Thanks for all the replies, Christopher, would appreciate the plans if it
isn't to much trouble, e-mail

Kind Regards

Jim


"Jim" wrote in message
...
I am about to build a greenhouse on our new allotment, the size of the
greenhouse will be 12ft by 8ft, I have been to BanfQ, and walked around
the
other allotments to get some idea's, what caught my eye was a greenhouse
built using Perspex sheets, it looks really good and seems to be
maintenance
free, i.e., no broken glass to replace, also, no wood to rebate for the
glass and no putty or silicone to secure the glass, just screw or nail the
sheets to the frame

Can anyone tell me the advantages and disadvantages of a greenhouse made
from corrugated Perspex, any suggestions welcomed.

Cheers

Jim


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In message , Jane Ransom
writes
In article , shazzbat shazzbat@spaml
essness.fsnet.co.uk writes
I believe the main disadvantage is that plastic does
not admit light to the same degree as glass. This will be of most relevance
in spring when light is at a premium, or if you are at northern latitudes
this will be a consideration. Also plastic will get scratched etc and
gradually become opaque, cutting light down even more.

Doesn't it also become very brittle with time? Especially if it is in
the sunlight, which, obviously, a greenhouse is!!!!!!!!

The worst effects can be controlled by UV stabilisers. First it turns
yellow and then brittle and partly opaque. But having said that I have
seen one unstabilised polycarbonate greenhouse still sound after a
decade.

If you intend to heat your greenhouse in the winter you can quickly
regain the extra cost of using UV stabilised twinwall polycarbonate (ie
conservatory grade) from savings on the heating bill over a couple of
seasons.

I am planning on building my next greenhouse optimised for latitude made
of twinwall polycarbonate in a rigid aluminium frame. Glass suffers too
much from damage by flying debris in strong winds here.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

On Mon, 03 Nov 2003 18:59:43 +0000, Sacha
wrote:



"........Why not go the cheap route and build a poly tunnel?........"
=20
On an Allotment?????
Just needs some clown with a knife and 2 mins and you have no sheet.

Quite right. I think many of us know of the lovely poppy called =
"Pattie's
Plum". We visited the very small but lovely nursery of the lady that
inspired that name. She has poly tunnels and had been visited by the =
local
'yoof'in just this fashion. She's not young, she works hard, she's =
trying
to keep her beautiful house and garden going and run a nursery and I =
hope
the little criminal buggers dangly bits drop off, frankly. Oh, and pox =
and
leprosy might be good, too.

We are praying that your hopes will become true :-)
--=20
Martin

on the other hand !just needs some clown with bricks and 2 mins you have no
glass.
You can`t win!
Which one would be cheaper to repair if necessary?
you have to way things up & decide,also depends on the area. do you live
near scum or not?Ask someone on the allotment,if they do ever get vandals
that is probably were your answer is to which greenhouse you choose!
kak
"David Hill" wrote in message
...
"........Why not go the cheap route and build a poly tunnel?........"

On an Allotment?????
Just needs some clown with a knife and 2 mins and you have no sheet.

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

keith wrote in message
...
on the other hand !just needs some clown with bricks and 2 mins you have
no
glass.
You can`t win!
Which one would be cheaper to repair if necessary?
you have to way things up & decide,also depends on the area. do you live
near scum or not?Ask someone on the allotment,if they do ever get vandals
that is probably were your answer is to which greenhouse you choose!
kak


Exactly Keith! I think smashing glass would be more exciting. It makes lots
of noise and lots of mess and would be a real kick I reckon... but slashing
plastic might be equally kewl I dunno really.



"David Hill" wrote in message
...
"........Why not go the cheap route and build a poly tunnel?........"

On an Allotment?????
Just needs some clown with a knife and 2 mins and you have no sheet.

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

The message
from "anne" contains these words:


keith wrote in message
...
on the other hand !just needs some clown with bricks and 2 mins you have
no
glass.
You can`t win!
Which one would be cheaper to repair if necessary?
you have to way things up & decide,also depends on the area. do you live
near scum or not?Ask someone on the allotment,if they do ever get vandals
that is probably were your answer is to which greenhouse you choose!
kak


Exactly Keith! I think smashing glass would be more exciting. It makes lots
of noise and lots of mess and would be a real kick I reckon... but slashing
plastic might be equally kewl I dunno really.

Given a choice I bet they would "do" glass everytime. Not everyone
carries a knife. Our particular set of vandels open the sheds but don`t
nick anything. The ones on another site in town break the greenhouse
glass.

On Sun, 2 Nov 2003 21:22:43 -0000, "Jim" wrote:

I am about to build a greenhouse on our new allotment, the size of the
greenhouse will be 12ft by 8ft, I have been to BanfQ, and walked around the
other allotments to get some idea's, what caught my eye was a greenhouse
built using Perspex sheets, it looks really good and seems to be maintenance
free, i.e., no broken glass to replace, also, no wood to rebate for the
glass and no putty or silicone to secure the glass, just screw or nail the
sheets to the frame

Can anyone tell me the advantages and disadvantages of a greenhouse made
from corrugated Perspex, any suggestions welcomed.

Cheers

Jim


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We are now replacing any broken panes in our greenhouse with twin wall
plastic rather than glass. The 4ft x 2 ft panels of this plastic had
to be trimmed slightly to fit as, although the panes of glass were 2
by 2ft x 2ft. they overlap at the S clip. We also taped the two open
ends with weatherproof plastic tape to reduce the number of creepy
crawlies taking up home in the twin wall. Pin holes were made in the
tape at one end to prevent the build up of condensation.

"Shirl" wrote in message
...
We are now replacing any broken panes in our greenhouse with twin wall
plastic rather than glass. The 4ft x 2 ft panels of this plastic had
to be trimmed slightly to fit as, although the panes of glass were 2
by 2ft x 2ft. they overlap at the S clip. We also taped the two open
ends with weatherproof plastic tape to reduce the number of creepy
crawlies taking up home in the twin wall. Pin holes were made in the
tape at one end to prevent the build up of condensation.

If you don't want to mess around with pins, Wickes sell special breathing
tape for twin-wall polycarbonate. I'm sure any DIY store selling both the
sheeting and the bearers will also sell this.

Cheers guys, all helpful stuff

Jim


"Sue da Nimm" . wrote in message
...

"Shirl" wrote in message
...
We are now replacing any broken panes in our greenhouse with twin wall
plastic rather than glass. The 4ft x 2 ft panels of this plastic had
to be trimmed slightly to fit as, although the panes of glass were 2
by 2ft x 2ft. they overlap at the S clip. We also taped the two open
ends with weatherproof plastic tape to reduce the number of creepy
crawlies taking up home in the twin wall. Pin holes were made in the
tape at one end to prevent the build up of condensation.

If you don't want to mess around with pins, Wickes sell special breathing
tape for twin-wall polycarbonate. I'm sure any DIY store selling both the
sheeting and the bearers will also sell this.




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In article , Sacha
writes

She's not young, she works hard, she's trying
to keep her beautiful house and garden going and run a nursery and I hope
the little criminal buggers dangly bits drop off, frankly. Oh, and pox and
leprosy might be good, too.


And wouldn't she have been a good candidate for using the electric
fencing (on a high charge system!) so long talked about in another
thread.

Poor woman, it's always a source of amazement how gardeners seem to be
able to pick themselves up after stuff like this but so soul destroying
if it happens regularly.

Janet

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

In message , Shirl
writes
On Sun, 2 Nov 2003 21:22:43 -0000, "Jim" wrote:

I am about to build a greenhouse on our new allotment, the size of the
greenhouse will be 12ft by 8ft, I have been to BanfQ, and walked around the
other allotments to get some idea's, what caught my eye was a greenhouse
built using Perspex sheets, it looks really good and seems to be maintenance
free, i.e., no broken glass to replace, also, no wood to rebate for the
glass and no putty or silicone to secure the glass, just screw or nail the
sheets to the frame

Can anyone tell me the advantages and disadvantages of a greenhouse made
from corrugated Perspex, any suggestions welcomed.

More expensive than glass initially. Not as tough as polycarbonate or as
cheap to heat as twin wall polycarbonate (which was my choice).

We are now replacing any broken panes in our greenhouse with twin wall
plastic rather than glass. The 4ft x 2 ft panels of this plastic had
to be trimmed slightly to fit as, although the panes of glass were 2
by 2ft x 2ft. they overlap at the S clip. We also taped the two open
ends with weatherproof plastic tape to reduce the number of creepy
crawlies taking up home in the twin wall. Pin holes were made in the
tape at one end to prevent the build up of condensation.

Be sure that you anchor the polycarbonate sheets in very well so that
they cannot under any circumstances ever spring out if the wind gets
inside your greenhouse due to glass failing elsewhere.

Standard aluminium frame greenhouses tend to be under engineered and are
relying on the glass to provide rigidity. When you swap out glass to
plastic you also need to beef up the cross struts to prevent buckling in
high winds. Mine failed at 90mph in the huge storm of Xmas 97.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

On Sun, 9 Nov 2003 09:55:45 +0000, Martin Brown
wrote:

Standard aluminium frame greenhouses tend to be under engineered and are
relying on the glass to provide rigidity. When you swap out glass to
plastic you also need to beef up the cross struts to prevent buckling in
high winds. Mine failed at 90mph in the huge storm of Xmas 97.

Real greenhouses sometimes fail in the same conditions.
--
Martin

"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...

[snip]

Be sure that you anchor the polycarbonate sheets in very well so that
they cannot under any circumstances ever spring out if the wind gets
inside your greenhouse due to glass failing elsewhere.

One of my neighbours made a sort of a shed with corrugated plastic
(perspex?, single walled polycarbonate?). After only four years all that
remained were a large number of iregularly shaped pieces of roughly two
square feet lying all over his back yard, and the occasional piece which the
wind blew over into my garden.

[snip]

Franz