help with greenhouse glass

Hi all, I'm completely new to greenhouse related stuff as I've never had one before, and am probably going to ask some very basic silly questions! I 'inherited' an aluminium greenhouse with the house we moved into last year. It was in a bit of state, as the house had been empty for at least 18 months and it'd probably been a lot longer since the greenhouse was used.

But I took all the glass out, cleaned it up, moved the greenhouse to a new position, sorted a new base and have just put the glass back in, only problem is it's missing about 12 panels of varying sizes and I have absolutely no idea where or how to get replacement panels! Any suggestions would be fantastic

Also it had some bits of plastic strip stuff to sort of cushion the glass, but a lot was missing so I didn't bother with any when I put the glass back in, should I have?? What does it do?
thanks for any help!

 

Hi Bem,

Unless you know the make & model then it might be easier to measure up the sizes you want, less 2mm for manouverability, and get it cut at the local glaziers. They can usually get it toughened for you too.

 

You definitely need to "bed" the glass on something, most manufacturers, use either a rubber gasket or glazing tape these days.
I'm thinking you probably have the 3mm horticultural glass if the greenhouse is quite old???
The kind with the overlap and Z clips.
Usually 18insx24ins, or 24insx 24ins.

Or is the glass in larger full sections ????

 

Welcome to GC Bem
First there are no basic silly questions, You just ask what you need to ask

You should use the cushion for the glass, an alternative is the foam single side adhesive tape used for draught excluding,
Glass can be obtained from a good general garden and hardware stores, a hardware store, or obviously from a Glazier, The panes should be a standard size, If not as advised previously measure 2mm undersize and have them cut by the Glazier

Jack McHammocklashing

 

That's what I used as there was not enough of the original "bead" of rubber that slotted into the groove in the Aluminum.

I have heard of people using a bead of silicon (i.e. using a caulking gun) too, but I think it would make the glass very hard to remove, if you ever needed to.

 

Never use silicon makes glass impossible to remove I had a glasshouse once where someone had used this a nightmare to remove

 

Aww, thanks guys for all the helpful replies!

Just so I know, why does the glass need to be 'bedded' on something? Is it draught proofing or to stop it breaking? Lots of the plastic strips were missing, so I think I may have to take the glass out and redo with some of this adhesive tape stuff (which should be amusing as I'm not so good at taking the clips off without them flying all over the place!)

Also now I know what the horrible difficult to remove stuff was on the edges of some of the glass, thank you stumorphamc and I agree - such a massive pain to remove!

I totally had to go and look up waht z clips were, but yes they are exactly what I've been using, and I will pop out tonight and have a measure but I think the glass probably is 3mm thick, are z clips and glass that thickness not a standard thing anymore?

I think this also means a trip to cool old school hardware shop nearby which I love rummaging around as they have all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff I clearly don't need but just love the idea of having! Plus I did notice they had a sign about cutting glass to size when I drove past last night, so I'll try there and call a local glazier and hopefully should have an up and running greenhouse soon

 

You can get spare Z-clips etc online, might be worth checking prices and the "range" of suitable bits before shopping locally. Dunno if their prices are good, but I have bought from these people before:
http://www.greenhousepeople.co.uk/spare-parts/

 

Just a thought but you can get greenhouse spares, (depending on make), from a lot of garden centres, and if you only need a small amount, it can work out cheaper than on line, due to not having delivery costs.
Glazing tape can be bought from most glaziers, it give a soft bed for the glass, as opposed to being directly against the aluminium frame, which can cause breakage, also the clips are usually designed to allow for the bedding behind the glass, so the clips may not hold the glass securely without the tape.
It also allows a small amount of movement.

If you do buy glass, mention its for a greenhouse, 3mm horticultural glass was always a lot cheaper than standard 4 mm normal glazing.

 

Just to add, your local glass stockist may well have glass cut to 'standard' sizes...mine did

 

Mine too