Advice on building my own coldframe

So the year progresses, I am still not allowed a greenhouse, after much dithering I have decided to invest in a coldframe, when I say invest... I am going to attempt to make one myself. I have seen a similiar type in homebase but it is about £180 more a cold cupboard than a frame really.

I am looking for advice on what type of wood to use, what to treat it with. Also to glaze it does it have to be glass or could I used sheet plastic or similar? Any advice greatly appreciated as always. :cnfs:

 

Lollyb - you could just make a tempory one.


Its not very beautiful - but it does the job. The picture above shows my home made cold frame. It simply consists of breeze blocks and old bricks, with glass placed on the top. Some of the glass was my old windows, and some I got for nothing from the council tip. By placing it against the house it uses less bricks and gains a tiny amount of heat from the house wall in winter. I find this is extremely flexible, the shape is adjusted to fit with what size of glass is available. In the summer I store the glass away in a shed and stack the bricks. The cost is virtually nothing and it is a good size.

You could certainly use plastic as a top as long as it was well secured against strong winds.

 

The answer to your question is hedged with 'ifs' and 'buts' and 'it all depends'.
Cheapest route to explore would be to try to get hold of some old glazed windows and recycled 6" x 2" timber. You could try local reclaimation merchants or on-line local 'freecycle' site. You could build a sturdy and long lasting frame this way.

The problem with plastic for glazing is that unless you build in a method of securing it (with frame open and closed) it is liable to blow off whereas glass being heavier is less likely to do so.

If you want to go for new timber and keep the cost down, most of the major DIY stores sell pre-treated external grade boarding for fences that would do as sides and you could buy a single fence post and cut it into four sections to make the corner supports. This will still leave you with the problem of constructing a cover. If you go for plastic, or sheets of glass you'll have to make a frame to support it and a method of securing it. However if you can get your paws on some old windows it would be easier.

Edit - I see PeterS beat me by one minute for an even cheaper solution! :thumb:

 

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Hi Peter,

You should have your frame as deep as possible, two brick height is fine for seedlings but as soon as they start to grow,well!

Also the more area inside the more heat is retained in the colder days!

Cheers!

 

Thanks everyone, I am currently like a small child at Christmas! I have managed to source a couple of windows already from freecycle. We currently live in the middle of a building site, so will go and beg a few bricks from the foreman tomorrow.

I plan to have the cold frame up against the house as I have a mainly south facing garden and the back of the house gets the most sun / heat.

Can you use the little paraffin heaters in coldframes if required? or should these really only be used in greenhouses?

Peter, are your windows hinged onto the brick or simply rested on top? Are you able to prop them open on warmer days?

 

Hi Lolly, Make your own by all means but you can buy cheap ones from garden centres, Plastic thingies that clip together and have clear plastic sheeting. I've got one, I think it cost around £20. I basically only use it to keep the frost off some plants that would die otherwise, and a few trays and cuttings. The good thing is I can take it apart in the summer when it's not needed. (I don't have enough room!)

 

Lollyb

No my glass is not hinged. it simply sits on top of the bricks. But you can open it on warm days by lifting up the front of the glass top and sticking a wedge such as half a brick under it.

I would be dubious about using a parrafin heater. The space wil be very small with little headroom and the glass could get very hot.

Makka Bakka, you are right about having it as deep as possible. But with a brick front mine tend to lose out on light. However I stored a number of sizeable Echiums over last winter by making part of it three breeze blocks high

 

Alll built! nothing attractive in the slightest but i am hoping it will hold. Glass top, glass front and bricked sides. Good ole freecycle!

 

Well done Lollyb - you are now thinking like a true gardener. :D