Best glazing material where it gets hot

16 years ago

Hi All

We have a home made GH. We covered it with a product sold by Lowe's that said it was tough enough for Texas heat. We've replaced the roof, after 2 years and now after 4 years need to replace the whole thing because the material is a crisp as a corn chip.

Used a shade cloth over the roof all summer and winter after replacing the roof and it has a number of holes in it....again.

I'm looking at the twin wall polycarb in Charley's catalogue. Any suggests or warnings? Any place have better prices?

Since all we use ours for is keeping plants alive for a few months in winter, I think we might just give it a solid roof, maybe tin.

Any thoughts?

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Comments (9)

greenhouser
16 years ago
First see if Lowe's will replce the material and always get everything in writing! Don't take a clerk's word for it. They can and will tell you anything.

Check everywhere else other than Charlies. I've seen polycarb with UV protection all over the place when when I was doing research on GHs.
gardenerwantabe
16 years ago
Buy a HFGH when it is on sale sell or throw away the framing. I'm sure you could sell some if not all of it on this forum.
What you will pay for the whole GH will be less than what you can buy the panels for.
My guess would be the stuff you bought at LOWE'S was not UV coated and it failed quickly.
Some of those panels are intended for use with inside lighting that may be what you bought.
Shop around but you will find that most places charge a lot for UV polycarb panels
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cynthianovak
Original Author
16 years ago
What's an HFGH? I'm assuming that GH mean green house, but what is HF?

The stuff we bought at Lowes was UV coated and listed as tough enough for TX. In fact, there was a sticker to show us which side needed to be out for UV protection. BUT it was warrantied for 125 degrees and I'm assuming that it got hotter than that in the top of our greenhouse because it got so brittle....darn! I left the windows open, and there is shade in the summer but it must have still passed the temperature.

greehouser, where did you finally get yours? Is that OK to ask?
thank you both
cynthia
greenhouser
16 years ago
I went with a GH kit, first a small HFGH (HF = Harbor Freight) and then a larger Rion GH. The kits were really the cheapest way to go and are UV treated.
mudhouse_gw
16 years ago
Here's the link to the Harbor Freight website, showing their greenhouses. (There may also be a Harbor Freight store near you.) If you click on each greenhouse, you can download a PDF for the assembly manual, and the parts list at the back of the manual shows the polycarbonate panel sizes that come in each kit (to see if they would fit your greenhouse.)
Harbor Freight greenhouses

I've like Charley's service, but to me they do seem to be higher in price on some items. I'd Google for polycarbonate greenhouse panels and really price shop. I've heard folks say the shipping can get expensive, so watch for that.

Also, be sure you're not comparing apples to oranges...polycarbonate comes in different thicknesses. I think Charley's only sells 6mm and 8mm polycarbonate panels, but the Harbor Freight greenhouses have thinner 4mm polycarbonate. Here's a photo of the edge of the 4mm panels in my HF 10x12, if that helps.

{{gwi:295682}}
ole_dawg
16 years ago
The so called coming rage is going to be 16mm 5 wall like offered by BC GH or so they say. It makes sense to me and the numbers are right. I just got their catalogue and it is featured on one of their models.

1eyedJack and the Dawg
cynthianovak
Original Author
16 years ago
thank you all
this is very useful information. I hadn't noticed the thickness. We already have a structure that is solid so we really do want to recover it. We have wood 3 feet up the side to protect it from our dogs' feet when they see some critter inside.

I found a UV 2-wall plyable product, polyethylene. Any chance that you've tried it?

thank you all again
cynthia
ole_dawg
16 years ago
CN,
You need to give us a little more info. Mfg.? and or specs.? and a pic would be a good start

1eyedJack and the Dawg
cynthianovak
Original Author
16 years ago
Here is a site that gives some alternatives. They sound easier to install, and cheaper than polycarb.

Thank you for any thoughts on this
cynthia

Here is a link that might be useful: alternatives to polycarb

Best glazing material where it gets hot

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Best glazing material where it gets hot

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