Topic: Greenhouse minus a LOT of glass

[Norfolk n Proud]

Hiya folks, as the title says I have adopted a 10 x 8 greenhouse and while transporting it a lot of the glass cracked, as it was old and had become brittle. My dilemma is, what to do about re-glazing, have you had a similar experience and come up with a cost effective way of  glazing or maybe covering with something other than glass?  Any help, much appreciated.  :)

[Dopey]

You can get clear plastic, i use it on mine (a long time ago) but it became brittle, but i think technology has come a long way since then, why dont you try and get a sheet of clear plastic and cover it with that and you can use what glass you have that's good for the sides??

[Norfolk n Proud]

Hi Dopey, someone else had mentioned the same idea, I've just been browsing E bay , and saw some 4mm Polycarbonate sheets that they will cut to size that I'm wondering about!

[Dopey]

How easy is it to cut though? i dont have a clue, maybe the guy you get it from can tell you??

[chriscross1966]

4mm corrugated in 4x2 sheets is excellent.... half my 20x10 is in that (not cos I broke that much glass, but because I didn't want next door worrying about their grandkids breaking anything when playing outside) It's easy to fit, seems to be lasting OK and if it gets a whack the worst that will happen is it ends up coming adrift inwards.... also wind will just (eventually) push a pane in but that's it,  I used translucent white for the wall and clear for the roof....

[Norfolk n Proud]

I'll have a proper measure up tomorrow and try and work out the cost, it seems a shame to not make use of a good size greenhouse, but there's not a bottomless pit of money to dip in to.  :)

[Norfolk n Proud]

I've been on the ole  google squirt and i can reglaze a 12x8 greenhouse with 4mm Polycarbonate sheets, cut to size for £158.50 delivered. That seems a good price I think! Roll on payday.

[macmac]

Have you tried your local freecycle Norfolk n Proud ?
We collected a complete set of greenhouse glass via our freecycle and on a recent visit to the tip my OH spoke to a chap getting rid of glass and he brought the whole lot round to our house for us  :)
My OH tries to help folk on the lottie with repairs, he never charges anything so a free supply of glass  is always needed .

[davyw1]

Which way will your GH be facing if it is going from East to west then you can replace the North side with with any thing that will fit, plain plastic sheeting  or plywood. the same would also aply if the GH was the other way but you would not have as much spare glass

[Kleftiwallah]

I've just got back from West Wilts Trading Estate and I've picked up more white acrylik sheeting than you can shake a stick at for £50:00.

I line the downsun side and end of my greenhouses to reflect back the sun onto the plants, look up plastic recycling companies near you.    Cheers,     Tony.

[Hi_Hoe]

Have you considered going to a nearby glass cutter?

 I run a double glazing business and all my glass suppliers welcome any passing trade and i dare say glaziers near you would be the same. I used to cut glass and sell it myself at one time, and as i recall, we charged about £3 - £4 for a typical greenhouse pane. Its bound to be more cost effective to use glass as opposed to plastic, as even new plastics still photodecay over time.

Also, people in my trade have to pay to skip glass, and it rarely gets recycled (hard to believe but true). Maybe you could find a local double glazing team and ask for their waste glass and cut it yourself? Its wont cost anything to ask. People approach me all the time for waste and they're welcome to what i have - saves me paying to dump off!!

[Kleftiwallah]

I was quoted £6:00 per 24" X 24" pane of horticultural glass,   :o
now that is a pain !  I'll keep looking, thanks for that Hi_Hoe.   Cheers,     Tony.

[elvis2003]

we reclaimed all of ours from chucked out window panes,scouted for all over the city. OH pane (!) stakingly tapped out all the glass,cleaned it and cut it to size..something that I would never have the patience for but am very grateful he has

[Norfolk n Proud]

Which way will your GH be facing if it is going from East to west then you can replace the North side with with any thing that will fit, plain plastic sheeting  or plywood. the same would also apply if the GH was the other way but you would not have as much spare glass
[/quote]
The greenhouse faces west and will get incredibly hot for most of the day, I shall probably get a complete reglazing kit and try to fabricate a couple of cold frames and some cloches with what remains of the glass. We have a couple of large Labradors who like nothing better than a good charge around the garden, so the less glass I have, the better! With around 60 panes to replace @ say £3 per pane, I'll be paying out a hefty amount to buy more panes.

Many thanks for all the great advice you've given, I'll keep you posted.  :)

[brown thumb]

try sellers of new green houses they some times remove smallar /older green houses to re place with larger/newer ones and have glass to spare we got our green house this way

[gazza1960]

I reglazed half our GH with glass from a flea bay sellers old glass,yes some was too brittle but we still have spares for emergencies,and all for £24 squid.
I'll always be on the lookout now.
Gazza

[Twinklekat]

We've also adopted a greenhouse with 50% of the glass missing. We bought 4mm polycarbonate sheets off Ebay from a chap in Devon and they are fantastic. Someone advised us to get a fine toothed saw to cut it with so we did, just taken it back to B&Q for a refund as we didn't need it, cut it with scissors!!! It was a bit hard going on some bits but manageable. The greenhouse is finished after 3 hard weeks work from clearing the ground, building foundations, erecting the structure with no plans (not a fun exercise) and flagging the floor  ;D

[davyw1]

The big downfall of using 4mm polycarbonate sheets is the wind, normal clips are not strong enough to stop the sheets from being blown out

[Twinklekat]

The big downfall of using 4mm polycarbonate sheets is the wind, normal clips are not strong enough to stop the sheets from being blown out

We anticipated this and OH has also gone mad with the strongest exterior No More Nails :)

[chriscross1966]

My ancient Robinsons had full length glazing clips.... and even then I've lost a panel in wind once... but only once adn it has taken a fair old storm...and I found the panel and clips too easily enough....