Greehouse Questions
Andy McD
Posts: 33
Hi,
I have a few questions regarding greenhouses that I hope someone can help with.
I inherited my current greenhouse when I moved into my home 6 years ago and was wondering what would be the best way to attach gutters to it and collect rainwater?
I do have a slimline water butt that that I picked up cheap last year but never got around to installing it.
As you can see from the photos below it is an aluminium greenhouse and probably is quite old. I can't see any obvious ways of attaching the guttering.
How easy would it be to fit an automatic arm to open the vent if it gets too warm? All too often I have come back to the greenhouse to find plants that have been scorched and burnt to a singe.
Also, similarly is there a semi-automatic watering system that doesn't require power from the mains to operate?
I have also noticed that the main window leaks a bit and the previous owner has tried to put putty in there to help but it isn't working too well. Is there something i can look at to help the situation or is it a case of just living with it (maybe this will solve my watering problem 
)? As you can see in the background of the photos the screening has become mouldy and falling apart near the window.
Usually when it warms up I end up getting rosebay willowherb growing right at the back under the benches and was wondering is there a way to kill these off properly?
Hope you don't mind all the questions, I have had these in my head for some time and it is now all coming out. Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Andy
Posts
My greenhouse came with gutters to attach so I imagine they are easy to buy. They are narrow and the end stop has a part to attach a standard hose pipe which you can lead into your water-but. How it is attached I can't say as I am away from home at the moment. Automatic vents are available everywhere and work wonderfully. They simply screw on. Sorry I can't help you with a watering system as I tend to use capilliary matting fed from a bucket (very low tec!) or a kind neighbour whose reward is all the tomatoes she can use. When going away I prefer to get as many plants out of the greenhouse as possible. I would be tempted to clean the leaky bits with bleach to get rid of the mould, wash it off, wait until completely dry then use an outdoor silicone sealant. Even better would be to replace the bits that have deteriorated. Most greenhouses like yours are pretty standard so you shouldn't find it difficult to buy parts. The rosebay willowherb will die if you paint the leaves with weed killer during the growing season or you could try digging out the roots then blocking the light with black plastic or cardboard to stop seeds sprouting
Try greenhousepeople.co.uk they stock most things. I bought my small greenhouse from them a couple of years ago and they were very helpful on the phone.
I'm happy to be wrong but on close inspection the guttering on your GH may have been put on upside down. The metal strip running along either side on my GH is the other way round, with the ridge turned up, if that makes sense, the metal strip on your GH is turned down so water won't gather in it and run off the ends.
What do other posters think ?
You can replace the glass with the putty round with a better fitting piece of glass. GH sheets of glass come in standard sizes and can be cut down to size if need be. Most glass cutters have a stock of standard size sheets.
You could be right Zoomer. The guttering on mine is built-in to the sections which run the length of each side at the point the roof meets the sides. It has plastic end-stops which have a connection for a bit of hosepipe to take the rain into a butt.
As for leaks etc, clear silicone sealant cures all manner of leaks and ill-fitting parts on aluminium greenhouses.
Without dismantling the GH, one solution would be to fit U-shaped guttering as close to and slightly below the sections mentioned previously and then run a length of aluminium tape to make sure the water flows down the roof and into the guttering. You'd need to stick the aluminium tape on during a dry period or it will fail to stick properly though.
You may be right that it is in upside down.
It wasn't done by me. I will try and take another photo this weekend from the end view.
I take it it would be a lot of work to fix them so they are the correct way round?
Will aluminium tape be able to hold the guttering on ok and does it stick to the glass underneath the edge?
One of the leaks seems to be around the area where the window is opened so I am not sure if silicone sealant will help much. Again I will try and take a picture (if it hasn't blown away by tomorrow
)
Hi Andy. I have recently bought a Drip Watering System from www.kingsseeds.com
I haven't tried it yet, but it looks good. It cost £12.35. If your green is in full sun, it can get extremely hot so you will need good shading, either applied by brush to the glass, or hung to the glass inside. My G.H reached 100 deg. Last summer! Good luck. Byegeorge.
Byegeorge, that looks interesting. Does it connect up to a tap or water butt or is it a system you have to fill up every so often?
I do have some shading in place, but it is quite old and could do with replacing in some places.
I have thought about a heater system for winter growing, are there any good recommendations that don't use mains electricity?
A few photos as promised.
The first is a shot of the guttering that may be upside down. However when looking on the inside it would seem to me that it can only go one way as the angled bit is needed for the roof supports.If it was the other way around I don't see how the vertical and roof bars would fit (see second image).
The 3rd image is the vent and you can see the previous owner has tried to seal up the leaks with some putty. I am not sure if removing this and putting sealant in would help.
Got our last greenhouse plus auto-vents for our others from The Greenhouse people, a cheap auto-watering kit, just basically a bag to hang up and "holey" pipe to thread along the plants that need it most, I had 3 water butts, 2 were here already, they are so expensive, that by our last greenhouse, Hubby used 2 black dustbins, cheap plastic tap, job done.
I'd need to check the guttering joints on my GH but they look very similar to your inside joints except on the outside the gutter is the other way round. Can't check them though until the weekend as it's dark when I get home from work.