[twango70]

just about to start levelling ground for a greenhouse (has a base with spikes ) .... any tips, pointers or things you would've have done differently when you put yours up?
thanks in advance 

[richyrich7]

Wish I'd have had a length of hose with hose fitting's inside. Nice an handy for watering.
Electrics a re easier if the armoured cable route is planned ahead.
And mines too near to the fence to clean the glass and paint the fence... well thats my excuse lol
Depending on location you might want consider pouring concrete around those ground spikes.

[JayG]

Don't start thinking about adding extra height by raising the base after you have put it all together (not quite sure how you would do that with a spiked base anyway though!))

Probably doesn't apply to a greenhouse with a matching base, but if you want to avoid water seepage under the frame, bed the bottom of the frame onto frame sealant before you bolt it down and complete the glazing! 

(Got the first one right but not the second!) 

[Kristen]

Small slope towards the back where the waterbutt is - so the gutters run that way.

Door not towards the prevailing wind

I replaced one of the lowest panes of glass (by the door, North side) with marine ply with a hole cut in it to train a Vine into the greenhouse

Dig the soil before you put the greenhouse up - its harder once it has set like concrete in the dry! I have lowered the beds in my greenhouse to get more cropping height.  Doesn't apply if you have solid floor (but I grew in pots / bags originally and got fed up with watering and subsequently reverted to growing in the border soil (which I change each year)

[black diamond]

Bolt the greenhouse frame to the base instead of using the clips that came with it.Second year had a gale and twisted the frame off base and lost 4 glass panels. BQ greenhouse

[Nige2Plots]

Automatic vent openings are a must! Especially if you work during the day and/or if the Greenhouse is on an allotment site. We don't want our little darlings to wilt do we , and I do speak from experience!
Most importantly get an helper to erect the Greenhouse with you as it is so much easier

[twango70]

wow thanks everyone for the quick responce and very helpful advice, lots of good pointers 

[twango70]

has anyone used any type of putty or sealant when putting the glass in?
the previous owner bedded the glass in with putty aswell as using the 'w' and 'z' clips

[Nige2Plots]

has anyone used any type of putty or sealant when putting the glass in?
the previous owner bedded the glass in with putty aswell as using the 'w' and 'z' clips

My greenhouse was second hand. When it came to putting the glass in I used rubber strips down the window frame to get a seal along with 'W' clips.
If you use Putty or Silicone, it sure makes changing the glass difficult!

[twango70]

yeah noticed that nige2plots, it was a nightmare getting glass out only snapped one though and put a 3" crack in another  ..... Rubber strips? only thing i could think of would be like those spongy strips you can use as a draft excluder on doors

[JayG]

Glazing bead, or in some cases foam seal, is what you need; plenty of suppliers if you Google either of them, but be careful, the prices range from very reasonable to extremely unreasonable! 

[savbo]

if you can't get the right bead at the right price, you can use silicon sealant and let it go completely off before putting the glass on...

[richyrich7]

Or you can smear a little Vaseline on the glass just before you bed them in, the sealant won't stick to the Vaseline so the glass comes out easy

[Kristen]

only thing i could think of would be like those spongy strips you can use as a draft excluder on doors

I used them to re-erect the 2nd hand glasshouse I bought. I choose the brown, rather than white, because I thought it would have better UV tolerance ... time will tell. The original rubber strips were in good order (the first one I bought was at least 20 years old!), but I couldn't get them back into the little grooves, and couldn't find a source of new ones to fit.

[twango70]

thanks everybody for the advice and imput ............. couldn't find any glazing bead etc locally so went the silicon route a mixture of using vaselene and letting it go completely off to bed the glass.
3/4's done now and only broke 1 1'x2' pane for the roof, literally touched the corner on the concrete path ....... so far so good