I bought mine out of 'Loot'. It involved a drive to the other side of town, and we had to dismantle the greenhouse from its old home, which took hours, then load it into our car (very carefully...) and drive back across London (wincing at every speed-bump), but it meant we got ourselves a greenhouse for £25. However, the whole process was quite time-consuming, we had to clean all the glass and also had to replace a few clips and broken panes. But still, a cost-effective way of buying one.

By the way, are you really so constrained by space that it can only be 6 x 6 ft? I think anybody who has a greenhouse will tell you to buy the largest one you can, and even that will seem too small (mine is 6 x 8ft, and that's pretty small).

One thing you can be sure of is that you won't regret buying one - good luck with the search.

I should check ebay. You can get a top quality second hand, say 8'x8'for £100-150, and cheaper models go for peanuts.

Brian

You could see if you have a local Freecycle group (www.freecycle.org) - it's basically a scheme for communities to give away stuff free to each other. Sometimes greenhouses pop up, but depending on how urgently you want one this perhaps isn't the best option. (Course, you'd need to participate and give things away, too..)

And yeah, there's always eBay. (Which also has plastic walk-in greenhouses, if you're not bothered about having something solid with metal/glass construction..)

Melanie

I would buy a second hand one, too. If you're handy, it doesn't take much to dismantle it, and putting it up can take only an afternoon, especially if you don't dismantle it all completely in the first place (ie. leave some of the components bolted to the framework). Don't worry about transporting glass  put a sheet of glass between each pane and bind batches of ten panes in cardboard. Cleaning is easy  use a squeegee and water with a drop of vinegar in it. With only a cursory cleaning, you can have a greenhouse which can look just like new.

I'm assuming the greenhouse is metal, of course. I built mine from second hand and it is wooden. It was going to be condemned, but once I got it down and cleaned the wood of years of accumulated algae and moss, it is now like new after a lick of preservative. It is 60feet long, but you may not have enough room for such a beast (if you can find one, that is).

why not build one with scrap windows. the trouble would be finding them ... then of course there is building.

Greenhouses are like boats, aquariums, and ponds. You get one and the first thing you want is a bigger one. Small greenhouses usually turn into transparent toolsheds full of dead plants and garden tools. Find one of those and offer to remove or purchase it from the owner. Operating a greenhouse successfully is not as easy at it first appears and the smaller it is, the harder it is. Just like an aquarium or pond.

B&Q in Airside Retail Park, Swords, Co. Dublin are selling a variety of greenhouses very reasonably, change out of Â350 for a 6' x 8' model, while stocks last.

I bought mine at B&Q at least 10 years ago for about �250. It's a softwood one and is beginning to show its age now but has been an endless source of enjoyment. It is a 6'x6' one but I do not have room for a bigger one.

If I was buying again I would undoubtedly turn to Ebay first, although you might then have the hassle of dismantling and transportation. I had mine delivered and a carpenter friend to help me put it together, but even so, it was a bit fraught!

I have bought hundreds of things from Ebay over the years, but nothing has ever come from Nigeria. It is my first resource now when I need just about anything - buying new is nice but getting a second-hand bargain is even nicer.

We have a local paper, FreeAds ours is called. I put in an ad for free and got 6 replies. Picked up three for nothing, just had to dismantle them. Each took just 2 hours, and about the same to erect. Lots of people buy small and regret it. When they get a bigger one they are glad to have the old one removed.
All you will need is transport, patience, and a 10 mm spanner.

Another possibility, if you are short of space, is to try and find 2 of those 6ftx2ft lean to types. If they are the same make/size you can fix them together back to back with a few bolts. That will give you a 6ftx4ft greenhouse with 2 slatted shelves and a door each side. This is fine for seed trays, or a few pots. You'd be surprised how much you can fit inside, not having wasted space for a walkway.