Janet Tweedy wrote:
:: Was going to add this question to the other thread about
:: greenhouses but thought it ought to be in it's own and it's not
:: strictly about greenhouses.
:: I have an Alton 10 x 8 greenhouse about 26 years old.
:: Some of my staging I have had to take out as it's now rotten
:: though cedar and treated regularly. Trying to find some new
:: staging that will be strong enough to take much weight is proving
:: really difficult. Do I go for more cedar/wood or do I opt for
:: aluminium. I know it's a wooden greenhouse but just thought
:: aluminium might be cheaper and less likely to rot.
::
:: I want to put a hot 'tray' on the top which takes four full sized
:: seed trays and I would need another shelf underneath. So about 5
:: foot long. Not very DIY minded though I could follow DIY plans if
:: there were any for free standing staging.
::
:: On the other side I have just bought a plunge bench with soil
:: cable and no filled with sharp sand but the legs seem a bit
:: flimsy, though it's taking the weight of four bags of sharp sand
:: and some pots.
::
:: All advice gratefully received.
You say five foot long but how high?
If you have a double shelf, won't the top one put the bottom one in the
shade?
Are you particularly concerned about how it looks?
Dexion is a wonderful invention, lightweight, cheap and very strong:
http://www.dexion.co.uk/products/shelving/economy.asp
It's like meccano...you can bolt it, screw it or whatever you like, you can
affix it to the struts of the greenhouse and take away the shelves when not
required or build it to be freestanding and either leave it in place all
year round or dismantle whenever you like.
I wouldn't trust aluminium to take heavy weights for long periods...dexion
is box steel, their 300mm X1000mm (3ft X 1ft) shelves can easily manage
80kgs (over 15 stone!)
The above page lists all their shelving units but you don't have to have one
of those if none fit the bill, you can buy it second hand in varying sizes
and make something tailored exactly to suit the greenhouse...also you don't
have to have their shelves, other shelves will fit onto it or you can make
some timber ones from blockboard.
HTH
--
http://www.blueyonder256k.myby.co.uk/