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Glass greenhouses are one of the most common buildings in garden plots. Having won the trust and respect of many people with the opportunity to make it with their own hands, having only drawings, glass greenhouses occupy a leading position in the list of such structures. We will talk about how greenhouses work under glass, how to build a glass greenhouse with your own hands, about the types of frames and how to fix glass, we will talk in this article.
Benefits of a glass greenhouse
If you have never built a greenhouse structure on your site and are now choosing what material to make it from, then here are the main advantages of a greenhouse under glass. Glass greenhouses maintain the necessary microclimate inside, providing vegetables, fruits, flowers and berries with the necessary humidity and air temperature. Growing different crops in greenhouse conditions allows you to start earlier and end the planting season later, which means harvesting several times, alternating plants.
It should be added to the number of indisputable advantages that greenhouses under glass are operated for quite a long time, practically without requiring attention to functional details. Glass allows sunlight to reach plants without any obstacles, because among the covering materials it ranks first in terms of light transmission. In addition, it is quite easy to clean it from dirt, leaves or debris brought by the wind.
If any segment of the glass greenhouse is damaged, it is easy to replace it with your own hands due to the design features. Usually they use window frames, which can be easily found in landfills and flea markets.
The chemical inertness of glass is based on the fact that it is an environmentally friendly material that remarkably withstands interaction with an aggressive environment. Being extremely resistant to abrasive influences, the glass greenhouse is minimally subject to abrasive wear and time. Greenhouses under glass cope well with both high and low air temperatures without changing their physical parameters. In the summer heat and in the winter cold, it does not decrease and does not increase in volume.
Glass greenhouse structures
The choice of greenhouse design under glass is an important step that cannot be ignored. When buying a greenhouse or greenhouse, make sure that the frame is made of quality materials. Mostly choose wooden, aluminum or steel frames because of their high strength and service life.
Inspect the glass that covers the frames, its thickness should be at least 4 millimeters.
Initially, you should decide for what time of the year you need glass greenhouses. For seasonal crops adapted for growing crops in spring, summer and autumn, Mitlider structures with a gable roof are suitable, the slopes of which are located at different levels, or the usual gable and single-slope. For growing plants in winter, you will have to change the drawings, since ordinary gable structures may not withstand packed snow, and you also need to expand the room for installing heating equipment.
There is also a division according to the position of the greenhouse under the glass relative to the ground. Some are installed on a high foundation, others, on the contrary, are deepened into the ground, others are placed directly on a flat plot of the garden. You can also place them in work areas, such as a garage or on the second floor, say, on the roof of a barn.
Construction of a standard glass greenhouse
Depending on the material of the frame, the drawings change. It is easiest to fix glass on wooden frames, it is a little more difficult to fix it on aluminum or steel pipes, since the shape and type of fasteners change.
Where to place
Having decided on the type of construction of the greenhouse under glass, you should move on to another, no less important question – where to place it. First of all, the structure is oriented to the cardinal points, located from north to south or from east to west. Orientation from east to west is widespread, in which during the day the crops in the greenhouse under glass receive uniform lighting and heating. Farm and industrial greenhouse structures are located from east to west, because in this way the soil warms up faster in them, and the air temperature remains uniform throughout the day.
It is not recommended to install a greenhouse in the shade of houses or tall trees. In spring and autumn, they will provide excessive shade, due to which crops will not receive the necessary influx of light for active vegetation. Moreover, already from the middle of summer, fallen leaves will accumulate on the roof, so you will have to clean it regularly to avoid damage. Do not place a greenhouse in the backyard of the site, complicating access to it.
It is good to make a greenhouse near the house. At the same time, the design receives protection from strong winds and additional heat transfer from the house.
It is best to install a greenhouse on a flat open area. Thus, you use natural resources more efficiently, which will positively affect the growth of planted crops.
We make a glass greenhouse with our own hands
It is very easy to make a glass greenhouse with your own hands. According to the drawings, calculate how much glass, wood or aluminum blanks you will need. Make a mark on the ground by driving in pegs so as not to make a mistake when installing parts. It’s good if you have an assistant, since it’s quite difficult to fix the glass on all parts of the frame with your own hands alone.
Foundation
Start by preparing the foundation. Before harvesting, remove the fertile layer of soil and lay it aside. Take bars with a section of 10 x 10 cm, connect them with corners or self-tapping screws according to the markings. Fill the hole with gravel or sand, fill it with 20 cm of cement. After the cement has hardened, fix the wooden frame with your own hands – this is the basis for future walls. Line the bottom of the foundation with waterproofing roofing material. The depth of the floor should be about 20 cm.
Walls and roof
If you are using wooden frames to make your own structure, then process and clean them well before installation. Fill all joints of glass and wood with sealant to increase the thermal insulation of the structure.
As a frame, you can use bars with a cut of 5 x 5 cm, which are easy to connect with self-tapping screws or do-it-yourself corners. The height of the walls should be about 1,75 m. Connect the window frames or beams into walls that are suitable in size and width, and then fix them one by one on the wooden part of the foundation.
For the manufacture of the roof, the same technique is used, but it is desirable to add support beams to increase the strength of the structure.
Video “Greenhouse made of glass and metal”
In this video, the author shows how a greenhouse made of glass and a metal corner is arranged. You will learn how the foundation is arranged, how the frame and glazing are installed, how automation works.
