Customer Reviews

American Woods 1695 Cedar Storage Bench

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The storage chest arrived in a timely manner and looks great. However, when assembling, the holes didn't match up and had to be redrilled. The hinges weren't right, and we had to buy different hinges. It wasn't worth the hassle!

I wish I had read the other reviews before ordering this piece of crap cedar storage bench. This is anything except "easy to assemble" as there were two holes predrilled incorrectly, and the interlocking anchors make it quite difficult to re-drill the holes (which I managed to do with some difficulty). In addition, the hinges provided either do not fit the job, or again the specs of this need-to-assemble storage box were off so that you have to cut several corner pieces to allow the top to seat correctly in place. I can say that this is the worst example of engineering thatI have ever seen. Moreover, I had also ordered two of the planter-trellances, which began to fall apart as I assembled it (requiring additional glueing and additional screws just to keep it together). No more purchases from this company for me!

I opted on this storage chest because I didn't want to spend the money on a teak chest. I found this one, thought it was attractive and large enough for our needs. It took 3 times as long as it should have to assemble. The pre-drilled holes did not line up. We had to purchase new hindges. It arrived with no slated bottom for ventilation. We called the manufacuturer and they are supposed to ship us on one. We'll see if it arrives. I don't recommend this product unless you're willing to work to get it together. The quality is a little cheap as well. But if you're not that picky, then it should be just fine.

Noted Added 08/28/04: The manufacturer shipped out the missing part promptly. We are pleased with their customer service on this product.

This storage bench has very sturdy contsruction and looks very nice outside. I use it as a boot/shoe storage bench.

Nice size chest that doubles as a bench. You can't beat a cedar chest for this price. Amazon price is the best. Good quality, but I had to work at getting a couple of the screws to line up during assembly. I felt that the finish was decent, but needed a new coat of oil based sealer after 2 months outdoors. It looks great after re-sealing it. It's great for storing outdoor items and pool toys, but I don't think it's big enough to store seat cushions. It didn't ship with slats in the bottom, but manufacturer sent the correct piece promptly. Recommended.

This is a large chest that holds a lot, heavy weight, very sturdy an attractive. We thought it was easy to assemble, I don't know why others had so many problems, we're not really very "handy" an it went together in less than an hour. We think it was a very good value. Shipped very promptly.

a solid, sturdy and Beautiful piece. Same quality seen selling at [a lot more]! Great deal - Very pleased. (delivered right on time too)

Good size for storing misc. gardening supplies & large bags of birdseed. Relatively easy to assemble. All parts were included. It will need a coating that will repel sunrays, so it will keep it's color & not age to grey. Nice product for the money.

Bought this 4 years ago and it is still in great condition. Need to keep it treated if you are in the South hot sun.

The only drawback was that during the first winter the field mice got in thru the bottom and took up winter residence in the deck cushions totally destroying them. The next year we but a solid bottom in and we have not had the problem since.

If it were not from reading other reviews about difficulty in aligning pre-drilled holes for assembly, I would have been very frustrated. But , with the confidence that this was a manufacturing error, I was able to re-drill the offset and assemble the bench without much difficulty. (Instructions are quite small also so be patient and do not rush). The cedar bench is sturdy and fits five large cushions. The bench of this size was hard to find as other boxes that stated sizes were limited by design to only fit four cushions at most. This design fit the cushions without much compression.