Glass V Plastic

aardvaak

I have 2 Alton Greenhouses that the glass is constantly falling out of and breaking - I am getting very fed up as it's also getting very costly to replace.

If I was to replace with clear plastic sheets would there be any difference in growing as I suspect plastic is cheaper.

What do others think?

Foxy0810

Well my greenhouse is homemade out of clingfilm and it works fantastic I'm sure plastic would be fine

ellie14

The plastic tends to go green and excludes the light,had to remove from my fruit cage.

POPPYOSCAR

aardvaak wrote: »

I have 2 Alton Greenhouses that the glass is constantly falling out of and breaking - I am getting very fed up as it's also getting very costly to replace.

If I was to replace with clear plastic sheets would there be any difference in growing as I suspect plastic is cheaper.

What do others think?

Why do you think that is?

My glass seems to be ok. Is it in firmly in the first pace?

LincolnshireYokel

you can get 2' x 3'10" twin wall polycarbonate sheets that fit greenhouse perfectly, but they're £8 a throw.

aardvaak

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

you can get 2' x 3'10" twin wall polycarbonate sheets that fit greenhouse perfectly, but they're £8 a throw.

At that price it is possibly better to bulldoze the greenhouses!

A._Badger

Ouch! If that's typical, I'm glad I didn't buy an Alton. Surely something must be wrong with it?

aardvaak

A._Badger wrote: »

Ouch! If that's typical, I'm glad I didn't buy an Alton. Surely something must be wrong with it?

I was always told they were the upper class of greenhouses - it is possibly they can be repaired there is not much wrong but I need about 12 pieces can I ever justify that expense? - these are 20 x 10's

peter_the_piper

We have a mix of plastic tunnels and glass houses. Glass may be more expensive but you only have to replace when broken. Plastic means a replacement sheet any time from 4 years to 8 years depending on quality of sheet used. Glass houses are easier to insulate and shade and I believe (but not totally sure) that that glass does not transmit heat to the outside of the house as quickly as plastic.

officeguru

I have had a glass greenhouse for years and the back pane kept breaking... The reason was that regardless what I told my better-half, he didn't believe me how important it was to make sure that the base was square.. so he put down the base without checking the diagonals and, because of that, it affected the true of the greenhouse, hence the back panel breaking... (I've had to put a plastic pane in there but it is at the back so it doesn't matter too much..) For the last 20 years, it has stood up to almost everything (except when I fell through it) and the hurricane last winter took the door off but, fortunately, didn't blow the rest of the glass out... but I find the curved fancy plastic at the top of the sides keeps blowing out if there are high winds and they are not cheap to replace...

I would still go with glass as it doesn't discolour and is easier to maintain.. plus I use the white stuff for shading and I can't put it on the plastic as it stains it....

alanobrien

Plastic is fine. Had mine about 10 years and haven't lost a panel yet. I clean the panels once a year with a water and white vinegar solution and that keeps it in good condition.