Omlet Smart Autodoor - New in box

[GillC]

...and I'm feeling a little daunted by the task ahead of me. I would welcome any advice from people who've assembled one. I've read LunaKiw1's helpful comments in the Omlet WIR questions thread. Does anybody have any tips or advice on pitfalls?

 

[karlotta]

I haven't assembled one of those but surely there's only one method with assembling flat pack stuff...

 

1. Rip open all the boxes with your bare hands and strew the bits about the grass

2. Throw the instructions aside, laughing in the face of needing such trivial assistance!

3. Spend 15 hours randomly trying to match bits up.

4. Give up and have a glass of wine before admitting defeat and retrieving the instructions.

 

Or is that just me?

[GillC]

I haven't assembled one of those but surely there's only one method with assembling flat pack stuff...

 

1. Rip open all the boxes with your bare hands and strew the bits about the grass

2. Throw the instructions aside, laughing in the face of needing such trivial assistance!

3. Spend 15 hours randomly trying to match bits up.

4. Give up and have a glass of wine before admitting defeat and retrieving the instructions.

 

Or is that just me?

 

LOL - no its not just you. After containing my excitement until the end of the working day I finally got out at 6pm thinking I could get 3h assembly work in and finish tomorrow evening.

 

 

I got two side panels assembled to form a corner and was feeling very pleased with myself (OK, I was using the instructions).

 

Then I cast around for the door section. As I did so I spotted the eglu hole panel.

 

 

Oh dear - I had purchased a WIR to fit my eglu classic with run, however what I've been sent is a WIR to fit an eglu Go without a run

 

http://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/shop.php?cat=Chicken+Keeping&sub=Walk+In+Runs

 

I'll have to get on the phone to them tomorrow. Trouble is, I'm off on holiday for a week and was hoping to get it all assembled before I went. Darn, darn, darn.

 

And what do I do with all that cardboard and run pieces while I'm away???? The thought of putting it all back is not appealing

 

Thank goodness I took your advice and have a bottle of wine chilling ready

[karlotta]

Nooooo! What a pain! At least they can just send that bit, so you shouldn't have to keep all the packaging etc.

 

Enjoy your wine!

[beach chick]

karlotta - a woman after my own heart!

[hammy72]

I will be watching your progress keenly as plan to save up for an Omlet WIR to attach to my eglu classic. That's a top tip to check the door hole panel first to make sure they've sent the right one.

[Margaret]

When my cube came I couldnt wait for Oh so started to build it in the kitchen...Karlotta style.

When he came home from work I realised couldnt get it out of the house and around the back to the garden.

[karlotta]

When my cube came I couldnt wait for Oh so started to build it in the kitchen...Karlotta style.

When he came home from work I realised couldnt get it out of the house and around the back to the garden.

Brilliant!

[GillC]

Well, its been a while, but my new run is all built and works brilliantly.

 

I've taken lots of photos which I will post up eventually, but meanwhile here's my take.

 

Great product. Straightforward to put together. I did it entirely on my own (I'm 5ft 6 inches tall) and I didn't need a stepladder.

 

Things to watch out for:

 

There are two cube sections either side of the door. These need to be level AT THE TOP with the top panel, otherwise the roof will not go on properly.

 

The 2-section door was a bit fiddly, but it seems to work best if the top panel overlaps the bottom slightly.

 

The instructions are pale photocopies - these could be improved by simply making them more legible, ie printing them out on better quality paper with better quality ink. Or better still, include some photographs of somebody doing the assembly. The photocopies are so pale it is often really hard to see how things go together. However, with a bit of common sense, it is quite straightforward.

 

My biggest task was actually laying four paving slaps to level the side with the door on up to the level of the opposite side. I hadn't realised quite how big the WIR would be, and one side ended up on concrete and one side on ground at a lower level. This just did not work so I bought some sharp sand and dry cement mix. Stirred it together, dug a shallow area, lobbed it on the ground and slung some paving slabs I had lying around my garden (I rent). To my amazement, it worked brilliantly and my paving slabs look better than the ones already around so I'm feeling pretty pleased.

 

I had delays, waiting for correct bits to be delivered (which they were really quickly, Omlet were great). Overall, I'd estimate it took me two afternoons to assemble.

 

I hope this helps. It is a brilliant WIR and I'm really glad I got it. I took photos as I went and will publish them as soon as I can to help.

[LunaKiw1]

Look forward to seeing the photos! you're right about the tip re getting those inner channel level at the top - my OH had to undo all the painfully clipped together biits and start again to get our roof to fit. And as you say although it comes down to common sense in working out what goes where i do think the printed instructions leave something to be desired.

[GillC]

Omlet were very helpful, and I finished the run back in July. I've just started a Photobucket account and uploaded all the pictures I took at the time in the hope that they will be of help to anybody embarking on building the run themselves. It was OK, but I did have to redo several bits as the instructions were quite difficult to see.

 

http://photobucket.com/BuildOmletWIR

 

There are also some photos of the run covers I bought and put up yesterday as well as the funshades that were on sale at £5 each and seem to do a good, if gaudy, job of protecting the sides a little.

 

Things to watch out for:

 

• 
  Square door sections - these must not stick up above the start of the roof or the roof panels will not go on. Sounds obvious but didn't occur to me
   
  Roof struts - These should fit neatly into the corners where the roof joins the sides. If the ground is a bit uneven, it can take a bit of jiggling to get this right.
   
  Roof - The curved bit of the panel is the bit that joins onto the wall. Don't do what I did and attach the straight piece to the side. It most definitely does not work!
   
  Door - I found it quite difficult to get the door attached so it opened easily. You need to be sure that the ground is not uneven where you position the door or it will hit the bumps as it opens and not open enough.

 

Other than that, it goes together fairly easily. I put it up on my own and didn't need a stepladder. It took several afternoons though, but that was probably because I made mistakes and had to keep rebuilding bits.

 

I've now added the roof covers (just in time for the snow) and they work a treat.