[IanYORK]

Hi folks,

Just looked into spare nuts and bolts for a greenhouse frame that I am about to assemble.  Will certainly need spare nuts and bolts - I wonder if there is a preferred / cheap supplier that people have used in the past?

Thanks, Ian

[Rangerkris]

Wilko's do then cheap as chips.

[IanYORK]

Thanks RangerKris - didn't know that - are they labelled as greenhouse nuts and bolts?   

[Rangerkris]

Ermmm think so hahahah will be in the garden section some where

[IanYORK]

okay - many thanks, will take a look.  Will probably end up coming home with several other items too...never come back from Wilko's with what I intended getting, but it is always fun and cheap 

[Rangerkris]

Yes we pass through it from the carpark if ever we pop in to Chavham.  Im mean Chatham.  And end up with lots of bits we don't really need

[Slowgrind]

I'll second Wilkos for GH alloy nuts and bolts £1:47 I think for a pack.

[IanYORK]

1.47 pounds per pack they were - bought 3 packs and also some metal clips for holding the glass in.  Great bargain!  Ebay was about £2.33 for the same sort.  Thanks folks!

[HugglescoteGrower]

When I tried moving my greenhouse last year I found that many of the original aluminium bolts snapped when I tried tightening them a second time, so I emailed an ebay seller and arranged to buy all new nuts and bolts and glazing clips.

I got 200 of each for about £20 delivered.

If it is small numbers though then deff go for wilko's, the delivery as much as anything makes ebay expensive.

[IanYORK]

Thanks HG! We are going to try and do it this weekend! 

[IanYORK]

So, the Wilkinson greenhouse nuts and bolts were really very poor (in my hands).  You only have to slightly overtighten them and the bolt stem shears off  They were cheap tbh, but I thought they would be better.  Also, they do not fit t-shaped frame joints  So, I have found a supplier on ebay, will wait and see...

[Lardman]

So, the Wilkinson greenhouse nuts and bolts were really very poor ... Also, they do not fit t-shaped frame joints ...

As are the Gardman ones I had from "The Range", they are also so poorly produced they wont fit the standard halls channeling.

Even if they're cheap they are supposed to be fit for purpose - so often lately the budget stuff is little more than tat. 

[Slowgrind]

The type that sit in the track are specials with the heads formed to locate when rotated, they look a bit like a letter "T" when seen from the side one way.
I think that you have to be careful when tightening any alloy nuts as some of the originals that I salvaged snapped with very little pressure.
I've resorted to squirting a dash of WD 40 onto the thread before putting on the nut!
You can file down the square shaped bolt heads so that they will fit, but that's going to be a bit of a fiddle.

[IanYORK]

like the WD40 idea, thought about that as I was struggling to slide a bolt that actually fits...    Did think about filing too, but I also have a motorised grinder that might do them quicker...My Dad has already warned about the appropriate technique to use, so I'll be careful - thanks!

[HugglescoteGrower]

there are two types of bolts, the square headed construction bolts which are designed to slide in from the end of the channel when building the greenhouse, and the tee headed which are designed to fit into the channel after construction when the channel ends are not accessible.

The square heads give much better grip, though when I rebuilt my greenhouse I had some problems getting them to slide into the channel because of muck and debris that was blocking them.

Apparently there are only a couple of factories producing these bolts nowadays, and I'm guessing both are in China. Many of them used to be made in the USA, but like the UK, US manufacturing is losing out big time right now.