Greenhouses for growing seedlings and vegetable crops are often installed in summer cottages. In country houses where it is not customary to grow vegetables for your own table, they are used for breeding flowers and exotic plants.
And in that and in another case, one can increasingly find not buildings made of glass or covered with a film, but buildings of a beautiful form, even elegant, made of polycarbonate.
Advantages of Polycarbonate Greenhouses
Polycarbonate greenhouses confidently crowd out the usual glass structures.
Polymer material has undeniable advantages that allow it to replace glass in special structures to create a microclimate that favors plant growth in early spring.
The first important advantage of a polycarbonate greenhouse is light transmission. It is slightly lower than that of glass, but the honeycomb structure of modern material allows you to filter radiation and pass only useful rays into the greenhouse. In this case, light propagates equally in the internal volume, and natural photosynthesis uniformly occurs in all plants.
The low thermal conductivity of polycarbonate allows you to maintain a temperature that is comfortable for plants both on hot summer days and on cold spring nights.
Polycarbonate, unlike glass, is a solid material. Destroy it is not easy. A four-millimeter sheet withstands direct hammer blows without damage to itself.
At the same time, a polycarbonate greenhouse is much lighter than glass, so its frame can be made not of galvanized steel, but of aluminum, which does not corrode and lasts longer. Such a greenhouse does not need a solid foundation.
And one more advantage of using polycarbonate for greenhouses is the optimal ratio of the price of the product to the result.
Polycarbonate is a wear-resistant material that can withstand extreme temperatures, fireproof and environmentally friendly.
Features of using polycarbonate for greenhouses
Polycarbonate greenhouses are easy to assemble with your own hands. Working with polymer material is not difficult, but you need to follow a few simple rules.
You can not make a mistake when installing polycarbonate sheets on the frame. Firstly, they need to be positioned so that the stiffeners are vertically located, then the condensate formed will flow down without problems, without accumulating between the layers of material.
The second thing you need to pay attention to when installing sheets is the installation of a protective layer from the UV outside.
It is convenient to make greenhouses of arched construction from polycarbonate, because it bends, unlike glass, and is much stronger than the film that was previously used for them. But the manufacturer sets the limit radius by which the material can be bent. If you try to make an arch of a smaller diameter, stresses arise in the polycarbonate, and it can collapse.
You can cut polycarbonate with a knife or a file with small teeth. Before installing the cut-out panels on the frame, their ends must be sealed using a self-adhesive tape. A special polycarbonate profile is used to connect the sheets together. The panels are attached to the frame using self-tapping screws and thermowells.
When the installation is completed, the protective film is removed from the polycarbonate surface, the dirt is erased with a soft sponge or a cloth dampened with warm soapy water.
Types of Greenhouses
Greenhouses are unheated - this is the simplest type. Heating is not arranged in them, but already in early spring afternoon the soil warms up so much under the sun that it is suitable for growing seedlings and some vegetable crops.
In partially heated greenhouses, when a conventional heater is used, it is possible to grow seedlings of heat-loving flowers in winter at temperatures above 7 degrees Celsius.
A heated polycarbonate greenhouse with a minimum temperature above + 13 ° can be used to grow exotic plants.
Greenhouses differ in the form of construction. The traditional gable greenhouse is convenient in operation, you can walk in it without bending down, the plants are sufficiently lit, a large landing area, sometimes in two tiers, is provided. A variation of such a greenhouse is the Dutch design, in which the side walls are made at a slight angle. It is more stable and more illuminated inside.
The single-pitch greenhouse is most often located near the southern or western wall, not only saving space on the site, but also warming up from it.
There are greenhouses of a more complex shape, polygonal, domed and in the form of a pointed arch, they are not only functional, but also decorative, but they are more expensive than buildings of a traditional traditional form.
The cheapest and simplest greenhouses designed for seedlings are made on a low arched frame.
Ready-made polycarbonate greenhouses
Today you can, without complicating your life, choose a ready-made set for a greenhouse of a certain size and shape. It consists of a collapsible easily mounted frame and polycarbonate sheets of specified sizes. You don’t even have to collect, the selected set will not only be brought, but also installed in the specified location.
But sellers do not always describe in detail the shortcomings of their goods. Therefore, when buying, you need to pay attention to several important points.
In addition to the polymer wall thickness, its structure also plays a role. The edges inside the sheet can be located only across, there can be another longitudinal layer, and in the reinforced sheets there are still faces located at an angle between the transverse jumpers.
In the instructions, the manufacturer usually describes how to prepare the greenhouse for winter. If the plastic is thin enough, it is recommended to remove the roof of the greenhouse for the winter so that it does not fall under the weight of the snow. When the company is confident in the quality of its product, the instructions say that the roof does not need to be removed. Such a greenhouse is more expensive, but there is less concern with it; you do not need to bother with the installation and dismantling of the roof twice a year and store these sheets somewhere.
Some manufacturers make wooden frames. In this case, they must be processed against decay, so that they serve more than one year.
The metal frame, if it is not aluminum, must also be protected against corrosion.
Lightweight small structures do not need a foundation, their supports are simply driven into the ground.
The reinforced greenhouse for areas where there is a lot of snow in winter is collected on a frame with a large number of jumpers and installed on a small foundation so that the structure does not sag.
Polycarbonate Greenhouse Selection Criteria
Polycarbonate greenhouse manufacturers take care to produce products that meet the most diverse user requirements. To make a choice, you need to know where the greenhouse will be installed, what plants will be grown in it, and how much money will be needed for it. The dimensions of the structure and the materials from which it should be made depend on this. For example, for low plants, such as radishes, a rather low greenhouse with a light frame made of aluminum tubes and cellular polycarbonate as a coating with a thickness of not more than 4 mm. Such a greenhouse can be easily disassembled for the winter.
For growing taller plants or just for the convenience of moving inside the greenhouse, greenhouses are used in the form of a house, which are called attic. Such structures are being built more thoroughly. The frame should be tougher. Profile pipes and polycarbonate with a more complex structure are used for it.
If there is not enough space on the site, then a wall design is preferred. It is easier to bring heat and lighting to it, to make an entrance directly from the house. Such a polycarbonate greenhouse in winter can serve as a greenhouse for exotic plants.
Greenhouse installation
Mounting a greenhouse is easy, you can order a service for assembling the finished product. But the choice of location for its installation is not an easy task.
Polycarbonate greenhouses are installed in an open area that is not obscured by trees or other buildings. The largest surface of the structure should be facing the sun. If its construction is gable, then the ridge of the roof should be oriented from west to east. In the case when the greenhouse is cleaned for the winter, it is oriented from north to south.
The site for installing the greenhouse should be flat.
In this area, the soil should be suitable in composition for growing those plants for which the greenhouse is intended.
If it is supposed to arrange heating and lighting in the greenhouse , to supply water, then you need to place it closer to the main building. The wall of the house, to which the wall greenhouse will be installed, must first be waterproofed so that it does not become moldy.
Small greenhouse for a summer cottage
As polycarbonate bends, increasingly standard gable greenhouses in summer cottages are replaced by arched-type buildings. They are small in width, 2.2 m, but are convenient for placing plants. The height of 2.2 m allows you to easily move inside the greenhouse, caring for plants and, if necessary, place them in two tiers.
The length can be from 4 to 10 meters, with or without an intermediate partition. At the ends there are doors with windows. At the request of the customer, additional air vents, an automatic machine for airing and guarding the beds of specified sizes can be installed.
As a frame for greenhouses, a galvanized profile pipe of 30x30 mm with a wall thickness of 1.5 mm, a coating of cellular polycarbonate with a thickness of 4 mm and a length of 6 m is used.
For such polycarbonate greenhouses, prices depend on the length of the structure and some additional types of equipment and start at 21 thousand rubles.
Manufacturers claim that the frame arches installed at a distance of 550 mm withstand heavy snow loads and do not require additional supports.
Reviews, unfortunately, often claim the opposite. If it is not possible to come to the site in winter to clear snow from the greenhouse, then it is better to take care of installing additional supports, at least for winter time.
Sometimes the side walls are performed at a slope of 10-15 ° for greater stability, but manufacturers are skeptical of this statement, believing that the complexity of installation negates the strength advantages of the structure.
Traditional house design
Growing in polycarbonate greenhouses of this design is possible both in soil and in drawers on shelves.
As a rule, the sizes of such greenhouses are standard. The optimal height of the side walls is about one and a half meters, the maximum height of the entire structure is up to 2.5 m. The northern side of such a greenhouse requires additional insulation.
In a greenhouse of this design, according to experts, it is easier to organize ventilation, because heated air rises under the ridge and can be removed even through small windows.
But polycarbonate is good because it allows you to perform any lightweight construction, and ventilation is not a problem. Yes, and it looks boring building a traditional form.
Drop-shaped greenhouse
Not so long ago, greenhouses in the form of a falling drop appeared and began to rapidly gain popularity. Such a greenhouse successfully resists snow loads, it is installed in approximately the same way as an arched one, with the same set of additional equipment. A polycarbonate greenhouse in the form of a drop is made across a width of at least 3 m, while the length can be from 4 to 12 m.
The frame is made of profile pipes 40x40x2 mm, and more at the base. Often not installed on the foundation, but mounted directly into the ground. Manufacturers, as a rule, offer a coating of various polycarbonate, from thin domestic to Austrian with two-sided protection. From this, prices for polycarbonate greenhouses on one size can differ by two or more times. For example, a four-meter greenhouse without additional equipment with Russian polycarbonate 3.5 mm thick costs from 17 thousand rubles, but it, but with a reinforced frame and Austrian coating LEXAN SOFTLITE, especially for growing plants with a thickness of 4.5 mm, costs more than 40 thousand rubles.
Polycarbonate Greenhouse Reviews
Depending on how the polycarbonate greenhouse was carefully selected, reviews on it can be from absolutely enthusiastic to negative of the same intensity.
Experienced gardeners who have rich material for comparison note that in the same suburban area in a greenhouse coated with polymer material and seedlings grow better and heat-loving vegetables (peppers and eggplant) grow more willingly.
But the majority confirms that the frame needs to be chosen strong and rigid, with an anti-corrosion coating, in the extreme case, additional supports should be installed so that after the winter it does not repair the greenhouse.
Many say that for domestic snowy and windy winters, polycarbonate with a thickness of 4-5 mm is not enough. You need to choose a material with a thickness of 6 mm and with a protective coating, then you do not have to repair the greenhouse.
And about how many different plants a polycarbonate greenhouse can accommodate, reviews list, as if competing, who is the biggest. It’s easier to say what is not grown in it. Perhaps only root crops (potatoes, beets, carrots).
According to the characteristics of the material, a polycarbonate greenhouse in Russian climatic conditions can be used year-round with heating or from the very beginning of spring to deep frost in the fall. Any size and shape of the structure can withstand wind and snow loads, only you need to correctly calculate the rigidity of the frame, its configuration and the parameters of the cross section of the profile pipe. And do not save on the quality of polycarbonate, because it is known that the avaricious pays twice.