Storm Proofing Greenhouse

My Greenhouse took quite the battering from storm Barra with three panes broken. Many more panes popped out but thankfully I have toughened glass. My neighbours cut down a lot of their trees recently which has left me more exposed. I have a Vitavia Phoenix 14ft by 8ft.

I found a place selling bags containing 1000 W-clips so that's obviously a good investment. I noticed when it gusted that the whole side of the greenhouse facing the wind was pushed in, just enough to cause the clips around one pane to fail, with the glass then falling to the ground. Therefore clips are not enough in a more severe storm.
What else can I do besides using clips? Would you recommend clear silicon all the way around each pane? Is there a strong clear tape that will stick well to glass that might work instead? My greenhouse model now comes with the option of Bar Capping which can be used instead of the clips. Does anyone have experience with this?

Any other tips? Is there anything you do specifically when a storm is approaching? I had put gaffer tape on a number of panes but the tape didn't stick as well as I had hoped.

 

Hi.

We found the 8ft west facing side of our greenhouse would feel quiet bendy when faced with strong winds but adding an extra horizonal piece of aluminium angle and one or two diagonal braces down onto the greenhouse floor * really made it feel solid and seems to have stood the test of time.

You could also add extra diagonal or horizonal braces to the other sides to make the whole frame stronger.

* We also connect the staging to the greenhouse frame to give it added support and weight.

 

I have commercial greenhouses and I would not use silicon, to much hassle to repair when you get damaged glass. We don't use clips at all, except in the roof which prevents the glass sliding down into the gutter. We use something similar to a rubber gasket, this is profiled for commercial greenhouses, image below of how it looks. There is no screws or clips anywhere down the sides and its actually quite quiet inside even during gales.



For tape, I would use polytunnel repair tape, make sure the glass surface has been well cleaned, otherwise it will not stick. Another option, which I have seen people use on domestic greenhouses, anti hot spot tape. It is a foam tape normally used on the hoops of polytunnels, but if you stick it to the glazing bar before glazing, then when clipped it will give a tighter fit.

 

In my green house I don't use free standing staging, the staging is fixed to the ali framework on ali gallows brackets.
It's surprising how a lot of pots stiffen up the framing.
Mine is about 40+ years old so the ali sections are probably as thick as what a very expensive modern one would be.
If it is a bit flimsy you could just fix staging with legs to the frame work.

As to holding in the glass it depends a bit on the section of the ali, I've replaced some of my glass with 10mm polycarbonate held in with timber beads. Don't see why that couldn't be applied to glass if the exposure is that great.

 

What are the clips made of? If they seem to give a tight hold until high winds hit and vibrate them out, perhaps you could try some rubbery type of glue on the glass side. Don't glue to the glass but let the glue dry to become a rubbery, non slip surface which would press against the glass surface to make it harder for the clips to shift?

I use a water based fabric glue that dries a bit harder than jelly candy. I've put it on the back of measuring instruments so that when I position them on my fabrics, the rubbery effect keeps them from sliding about and whilst I am pinning or whatever.

Just a thought...

 

Used some old alu shelving uprights in my 8x8. Used as diagonal brace on three sides.
Could also use tiling trim.

 

We had the same problem in storm Arwen, it bowed the bottom rail in on the long side (12 feet), but fortunately no glass broke. Next morning we found the door, which is on a runner, had blown open so the wind could have got in with disastrous consequences
. Next time a storm is predicted I'll wedge it with a brick.