Just annoyed now!

I don't know if anyone will remember but I had a problem with my hutch and run when we put it together (welfare hutches) and the hutch didn't look like it was supported at all.

After some re jigging we were to be able to remove the support we had made (only way to open the doors) and that was that. It's only been about 3 weeks and we've had to put it back. We were told to let the hinges drop but my bf said that's a bad idea because it would still bow in the middle and doing it could do some damage.

It's been built properly, it's now on flat ground.. I don't get it, it's really getting me down again

I wish I'd never bought it in the first place I'm so stupid, I always have to try and have everything perfect for the rabbits, try and have the best.. But there is always something wrong with every set up I've had I just want to get rid of it and have something new and manageable but I'm being told to basically shut up and put up..

I don't know what to do

I have nothing useful to say but don't want to read and run.

I hope that you manage to sort out the problems - have you contacted the welfare hutch company?

LaraFarah said:

I have nothing useful to say but don't want to read and run.

I hope that you manage to sort out the problems - have you contacted the welfare hutch company?

Click to expand...

Yeah quite a few times, but it wasn't really getting anywhere tbh. Structurally there shouldn't be any problems, so it's really frustrating.

I'm sorry your having problems and hope you can get it sorted but I am really surprised, especially if it's on flat ground. Are you sure its the hutch itself bowing and not just the doors not quite lining up?

My hutch from him is on uneven ground, with the ground also slanting downwards (so left of hutch is slightly higher than right - my whole garden slopes). I did have to adjust the hinges ever-so slightly once it "settled" into place but that would have been necessary with any hutch placed on the ground mines on. The hutch structure itself is amazingly strong and sturdy. I've also found his customer service to be superb, really going above and beyond.

Confused_bun said:

I'm sorry your having problems but I am really surprised, especially if it's on flat ground. Are you sure its the hutch itself bowing and not just the doors not quite lining up?

My hutch from him is on uneven ground, with the ground also slanting downwards (so left of hutch is slightly higher than right - my whole garden slopes). I did have to adjust the hinges ever-so slightly once it "settled" into place but that would have been necessary with any hutch placed on the ground mines on. The hutch structure itself is amazingly strong and sturdy. I've also found his customer service to be superb, really going above and beyond.

Click to expand...

Nope, we built it to the instructions and before the hutch was put onto the run is was absolutely fine. The doors weren't a problem. The run was put together properly so it can't be that that is out of line but as soon as we put the hutch on the run it bowed as it just looked like it was too heavy for just the run to support it. But I've seen other peoples and theirs is fine. The side of maybe half of the bedroom and the middle bows, not the floor but the frame. Even when we had built it and had it resting on the wall it was okay, but the walls have more surface area than the run wood.

He was really helpful but it was just going in circles and it was upsetting me because nothing was working. Just really ****** off that I spent over £200 and I still can't get it right. If I dropped the hinges it would be too much of a difference, it's probably a centimetre gap and it jams the bed door and the middle door shut completely. But with the support we made it annoyingly takes space from the run and creates a bit gap on the far right door which is okay but it looks so off centre still. I don't get it

So sorry you're having problems you try so hard and do such a great job, hope you manage to sort something xx

If i can help i will try, can you explain more the problem and show pictures?
I am hoping i can help.

jazxo said:

So sorry you're having problems you try so hard and do such a great job, hope you manage to sort something xx

Click to expand...

Daniel said:

If i can help i will try, can you explain more the problem and show pictures?
I am hoping i can help.

Click to expand...

Thank you, I had a bit of a cry feel better now! I had a bad afternoon and seeing the post set me off The only set up it haven't had a problem with is... the old 4ft double hutch :roll: :lol:

Basically, the support is where it is because that area bows, the frame of the hutch bows and it seems like the hutch can't hold the weight, but I've seen someone else's hutch/run and theirs looked totally fine. We had to cut the post down but took too much off so there is now kitchen roll between the support and hutch. If we take the support out then it just drops and that's when the 2 doors jam. The right side door is fine though, although as you can see in the picture it has a bigger gap at the top because of the post.

I have a idea what it could be, do you have a close up of the bottom frame on the left or right?
The bottom corners i want to look closer at.

Also, is it the middle that bows? As to me looks like the other (left) side by bows too.

Daniel said:

I have a idea what it could be, do you have a close up of the bottom frame on the left or right?
The bottom corners i want to look closer at.

Also, is it the middle that bows? As to me looks like the other (left) side by bows too.

Click to expand...

I can get some pics tomorrow of the corners/underneath

The middle is the problem area as without the post is just 'flumps' down, like it's missing a middle support or something. If we had the support in the middle doesn't work properly because the left hand door (which I meant, not the right door ) is really bad and jams completely shut. It's impossible to open without the support there. So maybe the left is the problem area?

(Can't believe I got my left and right mixed up )

Found some pictures! this is the bedroom side which is the problem side -



Without support, bedroom door stuck closed -



With support (bf holding it up) -



Without -



You can't see the middle door really but that is stuck, although you could pull it open unlike the bed door. Thinking about it now the right side door might have been stuck.. But I can't remember, I don't think it was.. It was last year so I can take the support out and test it again, see where it falls.

I'm sorry to hear you are having difficulty with your set-up. It's a lovely looking hutch and run and I'm sure it wasn't cheap so I really hope you get it the way you want it and someone on here can help x

Sent from my GT-I8190 using Tapatalk

Aly&Poppy<3 said:

With support (bf holding it up) -

Click to expand...

To me your problem is confirmed on above photo and i don't know how they've made the front panel but the joint is the issues here if its made how I think it is by looking at photo. Look at the right corner at the bottom you can see how it joined.

That joint is the wrong way round and that will cause the problems you have, the bow is not the cause and the bow is what happens with timber at times and especially when its not supported.

Timber is a natural product that can warp and bow among other things and these things can be made worse by not being supported properly.

Now i can't tell you if it's the way the joint is joined that the problem but to me from the photo it looks like it.
As Joiner the correct way to create a timber frame which is what the front panel is like this:

The top timber piece is called a "Head Plate", the side pieces are called "Studs" and the bottom is called "Sole Plate".
The studs should rest on the sole plate and the head plate should rest on the studs and by that you create a product that is supported correctly.

Your photo shows me that the sole plate connects to the studs and the studs rest on the run panels, therefor the join on the sole plate is the only thing that is supported by the studs. Can't tell if the roof is the same but i guess it is, that means the roof and floor are not support correctly and will help make a bow in centre like it does.

That is why when your boyfriend lifts it up in the centre the door can open and when he lets go the roof sags down so does the hutch in the centre.


My photo below shows you how it should be:


You can see my stud is resting on the sole plate and the roof head is resting on the studs.

This one shows you that for something that spans anything over 4ft maybe even 3ft needs another frame below to support the hutch.



If i was you i would for now place a thick bit of timber along the whole bottom front which over hangs to the run, this will help support it and you will need one at the back too. I would screw this down and hope it sorts the bow out but it may not. Also i would make a frame which is like a run panel but no mesh to place under the hutch inside the run to support it more.

A good idea would be to make that frame little bigger to force it in.

That helps so much, thank you! Makes total sense

I found the instructions that came with the hutch/run and I remember at the time I got frustrated because they made no sense to me whatsoever

I don't know if this will turn out very well, but these are the instructions -

I'm sue you've built it right.

If you do what i said it should help sort it out.