Demolition of greenhouse

tansycat

I've got an old 20ft x 8ft greenhouse which I inherited when I bought my house over 20 years ago. We've patched it up over the years but now it's beyond repair so I'm planning to get the site cleared and put up a new one. My landscaper says it's too dangerous to dismantle it as the original glass isn't safety glass so he wants to demolish it by knocking it down and breaking up the glass into tiny pieces with a digger then burying the broken glass under a new path. I don't like the sound of that, I think it should go in the skip. Is this normal practice?

peter_the_piper

None of the glass in my greenhouses is safety glass, its all normal breakable stuff. Its no great problem removing it in one piece and assuming 2ft square, its worth keeping some for emergency use. Don't forget to wear leather gloves just in case. Why not ask the local tip to see whether they'll take it?

Mojisola

tansycat wrote: »

My landscaper says it's too dangerous to dismantle it as the original glass isn't safety glass so he wants to demolish it by knocking it down and breaking up the glass into tiny pieces with a digger then burying the broken glass under a new path.

Horticultural glass isn't safety glass - it's a different grade.

I think he's just after a quick and dirty way of removal.

It will be a slow job, removing the glass piece by piece and there will inevitably be breakages - and so it will cost you more and not be a nice job to do.

Years before we bought this house, a brick and glass outbuilding was demolished in the garden. We still find tiny shards of glass whenever the soil is dug over.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I'd say thank you but I will pay somebody else to do it in a way that I prefer if you aren't able to.

When the OH's grandfather died, he went out there with decent gloves and carefully removed every pane in small batches for disposal and then broke up the frame in a similar controlled manner. He's not the most elegant man, and certainly wasn't any better as a teenager, but he didn't break a single piece. The only broken glass was a couple of panes that had already cracked and he removed from the frame in pieces.

glasgowdan

I agree... absolutely avoid burying glass. You never know what you may end up doing in the garden in future, and if it involves landscaping this area you'#ll have eternal pieces of glass to deal with for years. You could probably do this in a morning.

Davesnave

We dismantled our 25'x10' greenhouse without drama or injury and we were by then living 100 miles away from it.

We just chose a calm day, took it down carefully, wearing gloves, stuck it all in the van and drove it home. Later on, I sold much of the glass on eBay, making about £35. Considering that the greenhouse cost us just £150 secondhand some 24 years previously, it didn't owe us a lot!

Most recycling centres will take the glass. If your local aurtority is as tight as mine, they'll charge, but it'll be much cheaper than a skip.

Farway

you could try offering the glass, free, buyer removes, on the local freecycle or whatever is local to you

If no takers then consider the options above