"Bookworm" wrote in message
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On 31 Dec 2008, 18:02, "someone" wrote:
"Charlie Pridham" wrote in message

T...
In article ,
says...



Hi all,

New to this site and must say it's great.I am in the process of buying
a greenhouse and wondering whats the difference between horticulture
glass and toughened glass.Where the greenhouse will be located will be
exposed to winds until the garden becomes a bit more mature.Is it
better to go for toughened glass for keeping the greenhouse warmer
during the winter months?The toughnened glass is £200 extra.Any advice
welcome on this

Toughned glass is stronger and safer but for the same thickness has no
better heat retaining propeties than standard horticultural glass (which
is normally 3mm thick as compared with the minimum for small house
windows of 4mm) AS Bob has said bubble wrap is the stuff to
insulate with the plastic clips you use to put it up are cheap and
reusable. Since the glass forms the main strength of a small greenhouse
if you are in a windy or exposed place the toughned glass would be better
(also better where children and pets are concerned) Having said all that
I use 3mm horticultral glass in all my greenhouses and so far all animals
and children have resisted the urge to throw them selves through! and I
do not get too much wind damage maybe 4 panes a year across 6 greenhouses

--

Does anybody else find that bubble wrap is a real pain to install? For my
7'
x 7' greenhouse it takes a day's work every second year, and the bubble
wrap, which I buy in huge rolls, never overlaps enough, (just 1 cm wider
would do), so, as well as the plastic clips, I have to use yards/metres of
Duck Tape to get around the angles where the roof meets the walls and
where
the edges of the bubble wrap don't quite meet. The clips work fine but
there are bits of the greenhouse where they can't be used. There must be a
better way. Can one buy the sort of double-glazed skin that the Eden
Project uses, I wonder.

someone

You can buy clear tape that is used on Polytunnels from good
Horticultural suppliers. It is very tough, sticky and expensive.

You shouldnt have to replace the bubble wrap every two years. Mine
lasts far longer than that. I did use some bubble wrap that is used
for packaging and that became brittle after two years. Try
Horticultural Bubble Wrap which has more UV resistance? More expensive
but you gets what you pay for.

Thanks for your reply, you're right I am using packaging bubble wrap. I'll
have a look for the horticultural kind next time I change the bubble wrap,
and also for the horticultural tape. It would be worth it if I didn't have
to replace it so frequently.

I'm green with envy at Gary Woods' option of using double or triple
polycarbonate glazing, AFAIK it doesn't seem to come with the standard
purchased greenhouse.

someone