Green House Building Materials

Strength Determined by Greenhouse Building Material

The quality of your green house building material will determine the overall strength and durability of your green house. Whether you plumb for aluminum, wood or PVC, your cladding material will most probably be glass, and glass is not the easiest of materials to work with, as this cautionary tale makes clear. Building technology has moved on a long way from the potting shed on grandma's allotment. However, you can still find companies offering the traditional materials employed in the classic greenhouse designs of the '50s because the the principles of strength, durability and ease of maintenance are as true today as they have ever been.

How Long Will It Stand?

As with any other construction project, regardless of shape and size, the green house building material you use will also determine how long your greenhouse will stand up and how often you'll be changing individual panes of glass. The best frames are usually made of metal with high strength galvanized roll-formed steel or heavy-duty aluminum frames with baked enamel finishes. However, there are some beautiful cedar wood greenhouses that are both robust, long-lasting, beautiful to look at and, well, extremely expensive. In short, the materials you choose should fit your garden - and your pocket.

Dealing with Building Regs

You will need to decide if the green house building material you choose for the side walls is to be load rated or non-load rated. You might discover that your local authority has implemented building codes of established specifications and unless you’re building a small unit, chances are you will need to apply for a building permit. This means you will need to look over the requirements before you build. To avoid this, keep your plans modest. An off-the-shelf solution will side-step the need for this as they are usually designed with such building regulations in mind.

Cladding and Padding

There are basically four types of cladding materials used in the construction of a standard greenhouse:

• tempered glass
• polyethylene plastic
• polycarbonate sheeting and double
• triple thickness polycarbonate

Each cladding material has its on associated advantages and disadvantages, and ultimately you choice will be dependent on your location and your budget.

Use Determines Strength

You can purchase materials for every type of a individual greenhouse unit:

• a two-sided unit that fits into the nook of an L-shaped house plan
• a three-sided unit that attaches to an external wall of your house or barn
• a free-standing commercial unit often seen at retailers during the peak selling months

Clearly, using an existing structure to support your greenhouse is going to provide you with a huge advantage in terms of sheltering the plants from adverse weather and supporting the structure. A leaning structure will not require to be as stiff as a free-standing one, so your structure need not be so heavy nor employ so many expensive structural devices. A cold frame greenhouse captures heat during the daylight hours, trapping it for the evening when it’s cooler. They also hold more moisture and therefore plants will require less watering. These are usually made with a rounded frame covered in plastic sheeting but there are other shapes available.

Additional Equipment

Whichever greenhouse building material you use, you'll need additional equipment in the form of heaters, fans, vents, shelves, and benches. The quality and longevity of such equipment will dictate its price. Attached or lean-to greenhouse structures may require some additional planning. The walls the are attached to (or lean against) may build up heat during the day which will be released as the ligher materials are cooling down. Thus the junctions between the materials should allow for some movement.

An Oft Overlooked Form of Greenhouse

The cheapest, and in some ways smartest type of green house is nothing more than a window-mounted unit. This fits around an existing window and is perfect for growing herbs or nurturing delicate houseplants throughout the year. You don't need many green house building materials for one of these. Just open your window and breathe in the scent of flowers or fresh herbs all year round.