How to fit Greenhouse Glass or Polycarbonate...

[vonsworld]

Hello,

I'm designing a wooden Greenhouse and have a question about the best way to fit the Glass or Polycarbonate (haven't decided which to use yet).

For the most part I'm using planed treated kiln-dried timber 75mm x 50mm approx.

I could use a saw bench to cut a rebate along the edge of the timber, to make a window frame, and then secure the glass using beading. This seems to be a common approach in self assembly grrenhouses.

Alternatively I thought about cutting a slot along the length of the timber, the same width as the glass, maybe 3mm. The glass could then be slotted in as the frame was assembled. This I thought would give a neater solution, without the need for beading, but on the downside would make changing a glass pane more awkward at a later date.

Does anyone have any recommendation on the above please

Secondly, how do you seal the glass to the wooden frame, since putty no longer seems to be used? Would you put some kind of sealant or perhaps tape around the edges of the glass before fitting the beading?

Could someone recommend whether I use Toughened Glass or Polycarbonate/Acrylic? Years ago my Grandad made a conservatory using 'plastic glass', but in those days it creaked a lot in the wind and eventually discoloured. However perhaps Polycarbonate or Acrylic is much improved nowadays?

Many thanks for your advice, much appreciated

Robin

 

[masona]

Might be easier to do it this way for maintenance free?

Then use bronze or heatguard twinwall polycarbonate sheet which doesn't dis-coloured

 

[wanabechippie]

Hey.

Off the top of my head, I would hesitate to use your slot cutting method with wood and glass as the wood might expand/contract or warp a bit. This would either crack the glass or at least lock it in place so you couldn't remove it in one piece.

Your rebate idea sounds the better of the two. I'd get a router with a rebate bit (below) to cut out the rebate. Then I'd seal it above and below the glass with either a clear silicone sealant or frame sealant before fixing beading over the outside of the glass.

3-5mm polycarbonate is a safer way to go instead of glass, IMHO. Gives you more tolerance in your build accuracy and is easier/safer to work with. I've seen it for around £30 for a 1800x1200mm-ish sheet in B&Q. Sure building plastic stockists would be able to do it cheaper tho.