which includes reading the instructions

 

Mind you I put a flat packed bed together by myself in half the time in the instructions which said you needed 2 people

 

I like to be different

 

 

And you are dear

Mel

x

[Louise]

I know

[Mel (& Paul)]

[Guest]

I have to admit, I only took about 20/30 mins to assemble it, after Chookiehubbie gave up the huff, because he didn't read the instructions (typical man!).

[Louise]

*whispers* I was thinking that too Shona but wasn't brave enough to say it

[Mel (& Paul)]

I think you've hit the nail on the head. I dont think that many men have that gene that makes you read instructions or ask for directions.... (look at Moses' lot - it they were being led by a woman they wouldnt have been wandering the desert (dessert?!??!) for yonks as she would have asked for directions

[Guest]

  Louise said:

*whispers* I was thinking that too Shona but wasn't brave enough to say it

 

 

I have to be careful what I say about him on here as he read my first ever posting 'Has the Eglu ever been cited in divorce proceedings?!', and took great exception to the fact I had shared his inability to build the thing!

 

Every now and then he pops on to the forum to see whats happening, so if he ever asks - I didn't say a word........!

[Louise]

Our secret then

[Happymama]

Took me an hour, I read the instructions several times, the problem was the instructions weren't very good. It took me a while to work out which bit of net was which, and how they fitted together, and which screws should have a washer or not. Improvised with my own toolkit. What really didn't help was that the bits that did go together didn't fit very well. I ended up sat on top of the cage, to depress it to fit the screws.

 

I can build gas turbine engines. Put up a flat pack chest of drawers in twenty mins where DH failed in two hours. Look after three kids 5 & under, work 25 hpw, fix my own car and make puff pastry at the same time.

 

It's not us.

[Penny]

I have also found that it takes two people to put the blue lid back on the Eglu. It comes off readily enough but when you try and put the Golden Pin back in, somebody needs to stand at the other side and push the metal rod like mad with their boot. I have never managed it on my own yet.

 

However, it is great for cleaning - takes me less than 15 minutes to have it all sparkling and new again. This is a huge advantage I think.

[Nicola H]

I found the pin was hard to get in at first when the Eglu was new, but a year and a bit on it goes in much easier and does not take 2 people.........I presume they are a bit stiff at first.

[Martin]

I sat back and watched the expert do it, when it was delivered !

 

But my golden pin has always been an easy fit. Give the rod a kick from one side, fit the pin on the other. Or removing, take the pin out and give the rod a kick the other way. Easy!

[Louise]

I only have problems with the pin when the Eglu is not sitting on flat ground. Some of my garden is very bumpy so it depends where I site it

[Mel (& Paul)]

I sometimes struggle getting the pin back in. If Paul isnt around I have to sit on the eglu (a la riding a horse) and then kick the pin in using my heel. My neighbours always thought I was slightly odd, but think I have totally lost it now.

[Homer & Marge]

  Mel (& Paul) said:

I think you've hit the nail on the head. I dont think that many men have that gene that makes you read instructions or ask for directions.... (look at Moses' lot - it they were being led by a woman they wouldnt have been wandering the desert (dessert?!??!) for yonks as she would have asked for directions

 

Ouch, ladies that hurts. I, as a man who does take the time to read the instructions, did assemble the Eglu on my own without any huffin or puffin and it took me longer than half an hour messing about with those bloody run clips..!

 

Greets,

 

Derren

[Tara.F]

it took Dave slightly longer than 20 minutes but then he was working in the pitch black dark with the kids as rather enthusiastic 'helpers'

[AnnieP]

Well, I would just like to say that when Ruth dropped her three girls and red eglu off to me two weeks ago, we assembled the whole thing in 10 minutes flat.

Girlpower!