[SweetPea]

Hi all,

Having dealt with the slugs on my plot I'm now turning my attention to fixing up the rather dilapidated greenhouse my predecessor left behind.  My plan is to pull everything out and clean the floors and glass inside (I googled for 'repairing a greenhouse' and read on another site that some people use Jeyes Fluid for this).  There seems to be an ant problem too so I'm on the search for an effective treatment for those too!

My big problem is I'm not sure what to do with the 'leaky seals' / cracked glass etc.  I was looking at pulling off all the moss and slime from the edges, replacing the cracked pane and repairing all the seals with bathroom mastic or similar to try and warm the greenhouse up a bit (and keep the snails out ).  However, it's suddenly occured to me that perhaps some of these gaps are intentional, for ventilation purposes?  There is a window in the glasshouse, so is it necessary for me to leave a gap between the panes when I start the repair?  

Thanks in advance!

[Gwiz]

you dont say if the greenhouse is aluminium or wooden, i assume that it is metal. i dont think i would use bathroom mastic, because it might be a bit of a job should you need to replace a pane or two in the future. if you know the manufacturer of the g/house i should think that you may get new rubber seals from them. it may be that the old seals are ok when they are cleaned up, but the spring clips that hold the glass in are a bit "tired". you can get these from lots of places i have just ordered some bits and bobs from a place on the isle of wight called plastics by post . their web address is www.plasticsbypost.net  

[SweetPea]

Ah, yes, sorry it is aluminium!

Thanks for the address, I'll definitely look into that

I think the previous owner has used some kind of mastic on the windows (at least, that's what it looks like) - that's why I mentioned the sealant.  If I can buy the seals though hopefully it won't be too hard to reverse that process  and get it all fixed up properly... (I need a *hopeful* smiley here )

[Gwiz]

ive just had a thought, ( an only child ) have a search on tintaweb, under Halls greenhouses. they make loads of them, maybe yours is one of their`s.

[John]

I've been looking at my greenhouse today - all the rubber is perished and I can't find one of the plates that join the corners together.  So must gogle for qualcast greenhouse bits next!

[GrannieAnnie]

I bought some new rubber strips for my greenhouse off Ebay, and yes qwiz is right, not a good idea to use mastic in cse you need to replace other panes, but also, if it wasn't flexible mastic, then it could crack the glass if the winds were high.  I think the clips and rubber they use allow for some movement.  I used to work with engineers, and no movement at all on a structure is a definite no no.  You can buy all the bits you need on Ebay, but we got our glass at a reasonable price at the local glaziers, just ask for horticultural glass, and we have a shop in Boston who are called Fen Fastenings, they do all tools and nuts and bolts and things, and they also sell all the 'bits' like the clips and they are cheaper than Ebay, so perhaps you have somewhere like that near you?

Good luck with it anyway, my second greenhouse was an Ebay buy, and when we got there to pick it up, it was horrible, all green and slimy, but we washed all the glass and bits in Jeyes, replaced the few broken panes, and now we have a lovely greenhouse!!

[SweetPea]

Thanks for that grannieannie  I've had a brief look at the greenhouse after work over the last few days and at the moment, it doesn't look good  I'm starting to wonder if the previous owner actually built it himself around an existing frame - going by the rest of the house he was quite into his DIY.  Four or five of the panes are already glued in place with mastic so I'm going to have to try to get that off and get the panes in place properly.  The gaps I mentioned are where the panes must have slipped whilst the mastic was setting :?

I had a nosey on eBay yesterday afternoon (when all was quiet in my lab!) and found some fixtures and fittings... once I've decided exactly what I'll need I'll get some ordered!

The OH has a digital camera so I'll try and get some pictures online - a sort of 'before and after'

[SweetPea]

An update from me on the greenhouse - I pulled everything out today and thoroughly cleaned the glass and frame.  I can't believe the difference that alone has made - it looks so much better.  The gaps and slipped panels are still problematic.  The panels that have been 'glued' in place aren't going anywhere so for now I've just repaired the gaps with some greenhouse tape and will put my thinking cap on for a more long term solution!

I had a bit of a disaster whilst cleaning the outside of the greenhouse.  The little lad next door came to watch the crazy lady attacking clumps of moss with a spoon (I couldn't find anything else thin enough to get in the gaps! ) and when I spun round to talk to him I caught my hand on the rough edge of one of the slipped panels  Sliced my poor little finger open.. lucky I had a tetanus jab a few months back  :?

[Gwiz]

did you swear?

[SweetPea]

Nope... I think the poor lad was traumatised enough without me further adding to it! In years to come he'll be telling a therapist about the day he saw a wild woman waving a spoon at a greenhouse

[Celtic Eagle]

Just a thought for cleaning out between the panes of glass where they overlap try using a plant label thin enough and flexible. I've used it before and it woorks. Now if the moss is in a tight corner try one of those small double ended filler knives from the DIY shop one end is like a flat plate about half inch wide the other is similar but pointed. They are great for splitting and lifting seedlings as well

Good Luck

Cheers

[SweetPea]

Thanks Celtic Eagle!  I'll give those a try - I got the majority of the moss off with my trusty dinner spoon, but clearly it's not the ideal tool for the job!  The plant label is a great idea... I'm not sure why I didn't think of that one before!

[John]

Good point in there about health on the allotment - keep up to date with your tetanus jabs.