greenhouse to buy....

[Jez]

Hi All,

A very basic question - to which there are many answers...... and one which many if not all of the forun members (except some of our lucky members in hotter climates) will have had to consider at some time (perhaps there are older threads on this that I don't know about?). What greenhouse should I buy?

I got a free one a while ago, but on closer inspection I realised that about half the wood and most if not all of the glass would have to be replaced so I have resigned this one to "parts to be used to make cold-frame" status.

I've got a budget of at the very most ?1000 to include all the staging and decent vents. I realise that wood is more expensive, but am convinced (aesthetically as well as for warmth reasons) to go for this. I am sure I can knock up staging myself if need be (and perhaps make a better job than some of the options I've seen for sale) Space ~6X8 is the max. in our small garden that also has to cope with an energetic 4 year old. We also get more than our fare share of wind (there is something of a wind tunnel effect if the wind blows from some directions).

I'm tempted by the Malvern 6'9x8' - but getting toughened glass in it is apparently very expensive. The Alton popular also just about comes in under budget - and apparently ships with toughened glass as standard, but I wondered if anyone had any experience of more "budget" options such as the Walton Evesham. I am looking through on-line sellers' sites to get information and have looked at a few "how to chose your greenhouse" sites as well.

Thanks for any thoughts/experience that you can provide me with!

Cheers,

Jez

[Chris43]

Hi Jez,
I can't offer comparative advice, as I've only ever had Alton red cedar greenhouses.

My current is big (30x10) and I bought in on eBay for les sthan half of what you have as a budget. It was 4 yrs old. Maybe not many bidders because it was big - I did have a hard negotiation with my wife about fitting it in!

But I am a great fan of wood - warmth, easy of fixing anything to it - the bubble glazing goes up with drawing pins, and the glass is so easy to fit and replace. I don't have toughened glass, never had, even when my children were young, but the cost of replacing the odd breaks was less than the extra cost of toughened glass.

[John E]

Hi Jez
I can only endorse what Chris has said. I have had four Alton Cedar greenhouses and as the basic design has not changed over 30 or so years I have been able to join 3 of them together with no trouble. Considering the lack of attention the structures get they are stll in good condition and I heartily reccommend the Alton.

[Maria J]

When I (hopefully) get mine in March, I will go for a 6x8 green framed polycarbonate one. Purely because my back garden runs parallel with the road (fortunately dead end), but all my neighbours' kids play out there with a ball which constantly ends up in my garden!! So I think glass wouldn?t be such a good idea!! On eBay, the ones I?m looking at are ?300 which I think includes the base etc? Also I believe that the polycarb is slightly opaque which puts my mind at rest a little as regards people being able to see (or not!) what?s in there!! ;-)

[iann]

Polycarbonate is certainly a good idea where kids are concerned. It is essentially unbreakable. Toughened glass is certainly breakable, just stronger than regular glass and not so dangerous if it does break. Since the price of toughened glass and polycarbonate is usually very similar, I know which I'd choose.

Those aluminium and polycarbonate greenhouses do give them impression of being very flimsy though. They are extremely light and quite flexible until everything is fixed to a base and the glazing firmly in place. Even the cheapest are stable enough once they are completed but the cheaper designs, and I think most of the new ones on eBay fall into this category, can have some pretty scary gaps at the joints - not so good for our hobby.

I second what others have mentioned. Secondhand greenhouses are much much cheaper and you can choose the quality, anything from like new to a "fixer-upper". The only drawback is that polycarbonate is new enough that you don't often see it on secondhand greenhouses yet. Even toughened glass is unusual.

[Maria J]

Thanks Ian for the heads up as regards gaps! I'll do some more homewrok before I make a decision!

[Jez]

Thanks for the comments folks. I was considering one of the alu+polycarb. jobs at one point myself.... definately a cost saver. However, we get quite a lot of days with high wind here in Berwick on Tweed so I decided to go with the sturdier wood (also for the aesthetic and warmth reasons). Having now made my mind up on roughly what to buy I am going to scour the Web for a good price over the coming couple of months - and plan the inevitable upheaval to the garden (which might include digging a great big trench to put the electrics in).

J

[Chris43]

Take care with the electrics, Jez. Make sure its done by a suitably qualified person, decent armoured cable, RCD etc.

[Jez]

Chris - absolutely. I'll either get someone to check over what I've done before I bury it (I'm fairly happy doing most spark stuff and have a good understanding of requirements) or more likely just do the digging and let the pro. do the rest!

Jez

[Bill]

I have just got back from sorting out my sisters greenhouse electrics (her husband did them) she said nothing was working.

When I had a look I found a std extension plugged into the shed running to the greenhouse, plugged into this was a 2 way adapter and light wired directly into the socket. It gets worse, plugged into the adapter are a 3 kilowatt heater and a four way extension lead, plugged into that is another 2 kilowatt heater and 3 propogators. And I wonder why the the adapter had welded itself to the first extension lead and the internals burnt out, it was only sheer luck that the fuse had lost contact with terminals that stopped a fire developing.

Back to the subject in hand, Jez don't forget to budget for heating, water butts etc