In our time, it is rare to find a garden plot on which a greenhouse would not be built. Someone has it made of plastic, and someone has it made of glass, greenhouse film or polycarbonate. All these materials have different properties and have both positive and negative sides. In this article, we will talk specifically about glass greenhouses and their construction.
Advantages and disadvantages of glass greenhouses
Glass greenhouses have one important feature-to maintain the necessary microclimate for vegetables, herbs and flowers. Growing a crop in a glass greenhouse, you get much more harvest and not 1 time per season!
The glass greenhouse is a classic, and among greenhouses, many gardeners choose them because of the following advantages:
- Glass greenhouses can serve for a very long time.
- All plants are fed by sunlight, which is necessary for good and fast growth, and the glass passes ultraviolet rays well, providing plants with rapid maturation.
- The glass is very easy to clean from dirt and can not deteriorate over time.
- Broken glass can be easily replaced.
- Good insulation.
- For greenhouses, you can use cheap and used glass, which is not inferior to the new one.
But the design of the greenhouse, made of glass, has a number of small drawbacks that should be taken into account before starting construction:
- For greenhouses, a solid foundation and a solid frame should be made of glass material.
- Glass is a fragile material, and it is very easy to damage it.
- A sheet of glass is quite heavy, because of this, you need to make a foundation and additional supporting structures for the construction.
- The glass is very transparent for heat, on hot days-the temperature in the greenhouse rises greatly, which can be harmful to some plants.
- Glass greenhouse is built in the form of a house, other design options are not suitable.
Even with these disadvantages, glass greenhouses are the best option, and to this day they are built in their own yard by many gardeners, as they have significant advantages in contrast to greenhouses made of other materials.
How to choose a glass greenhouse?
The choice of a glass greenhouse should be approached with great care, because this building should serve you for more than 1 year. Currently, there are a huge number of companies offering to buy ready-made glass greenhouses, but how to choose and what to pay attention to? If you decide to buy a greenhouse, then, of course, you want it to be made of high-quality materials and not fall apart after the season, so first of all you should pay attention to the frame, which should be made of solid steel or wood! The size of the glass depends on the design of the frame, but the optimal thickness of the glass should be at least 4 mm.
This is important to remember!When buying a greenhouse in a little-known company, carefully check the design! Many unscrupulous manufacturers want to save on quality. And do not forget-the glass greenhouse is placed only on a solid foundation, preferably made of brick or concrete.
Glass greenhouse with your own hands
For those who agree with the expression “if you want to do something right, do it yourself” and have at least a little knowledge in construction, they will be able to build a greenhouse on their dacha plot without any problems and save a lot of money.
You need to deal with the construction of the foundation and frame, then you can safely assemble a greenhouse from window frames with screws, cement, construction foam and silicone sealant, as well as all the necessary tools for construction.
For glass greenhouses, a good foundation is a tree (10×10 cm (3.9×3.9 inch) timber). Before building the foundation, it is necessary to remove the fertile layer of earth and, if necessary, dig up the next layer of earth. Then you have to do the following work in the following order:
- The prepared soil is laid with a layer of gravel (sand can be used) and filled with cement for 15-20 cm (5.9-7.9 inch);
- The resulting cement is completely laid with stones or bricks and again poured with cement;
- Cement is laid with bricks or stones, but tightly, so that the bottom row is not visible;
- On the resulting structure, lay out 2-3 layers of waterproofing roofing material.
The next stage of construction is the preparation of window frames. It is necessary to remove all the handles, hinges, clean (if it is an old frame) and treat with antiseptic. If the window frames will be attached to the frame with nails, then before installation, care should be taken to expose all the glass. Do not forget to carefully seal all the air vents in the windows that will not be used.
After you have prepared the window frame, you need to start laying the floor. The depth of the floor in the greenhouse should be at least 20 cm (7.9 inch), and its base is leveled and compacted. For strength, you can fill the rammed soil with concrete. Then fill the prepared base with gravel. Gravel surface with a plastic barrier against moisture and weed growth. Pour the sand on 10-15 cm (3.9-5.9 inch) and tamp it well. On the tightly packed sand, put the bricks (very close to each other) and again fall asleep with sand.
As soon as we have sorted out the floor, we begin to build the frame. For the frame, wooden plates with a size of 50×50 mm are suitable. This thickness is ideal, because most window frames are exactly this thickness, which allows the window frames to be pressed against the entire plane. Each frame consists of 3 elements: upper and lower rails and racks. The lower rail is made of 2 boards. For a glass greenhouse, you need to make a gable roof out of the window frames. The walls in the greenhouse should be at least 175 cm (1.9 yard). The height of the greenhouse depends on the angle of the slopes. Before erecting the wall in the greenhouse, it is necessary to initially make vertical spacers at the base.
After the construction is completed, the frame is nailed or screwed onto the screws of the window frame. If you decide to work with nails, then you will have to beat them as often as possible – for strength. The roof can be covered with a film or polycarbonate windows (remember, if the roof is completely transparent, overheating in the greenhouse can not be avoided).
So, the greenhouse is ready. It may be unattractive, but it will definitely last you longer than other greenhouses made of plastic and other materials, despite the fact that you almost did not spend on it.
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