[Tohmahtae]

Hello everyone,

I am picking up the following greenhouse this Sunday

http://cambridge.gumtree.com/cambridge/25/58208625.html

I'm wondering if anyone who has done this before would expect to fit a 6x8 greenhouse in a VW Golf - I really don't want to spend more money on van hire 

Thanks in advance for any help.

[smud6ie]

I have collected a a few including a  16ftx8ft greehouse in a polo estate with  roof bars for the long pieces
The glass will fit easily with the seats folded,put a board on the floor with a piece of old carpet on to make a level base,rest another board at an angle against the wheel arch,then stack the glass leaning tight against that board so they are running lengthways  with the car.
smud6ie

[Tohmahtae]

Thanks smud6ie,

I assume that there will be several lengths of 8ft, this is what im worried about as  I don't have a roof rack for these to go on!

Or do greenhouses usually break down further than this?

[smud6ie]

Thats it,8ft will be the longest piece,2bottom rails,2gutters and the ridge.the end pieces either side of the door will be the next longest. What about getting some 8ft canes and see how you can work them into the car.Another means I have used before I had a rack was some foam on the roof,lay the piece on that ,then open the door or open the winows slightly and use some thin straps to tie it down.you will have to use the open door way fot the drivers side or you won't get in the car
Smud6ie

[Tohmahtae]

Well, I decided to go around last night to collect the glass - went surprisingly smoothly!

Looks like im going to have to replace most of the clips and glazing seal though. Any ideas where I can pick these up cheaply?

On a side note, having measured the car there seems to be no feasible way of fitting the large lengths inside, looks like I may have to hire a van or persuade some helpful person to come along. 

[Kristen]

I've bought & disassembled two greenhouses from eBay - 10 x 12 and 30-40 x 10. I have a people carrier, but even so the long pieces were too-long - I just pulled the rear "hatchback" type door down on them and tied it with some rope [to the grab handles above the rear doors] - is that an option for you?

Some pictures on my blog, although I don't think I wrote specifically about "how to" at that time, sorry.

I got all my spare buts & bolts from eBay - forgotten the name of the supplier but it was something obvious like "Greenhouse Spares"

Take lots of digital photos so you can work out what-connects-to-what when you reassemble.

[lmpd]

i got my clips from homebase in fengate

[Tohmahtae]

I got 100 w and z clips on ebay for about £6. I'm sure this will be insufficient - we'll see...

Currently the greenhouse is in a channel sunk into concrete slabs, I want to seat it directly on a slabbed area in my garden. Should I be anchoring it to the ground or is this not really required?
I also plan on dismantling it in sections so it is easier to re-build, im slightly concerned it will be harder to re-fit the glass when i rebuild it - or is this unlikely on a hard surface?

Thanks again

[Kristen]

DO you mean take all the glass out, but only disassemble the frame to sections (rather than individual, single, pieces)? or leave the glass in the sections?

I think sections with glass IN will be heavy, and of course "knocking" one will break a lot of glass!

Wear gloves if you take the glass out. I took gloves with me but didn't bother putting them on until I had already lacerated myself Ouch!

[Lardman]

8ft lengths will easily go in a golf - I used to put 8ft lengths of timber in mine easily but what you wont be able to do is put an 8ft side in, it will be too wide.

Dismantled, everything should fit without hassle, with the longest 8ft bits stretched from the parcel shelf across the passenger seat onto the dash.

The stuff I managed to bring back from the diy places in my MK3 Golf would put a transit to shame  

[Tohmahtae]

I actually went round last night and picked the glass up, no major incidents (or lacerations!) thankfully.

I have decided to hire a van, Europcar do hourly rental at £5.99. This way I can dismantle in sections and re-build much quicker, for the sake of around £25 i think it's the best option. Fingers crossed it all goes together OK. 

[CDave]

Got mine in my Fiat Punto  Just make sure glass is protected.

[IanYORK]

recently just set up an old 8x6 GH.  Getting the right clips and seals was a bit of a struggle.  I bought some initially from Wilko's, but they were dodo.    I got W, G and Z clips from e-Bay.   The best person was "eileen5149".  They were perfect.

I also got a document with several seal samples in it.  It cost 99 pence!  This allowed me to match the seal with that in my discontinued GH from many years ago.  Worked a treat, and I ordered about 20 metres very recently.  Remember you need to measure the the correct length you will need - I guess yours will be similar to mine 

Good luck!

[Tohmahtae]

Thats really helpful Ian, it looks like the seal is in pretty bad condition and I was unsure where I was going to find a replacement. I'll have a look on ebay.

It's unlikely that this greenhouse will ever be getting moved, do you think I could use silicon sealant instead of greenhouse seal as this would be far cheaper 

[Kristen]

I used self-adhesive draught excluder. I choose the Brown, rather than the White, as it seemed that that would be more UV resistant.

I have read that silicon seal is a nuisance to sort out when a pane breaks.

The "rubber" seals on the first greenhouse I bought were doing as good a job as when it was errected, probably 30-40 years earlier! Trouble is they can't easily be re-fed back into the channels; dunno whether my draught excluder will last as long