Hi Andrew

have you considered abandoning the polycarbonate and using the frames for a
polytunnel, covered in UVI stabilised polythene sheeting ? I am about to do
this with mini greenhouse frames for next year.


HTH

David




"Andrew Mawson" wrote in message
...
Back in February I bought my wife two 9' x 12' "Lakeland" greenhouses
as a retirement present. Due to various issues including levelling the
site etc it's only in the last month we've assembled one of them (the
other is still in bits), and within two weeks we lost seven of the
polycarbonate sheets in what I think were only light winds. I have no
faith whatsoever in the rest not blowing away soon.

The sheeting is 4mm polycarbonate twin wall that slides into channels,
and the wind makes it bow so much that it comes out of the channel.
Once out they are almost impossible to re-fit without major
dismantling. It was a seller on ebay (swiftbuys234) who reportedly
died five weeks ago so no redress there. OK our fault for not putting
them up sooner, but I believe that the basic design is flawed.

Has anyone else had this problem, or perhaps has a solution less
radical than scrapping them and starting again?

AWEM

"Andrew Mawson" wrote in message
...

"Pete C" wrote in message
...
Andrew Mawson wrote:
Back in February I bought my wife two 9' x 12' "Lakeland"
greenhouses
as a retirement present. Due to various issues including
levelling
the
site etc it's only in the last month we've assembled one of them
(the
other is still in bits), and within two weeks we lost seven of
the
polycarbonate sheets in what I think were only light winds. I
have
no
faith whatsoever in the rest not blowing away soon.

The sheeting is 4mm polycarbonate twin wall that slides into
channels,
and the wind makes it bow so much that it comes out of the
channel.
Once out they are almost impossible to re-fit without major
dismantling. It was a seller on ebay (swiftbuys234) who
reportedly
died five weeks ago so no redress there. OK our fault for not
putting
them up sooner, but I believe that the basic design is flawed.

Has anyone else had this problem, or perhaps has a solution less
radical than scrapping them and starting again?

AWEM

What is the base? Is it absolutely level? Is the greenhouse
securely
bolted
down?
Any other brand name, as I can't find any trace of Lakeland
Greenhouses in
Google.
--
Pete C
London UK



Base is concrete, and dead nuts flat!
There is no provision for clipping
The groove depth is too shallow to pierce the sheeting and retain
strength
The sellers son initially told me Lakeland were in Scarborough, then
Cleatormoor in Cumbria, neither check out.
(Obviously a China made item)
I suspect that silicone will peel off in the wet and wind as the
overlap is so small

...argh !

AWEM


Pictures of the sad thing he

http://tinyurl.com/55552h

AWEM

"Andrew Mawson" wrote in message
news:bvSdnYD9_rJSk6nUnZ2dnUVZ8v-
Base is concrete, and dead nuts flat!
There is no provision for clipping
The groove depth is too shallow to pierce the sheeting and retain
strength
The sellers son initially told me Lakeland were in Scarborough, then
Cleatormoor in Cumbria, neither check out.
(Obviously a China made item)
I suspect that silicone will peel off in the wet and wind as the
overlap is so small

...argh !

AWEM


Pictures of the sad thing he

http://tinyurl.com/55552h

AWEM

Oh Deary Me - our hearts bleed for you (;-(

I have no experience of polycarb - someone will hopefully be along soon who
has.

My best suggestion would be to convert it to glass somehow.

Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com

"david sutcliffe" wrote in message
...
Hi Andrew

have you considered abandoning the polycarbonate and using the frames for
a polytunnel, covered in UVI stabilised polythene sheeting ? I am about
to do this with mini greenhouse frames for next year.


HTH

David

I am sure you mean well but covering
frames such as these with polythene would be almost as disastrous as the
polycarb.
The edges are far to unrounded and stress tears would soon occur.
Polytunnels are constructed with round bar
and even that needs protective tape where the polythene touches the bar.
The urgency seems to be to stabilise things - either all in or out for the
time being before high winds return.
Even a glass one in this state would succumb !
Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com

The message
from "Bob Hobden" contains these words:

All fish tanks are stuck together with silicone glue these days without any
support or bracing of any kind, just glass and glue, and they last a very
long time despite the constant pressure from the water trying to push
it all
apart. The only thing is, it must all be bone dry before gluing.

I think the tube of silicone glue I have downstairs guarantees the bond
for ten years.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

"Rusty_Hinge" wrote in message
. uk...
The message
from "Bob Hobden" contains these words:

All fish tanks are stuck together with silicone glue these days
without any
support or bracing of any kind, just glass and glue, and they last
a very
long time despite the constant pressure from the water trying to
push
it all
apart. The only thing is, it must all be bone dry before gluing.

I think the tube of silicone glue I have downstairs guarantees the
bond
for ten years.

--
Rusty

In ideal dry conditions when applied with very clean components I'm
sure it'd be fine. Applied to a wet flapping greenhouse where the
extrusions probably have silicone oils on from the manufacturing
process it may be less certain

AWEM

Pete C wrote:
Rusty_Hinge wrote:
snippy
As Rusty says, some bracing seems to be required. Any chance of a pic
Andrew?
Thanks for posting pics Andrew.
As others have said, cross bracing might help. I was going to suggest
bolting 3mm polycarbonite sheeting over the top, but having Googled, the
cost would be prohibitive.
Good luck with whatever you do
--
Pete C
London UK

In article ,
says...

"Andrew Mawson" wrote in message
...

"Pete C" wrote in message
...
Andrew Mawson wrote:
Back in February I bought my wife two 9' x 12' "Lakeland"
greenhouses
as a retirement present. Due to various issues including
levelling
the
site etc it's only in the last month we've assembled one of them
(the
other is still in bits), and within two weeks we lost seven of
the
polycarbonate sheets in what I think were only light winds. I
have
no
faith whatsoever in the rest not blowing away soon.

The sheeting is 4mm polycarbonate twin wall that slides into
channels,
and the wind makes it bow so much that it comes out of the
channel.
Once out they are almost impossible to re-fit without major
dismantling. It was a seller on ebay (swiftbuys234) who
reportedly
died five weeks ago so no redress there. OK our fault for not
putting
them up sooner, but I believe that the basic design is flawed.

Has anyone else had this problem, or perhaps has a solution less
radical than scrapping them and starting again?

AWEM

What is the base? Is it absolutely level? Is the greenhouse
securely
bolted
down?
Any other brand name, as I can't find any trace of Lakeland
Greenhouses in
Google.
--
Pete C
London UK



A sad sight! the channels look ideal for glass though, I would be tempted
to get a couple or 3 standard horticultral glass pieces and have a play.
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

The message
from "Andrew Mawson" contains
these words:

In ideal dry conditions when applied with very clean components I'm
sure it'd be fine. Applied to a wet flapping greenhouse where the
extrusions probably have silicone oils on from the manufacturing
process it may be less certain

Get a small tube and on a dry day, wipe thoroughly everything with
kitchen tissue try one pane?

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

From experience, once you have a gap in a greenhouse, it will be badly damaged by winds very rapidly. If none of the suggested solutions from posters on here work, you need to do some sums about what solution will be most cost-effective. Having greenhouse glass cut to fit all the panels is a possible, but, ironically, I suspect it would be cheaper to ditch your present disaster and to buy a complete new gh with glass panels and to start again.

"Janet Conroy" wrote in
message ...

From experience, once you have a gap in a greenhouse, it will be
badly
damaged by winds very rapidly. If none of the suggested solutions
from
posters on here work, you need to do some sums about what solution
will
be most cost-effective. Having greenhouse glass cut to fit all the
panels is a possible, but, ironically, I suspect it would be cheaper
to
ditch your present disaster and to buy a complete new gh with glass
panels and to start again.




--
Janet Conroy

Janet, you are probably right, but if only we get a few dry days I'll
try the silicone sealant approach first as I have two of them to sort.

Anyone know brands of sealant known to be compatible with
polycarbonate?

AWEM

"Pete Stockdale" wrote in message
...

"david sutcliffe" wrote in message
...
Hi Andrew

have you considered abandoning the polycarbonate and using the frames for
a polytunnel, covered in UVI stabilised polythene sheeting ? I am about
to do this with mini greenhouse frames for next year.


HTH

David

I am sure you mean well but covering
frames such as these with polythene would be almost as disastrous as the
polycarb.
The edges are far to unrounded and stress tears would soon occur.
Polytunnels are constructed with round bar
and even that needs protective tape where the polythene touches the bar.
The urgency seems to be to stabilise things - either all in or out for the
time being before high winds return.
Even a glass one in this state would succumb !
Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com

I think you will be fine just putting a bead of silicon sealant down all
edges ,smoothing off with a damp finger so it makes good contact.

I swopped the lower half of my 8 x 6 ali greenhouse to polycarbonate which
fixes with glazing clips.
Some panels blew out shortly afterward after strong winds, so i fixed them
back and got the silicone out !

They have not moved since over 5 years now.

By the way it looks a very nice greenhouse.

Regards Keith

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Sealants-Spe...nt/invt/240200

Also, as a thought, most DIY places sell extrusions in various shapes, if you can find some L or U shaped ones and use them to go across the inside of the sheets horizontally, fastened to the uprights, it would probably stiffen up the sheets enough to stop then blowing out

On Nov 30, 5:47*pm, "Andrew Mawson"
wrote:
Back in February I bought my wife two 9' x 12' "Lakeland" greenhouses
as a retirement present. Due to various issues including levelling the
site etc it's only in the last month we've assembled one of them (the
other is still in bits), and within two weeks we lost seven of the
polycarbonate sheets in what I think were only light winds. I have no
faith whatsoever in the rest not blowing away soon.

The 4mm is a bit weak, but you should be able to attach it so that it
will not blow away. Even the 10mm twinwall will bend and spring out of
clips and sealant in 90+mph winds. I know by experience.

The sheeting is 4mm polycarbonate twin wall that slides into channels,
and the wind makes it bow so much that it comes out of the channel.
Once out they are almost impossible to re-fit without major
dismantling. It was a seller on ebay (swiftbuys234) who reportedly
died five weeks ago so no redress there. OK our fault for not putting
them up sooner, but I believe that the basic design is flawed.

Simplest solution is a spar of wood behind the middle of the sheets
(doesn't need to be very wide) and drill small holes in the centre of
each pane (or if you are paranoid 2 holes 1/3 and 2/3 the way across.
Then use a screw with a decent sized washer to spread the load into
the wood. The panels cannot then jump out. You may want to coat the
edges with bath sealant to stop drafts while you are at it.

I use 4mm grade on the opening lights on my greenhouse. It is much
less likely to be destroyed if the wind manages to snatch the
thermostatic opening vent and snap it back hard.

Has anyone else had this problem, or perhaps has a solution less
radical than scrapping them and starting again?

Polycarbonate jumping out - yes even with the really heavy grade and
nominally matching clips. Sealant helps but after a while the flexing
breaks the seal and then you still get them going in very strong
winds. I have not lost any that were screwed down and a keep a piece
with a baton and two bolts attached permanently for running storm
repairs.

Regards,
Martin Brown