Topic: New Greenhouse questions

[JimmyJames]

Hi all, 
Long time since I last posted.  Due to a house move I had to give up my plot (which the council turned into 3 smaller plots).

I have a garden now, and in that garden I have a cheap greenhouse.

It hasnt been there for many years, but it is no longer useful.  The cover was a single sheet of plastic which had a sort of string mesh running through it.  What I have found to my dismay is that the plastic inside many of the string squares has fallen out, meaning the roof is now more of a net than a plastic sheet!  I have probably described that really badly, but that isnt the point of my post.

My birthday approaches and it has been suggested I should get a new greenhouse!

I have been looking at various options.  Please bear in mind that this is for my garden, so what it looks like is important.  I want to avoid anything home made, so any advice on building a frame and covering it with sheeting in not required :)

I want to avoid glass because we have a 2 year old son, and a baby arriving in May.  Sheets of glass and boys with footballs do not make happy bedfellows.  I cant testify to this with experiences of my own childhood filled with regular greenhouse smashes!

So,  im looking at the polycarbonate sheets.  These look really flimsy.  I fear that high wind would cause the panels to flex and pop out of the frame.  I would be looking for something more rigid.

Im sure I remember seeing some that were 'glazed' with sheets of corrugated plastic, similar to cardboard in its design.  I cant seem to find anything like that any more.

So can people suggest some affordable places I can look, and give some feedback based on experience with various panel types?

I would ideally have an 'off the shelf' product rather than something that required forraging for bits and bobs to build it with!

any help and links will be gratefully received :)

James

[JimmyJames]

Look and you shall find!...

I think the glazing im talking about it called "twin wall polycarbonate safety glazing"

Found a few sites that offer it.  Anyone had experience of it?

[steve76]

Hi I have a small twin wall polycarbonate greenhouse (6x4) at home brought for the same reason as you kids safety had it 3 years now had to replace the roof panels over winter but other wise no problems never had a panel blown out,
I only use it to germinate in then they go up to the plot where i have glass greenhouse's 6x8

Hope it helps
Steve.

[JimmyJames]

Thanks Steve,  it does help me lean towards that option.

Interestingly the link in the section below this thread shows exactly the kind of thing I have been looking at.

Been reading that they are a massive chore to erect, but I like a challange :)

[chriscross1966]

I've got a 20x10 Robinsons that I bought S/H... mostly glased with the horti glass I got with it but one long side and one side of the roof is glazed in twinwall. I did this as it faces my party-wall neighbours and their grandchildren are round quite frequently in the summer adn I didn't want my neighbours worrying about them damaging my greenhouse....Been brilliant, all in it cost me about the same as a decent 8x6 with some staging and autovents... but this has got so many vents I didn't fit them all when I rebuilt.....and it's got pretty much a complete double row of shelving... the twinwall has been great.... last year in the highest winds we had it did manage to pop a 4x2 panel on the side.... all the bits were found within a few feet of where they came from... if I'd had a shelf down that side I doubt whether it would have popped

If you do go secondhand though take pictures of junctions, make sketches adn it's not insane to go around numbering the joints either....