EXPERT REVIEWED 
FREE DELIVERY 
INSTALATION AVAILABLE Dahlia Playhouse
First Added - August 4 2022
Last Updated - August 4 2022 - 0 Data Points Updated - 54 Data Points Added
Reviewed & curated by a panel of garden building experts. Using methodology 1.1
Product ID: MPN: SI-002-001-0072
Size: 6' x 5'
Merchants Checked: 12
Our verdict on the Dahlia Playhouse
The Dahlia Playhouse comes with an apex style roof, holds a 10 Years guarantee, fit with single doors, and makes use of pefc materials. The windows window used on this particular 6′ x 5′ use a styrene [1] glazing material (Thickness was not specified).
Base material: wood
Certifications this product meets:
PEFC certified timber[2]
Our experts say this has 3 stand out features. A stand out feature is something found on over 70% of the top 10% of products in a particular category or is an exceptionally good feature as rated by our panel of experts.
1. The choice of roof covering (mineral felt), is also what we find that 88% of the top 10% of playhouses use.
2. The styrene window installation is known to be a great choice, and our data shows us that 94% of the top 10% of playhouses make use of this kind of glazing.
3. The tongue & groove cladding used on this playhouse is one the best available for playhouses rated by our experts.
Below is a brief overview of how some of the key points of this playhouse fairs across the market.
Cladding
The tongue & groove cladding(walls) used here is the best form of construction for playhouse walls out of the 3 types [3] we’ve identified on same-size playhouses, that you’ll also see getting used on 35% (61 of 175) of all playhouses analysed [4], as well as being used on 47% (8 of 17) of the top 10% of playhouses [5]. You’ll also find the tongue & groove cladding showing up on 22% of 6′ x 5′ playhouses (4 in total) [6], and when taking the average Expert Score of those 6′ x 5′ playhouses (80), the Dahlia Playhouse is the same with an Expert Score of 80.
The walls are 1mm thick and we rate this the worst thickness out of the 2 found on same-size playhouses [7]. It is used on 1% of all playhouses [8] and after analysing the top 17 products that make up the top 10% of playhouses [9], we don’t find this thickness present on any of them. Further analysis shows us that out of all 6′ x 5′ playhouses this is the only one to use 1mm thick walls [10].
Read full analysis for cladding.
Roofing
Osb is the of construction method used for the roofing, our experts rate this one of the best forms of roof material out of the 2 types we’ve found on same-size playhouses [11]. This roofing material is used on 20% of all playhouses analysed, and 65% of the top 10% of playhouses. 44% of 6′ x 5′ playhouses (8 in total) use osb construction for the roof, and when taking the average Expert Score of those 6′ x 5′ playhouses (80), the Dahlia Playhouse is the same with an Expert Score of 80.
A 9mm thick roof boarding was used on this playhouse which is one of the worst thicknesses used for a roofing material out of 9 thicknesses identified on same-size playhouses [12]. It’s used on 1% of all playhouses with a further analysis of the top 10% of playhouses (17 in total) showing us that none of them use a roof of this thickness. Our data on all 6′ x 5′ playhouses shows us this is the only one to use a 9mm roofing solution.
Mineral felt is used as the roof covering, and out of 2 types identified on same-size playhouses [13], is said to be one of the best roof covering materials. It comes fitted on 64% of playhouses and used on 88% of the top 10% of 6′ x 5′ playhouses. 78% of 6′ x 5′ playhouses (14 in total) make use of a mineral felt material as a roof covering, and when taking the average Expert Score of those 6′ x 5′ playhouses (79), the Dahlia Playhouse is just above the average with an Expert Score of 80.
Read full analysis for roofing.
Flooring
The manufactures of this playhouse chose osb for the floor construction, we rate this an about average form of floor construction out of 2 types found on same-size playhouses [14]. This type of floor construction is used on 19% of all playhouses we analysed, and 59% of the top 10% of those playhouses. 50% of 6′ x 5′ playhouses (9 in total) use osb construction for the floor. Additionally when taking the average Expert Score of those 6′ x 5′ playhouses (79), the Dahlia Playhouse is just above the average with an Expert Score of 80.
A 9mm thick floor boarding is used here, this is one of the worst floor board thicknesses according to our experts out of 8 found on same-size playhouses [15]. It’s found on 1% of all playhouses with none of the 17 playhouses that make up the top 10% using a floor of this thickness. Out of all 6′ x 5′ playhouses it turns out that this is the only one to use a 9mm flooring.
Read full analysis for flooring.
Window
Styrene windows come installed on this playhouse. As a glazing option, we rate it one of the best out of the 2 glazing types found on 6′ x 5′ playhouses [16]. This particular type of glazing is used on 77% of all windowed playhouses and 100% of the top 10% of playhouses with windows we analysed. 88% of 6′ x 5′ playhouses with windows (15 in total) use styrene windows, and when taking the average Expert Score of those styrene 6′ x 5′ playhouses (79), the Dahlia Playhouse is just above the average with an Expert Score of 80.
Read full analysis for window.
Height
The height of this playhouse is 1544.0mm (5′) which is 39% less than the average 6′ x 5′ playhouse, giving you 606.0mm (2′) less headroom.
Read full analysis for height.
You Might Also Consider
We found 17 6′ x 5′ playhouses with comparable specifications. The Dahlia Playhouse has an Expert Score that is 3% higher than average and is £97 less expensive than average. If you are looking for the best value or highest expert scoring playhouses out of the 17 with comparable specifications the following might be of interest.
Best value – If you are looking for something comparable that costs less, then you could save £10 with this 6′ x 5’6 Shire Cubby Childrens/ Kids Wooden Garden Playhouse. It is priced at £440, this is 2% less than this and has an Expert Score of 80, 0 points equal than the Dahlia Playhouse.
Highest Expert Score – With an Expert Score of 82 vs 80 for this product, the Mercia 6 x 5ft Wooden Snug Playhouse & Tower with Assembly is the best 6′ x 5′ playhouse with comparable specifications, and is priced at £670, that’s £220 more than the Dahlia Playhouse.
High Wind Area – If you live in a particularly exposed or high wind area then having a playhouse with a thicker cladding and higher than average frame thickness can be preferable. We found at least 3 playhouses that have a combination of features that can make them more suited to higher wind areas.
6 x 5 Shire Pixie Childrens/ Kids Wooden Garden Playhouse
4’10 x 6’6 Mercia Poppy Kids Wooden Tower Playhouse with Slide
7×5 Mercia Tulip Tower Childrens/ Kids Wooden Garden Playhouse
Public-Facing – Extra security measures might be more of a concern if you’re placing your building in an area that is more public-facing than a garden. Features such as security windows or even having no windows at all, and the ability to lock all opening doors are usually much more important when you have something that is more public-facing. We found at least 3 playhouses that have options that you might find a better fit if this is a concern you have.
6 x 5 Shire Pixie Childrens/ Kids Wooden Garden Playhouse
6′ x 5’6 Shire Cubby Childrens/ Kids Wooden Garden Playhouse
4’x8′ Tigercub Magic Mansion | Playhouse
More Child Friendly – If you have children and you are looking for something that has that little extra in terms of durability then tougher glazing options might be a better option. Here we have at least 3 other options that will fill those needs.
6×5 Mercia Tulip Slide Tower Playhouse
Mercia 6 x 5ft Wooden Snug Playhouse & Tower with Assembly
6 x 5 Shire Pixie Childrens/ Kids Wooden Garden Playhouse
Product Details
Comparisons of Similar Sheds
Sources
Merchants Checked
12 different sources were used to research information on this product, and 2 contained information that we were able to use to compile the data used on this page.
The following merchants were checked on the 06 August, 2022 to see if they stocked this product.
Waltons – 231 products checked, found 1 match.
Wickes – 19576 products checked, found 1 match.
B&Q – 78905 products checked, found no matches.
ManoMano UK – 922302 products checked, found no matches.
Wilko.com – 21232 products checked, found no matches.
Homebase – 35509 products checked, found no matches.
Buy Sheds Direct – 1635 products checked, found no matches.
sheds.co.uk – 1999 products checked, found no matches.
BillyOh – 1244 products checked, found no matches.
Garden Buildings Direct – 1284 products checked, found no matches.
Shedstore – 1373 products checked, found no matches.
Tiger Sheds – 635 products checked, found no matches.
1. Styrene (Polystyrene (High Impact) HIPS): Styrene as it is commonly known or High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) is a very versatile form of plastic. It has a very wide range of uses but for garden buildings styrene is typically used as a budget option for windows.
Styrene is a shatter-resistant material, which is why it is ideal for situations where safety needs to be considered, such as playhouses. This benefit can be offset by a few other drawbacks, unfortunately styrene has a tendency to yellow over time (the technical term is Photoyellowing and it is caused by prolonged exposure to UV Light), the degradation of its polymers over time also causes it to become more brittle.
Another drawback of styrene is its thermal coefficient of expansion (it is 80 x 10-6), this is higher than most other glazing options. This means that as the material heats up and cools it can contract and expand more than other glazing options. This cycle can lead to a loose fit of windows over time.
According to data from the British Plastics Fedaration the physical properties of Styrene (Polystyrene (High Impact) are that it is not very good when exposed to high heat with a maximum continuous use temperature of between 60 to 80 °C. This is coupled with the fairly low range the Notched Impact Strength data shows of 10.0 – 20.0 Kj/m². ↩
2. PEFC Certified Timber: The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is a forestry management certification that is comparable to the FSC certification. The PCFC is a global alliance of national forest certification systems that has the goal of promoting sustainable forest management through independent third-party certification. ↩
3. Cladding types identified: european softwood, shiplap tongue & groove, tongue & groove ↩
4. Global cladding data sourced from: All tongue & groove playhouses ↩
5. Top cladding data sourced from: Top 17 tongue & groove playhouses ↩
6. 6′ x 5′ cladding data sourced from: 18 6′ x 5′ tongue & groove playhouses ↩
8. Global cladding thickness data sourced from: All 1mm playhouses ↩
9. Top cladding thickness data sourced from: Top 17 1mm playhouses ↩
10. 6′ x 5′ cladding thickness data sourced from: 1 6′ x 5′ 1mm playhouses ↩
11. Roof material types identified: osb, tongue & groove ↩
12. Roof thickness types identified: 8mm, 9mm, 10mm, 11mm, 12mm ↩
13. Roof covering types identified: mineral felt, styrene ↩
14. Floor material types identified: osb, tongue & groove ↩
15. Floor thickness types identified: 8mm, 9mm, 10mm, 12mm ↩
16. Glazing material types identified: single glazed, styrene ↩