Topic: Been offered a greenhouse for free

[David R]

Hiya,

Ive been offered a free greenhouse - quite exited.

I will have to dismantle and take it home myself. I had a quick look at it the other day and its an aluminium type, (8 x 6 i think), glass all over. Its quite old, i reckon 20 or more years and its screwed onto a brick base. I have enlisted a friend to assist me, and its going to have to be taken apart completely to fit in his estate car.

Some bits will need replacing as they looked rusty (auto vent and a few of the glass clips but otherwise in good order.

I was thinking of painting the aluminium before re-assembly to make it blend in a bit better in the garden - something like a really dark green hammerite paint - can anyone see any problems with that?
Cheers
David

[Duke Ellington]

Congratulations on your new greenhouse. mine was a freebie from free cycle and we are really pleased with it.
Before we dismantled it we took loads of photos....it's amazing how you can't remember what goes where when you never dismantled and rebuilt one before. We also numbered all pieces with a black marker....also very useful. Take some silicone or wd 40 spray to loosen bolts screw etc.
Painting it sounds like a good idea but I think you will have to coat the aluminum with a base paint first. It's a red paint...I can't remember the name but it needs to be applied to bare aluminum first. then you can use the hammerite. I did this when I painted my cast aluminium table. I believe hammerite can be painted directly on to old hammerite or rust. Look into this as there may be other products you can use.

Good luck
duke :)

[Mr Smith]

I've dismantled a couple of Greenhouses in the past, I suggest you get yourself some spare springs that hold the glass in, I think if you are going to paint it you will have a lot of preparation to do first before you apply any paint, personally If I was painting it I spraying it, :)

[Uncle_Filthster]

Having just done the same myself, labelling is the key!  You may struggle to write on dirty glass and oxidised ali so a roll of parcel tape or masking tape is handy for labels and taping the dismantled sections together in bundles of their consituent parts.
I found getting the greenhouse off the base the hardest as being over 20 years old the screws and bolts into the concrete had started to rust.  A hobby tool and cutting disk were handy for reslotting screws or cutting their heads off.

You will definately need some new bolts as the old ones are bound to shear (10mm spanner) and the clps are a pain too.  A fair few just ping off never to be seen again.

Expect to break some glass too, no matter how careful you are!  ;D

[ru2010]

To paint aluminium you'll need to use an etch primer. These are acid based and key the surface enabling the paint to adhere.

[Ben Acre]

You can buy spare clips and bolts from your local garden centre. Wear Goggles when taking out the glass.

Photograph the green house in situ as it will help you and you must above all make sure the base is square otherwise you will have massive gaps.

If I was nearer I would come and help you.