Polycarbonate greenhouse: details, dimensions, reviews

Greenhouses for growing seedlings and vegetable crops are often installed in summer cottages. In suburban homes where it is not customary to grow vegetables for their own table, they are used for breeding flowers and exotic plants.

And in both cases, more often you can find not glass structures or covered with a film, but beautifully shaped structures, even elegant ones, made of polycarbonate.

Advantages of polycarbonate greenhouses

Greenhouses made of polycarbonate are surely crowding the usual glass structures.

Polymer material has undeniable advantages that allow it to replace glass in special facilities to create a microclimate that favors plant growth in early spring.

The first important advantage of a polycarbonate greenhouse is the light conductivity. It is slightly lower than that of glass, but the honeycomb structure of modern material allows you to filter radiation and let only useful beams into the greenhouse. At the same time, light propagates along the internal volume in the same way, and in all plants natural photosynthesis occurs evenly.

Low thermal conductivity of polycarbonate allows maintaining a comfortable temperature for plants and on hot summer days, and on cold spring nights.

Polycarbonate, unlike glass, the material is solid. Destroy it is not easy. The four-millimeter sheet withstands without hurting itself direct blows with a hammer.

In this case, the polycarbonate greenhouse is much lighter than glass, and therefore its frame can be made not of galvanized steel, but of aluminum, which does not undergo corrosion and lasts longer. For 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 and the result obtained.

Polycarbonate is a wear-resistant material that withstands temperature changes, is fireproof and environmentally friendly.

Features of polycarbonate use for greenhouses

Greenhouses made of polycarbonate are easy to assemble with your own hands. Working with polymer material does not cause difficulties, but several simple rules must be followed.

You can not make a mistake when installing polycarbonate sheets on the frame. First, they need to be positioned so that the stiffeners are located vertically, then the resulting condensate will flow down without problems, without accumulating between the layers of material.

Second, what you need to pay attention to when installing sheets, this installation is a protective layer from the ultraviolet outside.

From polycarbonate it is convenient to make greenhouses of arch construction, because it bends, unlike glass, and is much stronger than the film that was used for them before. But the manufacturer sets the limit radius, by which the material can be bent. If you try to make an arch of smaller diameter, polycarbonate creates stresses, and it can collapse.

You can cut polycarbonate with a knife or a saw with fine 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 join the sheets together. To the frame the panels are fastened by means of self-tapping screws and thermowells.

When the installation is completed, a protective film is removed from the polycarbonate surface, the debris is wiped off with a soft sponge or cloth soaked in warm soapy water.

Types of greenhouses

Greenhouses are unheated - this is the simplest type. There is no heating, but already in the early spring, the soil is so warmed by the sun that it is suitable for growing seedlings and some vegetables.

In partially heated greenhouses, when a conventional heater is used, it is possible to grow seedlings of heat-loving flowers in winter at a temperature of more than 7 degrees Celsius.

A heated polycarbonate greenhouse with a minimum temperature above + 13 ° can serve for the cultivation of exotic plants.

There are different types of greenhouses. The traditional gable greenhouse is convenient to use, it can walk without bending over, the plants are sufficiently illuminated, a large landing area is provided, sometimes in two tiers. 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 one-run 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 hothouses of 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 the usual traditional form.

The cheapest and simplest greenhouses, designed for seedlings, are made on a low arched frame.

Ready-made greenhouses made of polycarbonate

Today you can, without complicating your life, choose a ready-made set for a greenhouse of certain sizes and shapes. It consists of a demountable easy-to-assemble carcass and polycarbonate sheets of specified sizes. Even to collect it is not necessary, the selected set not only will bring, but also will establish in the specified place.

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 thickness of the polymer walls, its structure also plays a role. The edges inside the sheet can be located only across, there may be another longitudinal layer, and in the reinforced sheets there are also faces that are located between the transverse bridges at an angle.

In the instructions, the manufacturer usually describes how a greenhouse needs to be prepared for winter. If the plastic is thin enough, it is recommended that the roof of the greenhouse be removed for the winter so that it does not fall under the weight of the snow. When the enterprise is confident in the quality of its product, the instruction says that it is not necessary to remove the roof. Such a greenhouse is more expensive, but there are fewer cares, it is not necessary to tinker with mounting and dismantling the roof twice a year and store these sheets somewhere.

Some manufacturers make wooden skeletons. In this case, they must necessarily be treated against rotting, so that they serve not one year.

The metal frame, if it is not aluminum, should also be protected from corrosion.

Light small structures do not need a foundation, their supports are simply driven into the ground.

The strengthened greenhouse for the areas where a lot of snow falls out in the winter, is collected on a frame with a large number of jumpers and is installed on a small foundation so that the structure does not sag.

Criteria for choosing a greenhouse made of polycarbonate

Manufacturers of polycarbonate greenhouses care about making products that meet the most diverse user requirements. To determine the choice, you need to know where the greenhouse will be installed, what plants will be grown in it, and how much money it will need. Depends on this and the size of the building, and the materials from which it must be made. For example, for low plants, such as radish, a fairly low greenhouse with a light framework of aluminum tubes and honeycomb polycarbonate as a coating with a thickness of not more than 4 mm. Such a hothouse can be easily disassembled for the winter.

For the cultivation of higher plants or simply for the convenience of moving inside the greenhouse, greenhouses in the form of a house are used, which are called mansard. Such structures are built more thoroughly. The frame must be stiffer. It uses profile pipes and polycarbonate with a more complex structure.

If there is not enough space on the site, preference is given to the wall structure. It is easier to bring heat and lighting to it, to make an entrance directly from the house. This polycarbonate greenhouse in winter can serve as a greenhouse for exotic plants.

Greenhouse installation

It is not difficult to mount a greenhouse, you can order a service for assembling the finished product. But the choice of a place to install it - the task is not the simplest.

Installation of polycarbonate greenhouses is carried out in an open space, not obscured by trees or other structures. The largest surface of the structure should be facing the sun. If its construction is gable, then the roof ridge should be oriented from west to east. In the case when the greenhouse is removed for the winter, it is oriented from the north to the south.

The site for the installation of the greenhouse must be level.

On this site, the soil should be suitable for the composition of those plants for which the greenhouse is intended.

If it is supposed to arrange heating and lighting in the greenhouse , to bring water, then it needs to be closer to the main building. The wall of the house, to which the wall greenhouse will be installed, must be waterproofed beforehand so that it does not become covered with mold.

A small greenhouse for a summer residence

As the polycarbonate bends, more and more often the standard gable-shaped greenhouses in the suburban areas are replaced by arched-type structures. They are carried out a small width, 2.2 m, but are convenient for placing plants. The height of 2,2 m allows you to move without problems in the greenhouse, caring for the plants and, if necessary, place them in two tiers.

The length can be from 4 to 10 meters, with an intermediate partition or without it. At the ends are made doors with windows. It is possible, at the request of the customer, to install additional ventilation pans, an automaton for ventilation and fences of beds of specified sizes.

As a frame for greenhouses is used galvanized profile pipe 30x30 mm with a wall thickness of 1.5 mm, a coating of honeycomb polycarbonate 4 mm thick and 6 m long.

At such polycarbonate greenhouses prices depend on the length of the structure and some additional types of equipment and start from 21 thousand rubles.

Manufacturers argue that installed at a distance of 550 mm frame arches withstand large snow loads and do not require additional supports.

Reviews, unfortunately, often argue the opposite. If there is no possibility to come to the site in winter to clear snow from the greenhouse, it is better to attend to installing additional supports, at least for winter time.

Sometimes the side walls are made at an inclination of 10-15 ° for greater stability, but the manufacturers are skeptical about this assertion, considering that the complexity of the installation negates the strength advantages of the structure.

Traditional construction of a "house"

Cultivation in polycarbonate greenhouses of this design is possible both in the ground and in boxes on the shelves.

Typically, the size of these 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, as experts believe, it is easier to organize airing, because heated air rises under the horseshoe and can be withdrawn even through small windows.

But polycarbonate is good and that allows you to perform any non-heavy construction, and airing is not a problem. And the construction of the traditional form looks boring.

Greenhouse in the form of a drop

Not so long ago, the greenhouse in the form of a falling drop began to rapidly grow in popularity. Such a greenhouse successfully resists snow loads, it is installed in much the same way as an arched one, with the same set of additional equipment. Polycarbonate greenhouse in the form of a drop is made at a width of not less than 3 m, the length can be from 4 to 12 m.

The frame is made of profile tubes 40x40x2 mm, and at the base and more. Often not installed on the foundation, but mounted directly into the ground. Manufacturers, as a rule, offer a coating of different polycarbonate, from a thin domestic to Austrian with two-sided protection. From this, in one size polycarbonate greenhouses, prices can differ by two or more times. For example, a four-meter greenhouse without additional equipment with a Russian polycarbonate 3.5 mm thick costs from 17 thousand rubles, and it, but with a reinforced frame and an Austrian coating LEXAN SOFTLITE, specifically for growing plants 4.5 mm thick, costs more than 40 thousand Rubles.

Reviews for polycarbonate greenhouses

Depending on how carefully chosen polycarbonate greenhouse, reviews on it can be from absolutely enthusiastic to negative of the same intensity.

Experienced gardener, who have a rich material for comparison, note that in the same suburban area in the greenhouse with a coating of polymer material and seedlings, it is better to grow and heat-loving vegetables (peppers and eggplants) grow more readily.

But the majority confirms that the frame needs to be chosen strong and rigid, with an anti-corrosion coating, in the extreme case, to install additional supports so that after the winter it is not possible to repair the greenhouse.

Many say that for domestic snowy and windy winters polycarbonate 4-5 mm thick 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 how many different plants can accommodate a polycarbonate greenhouse, the reviews list, as if compete, who is more. It's easier to say that it is not grown in it. Perhaps, only root crops (potatoes, beets, carrots).

According to the characteristics of the material polycarbonate greenhouse in Russian climatic conditions can be used all year round with heating or from the very beginning of spring to deep frosts in autumn. Any size and shape of the structure can withstand wind and snow loads, only it is necessary to correctly calculate the rigidity of the framework, its configuration and the profile parameters of the profile pipe. And do not save on the quality of polycarbonate, because it is known - miser pays twice.