Produce > Under Glass

Glass, toughened glass or polycarbonate

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Tee Gee:
I was a traditional "glass" user, but what I noticed on the occasions I replaced panels (after a storm)on other plot holders greenhouses that traditional glazing clips were not suited to most greenhouses.

I found that traditional bendy clips coupled with the bendy polycarbonate were not really compatible!

 I often thought that some form of 'full length' glazing bead would be a better option

Vinlander:

--- Quote from: Tiny Clanger on May 12, 2022, 11:27:14 ---Polycarbonate greenhouses get fished out of the local canal on a regular basis whenever we get gales and rough weather.  They are just not heavy enough to stand up the weather.

--- End quote ---

It's a mistake to think that weight alone is going to save any kind of greenhouse (glazing it with lead plates might be effective but seriously counter-productive) - multi-point anchoring is essential and most greenhouses (certainly every single one I've ever entered) are bolted to a concrete base.

Polytunnels traditionally have their cover ends laid flat in a trench and buried under literally a ton of soil, those with covers clamped to a frame (usually contains the side vents) use actual soil anchors of various types. My DIY tunnel uses cast iron pipes driven into the subsoil at 45o and clamped to the uprights with strapping made from flattened copper pipe - none has ever failed - despite the massive sail area and tiny weight.

If you think that polycarbonate is worse, you only have to look at the Polycrub website - any Shetlander will vouch for them - they survive the worst storms of the North Atlantic - orders of magnitude worse than the mainland.

Cheers.

PS. I have used standard clips to hold 4mm twinwall perfectly well - but if you need it to be thinner then I don't recommend thinner twinwall - it's tough plastic - you can squash it a little with pliers - even better if you use blunt-ish pincers to make a thinner line (or valley) where the clips go - the sheet will find it even harder to escape than on slippery glass.

It's easy to use 10mm too - since you can drill through it & fit bolts through to simple clamps on the frame inside (eg. big plywood washers).

PPS. I have no links to anybody making money out of plastic in general, including polycarbonate - I just think that anyone who doesn't make use of its properties is shooting themself in the foot. I can't think of a better use for plastic than making it give many decades of service (when PC finally goes yellow it is still strong enough to hold back soil for a raised bed).

I think that 3 things should be banned - 1st making anything that can't be recycled (eg. cardboard/plastic foil composites), 2nd any form of plastic that isn't UV stabilised (so it turns to dust in a year - I particularly hate the new plastic labels on PET bottles), 3rd single-use plastic in any form - especially if it breaks the first 2 rules.

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