A true gardener is one, who’s aware of his plant’s needs and situations very well. Since when we build a greenhouse in our backyard, we take care of a lot of things, like planting, managing the sunlight, and protecting them from harsh weather. But even then, you might be facing many ups and downs with your plants if you go for cheap quality glass infrastructure for your greenhouse while building it. Up till now, Polycarbonate panels has been the best choice of gardener lovers in order to build their greenhouse.
Before installing a greenhouse, you might research the specifications of different glass materials that can be used for your greenhouse glazing and will definitely go for the premium quality among them. Here, in this blog we will be discussing the benefits of using plexiglass for building a greenhouse instead of ordinary glass, also some pro tips to be considered while setting up your own greenhouse.
Other sorts of glass to be considered for greenhouse
Latterly ordinary glass was used by many gardeners in building greenhouse but by the time they realized various cons associated with this particular glass. Other than polycarbonate and Plexiglass, many different glazing materials are more likely to be used for building greenhouses.
- Laminated glass: This is no doubt the most expensive one yet because of its aesthetic looks it is also so difficult to break. It’s quite a good option to choose from if you’re concerned about strong walls or roofs. However, the only drawback is its cost!
- Annealed glass: This type is said to be the most dangerous one as it has minimum shatter resistance, whenever any damage is occurred this annealed glass get breaks into long and sharp shards that cause severe injuries.
- Tempered glass: Single-pane tempered glass is another widely used glass material for greenhouses and is known well for having the highest shattering resistance. However, this isn’t a perfect option, as it will not control the inside heating and cooling of a greenhouse.
Though these all types of glass are used in making greenhouses, they shouldn’t be your best choice because they don’t provide the good temperature controls that a glass-like Plexiglas can provide, also some of them are too expensive to handle.
Plexiglas V/s Ordinary glass:
Even if compared with mostly used ordinary glass, Plexiglas has many advantages over it.
- It is well known by the No Drop coating that means when there is rain the water droplets are not accumulated on the surface of the glass, but on the other hand, ordinary glass let the raindrop condensate on the surface. This often causes dirt accumulation on its surface as well.
- Plexiglas has a double layer and even there are void spaces between them. Still, the texture of this top-quality glass always makes an invisible thin film that allows clarity of vision on the glass even during the rain or foggy weather.
- While talking about the quality of sunlight, the ordinary glass being the thinnest one passes harsh sun rays to the plants that make sunlight miserable for their growth.
- On the other hand, the double-layered Plexiglas provides the natural sun rays to plants that let them survive way longer and make them healthier.
Certain highlights- why go for Plexiglass!
Plexiglass is yet found to be the best quality glass used for greenhouse because of the following features it provides;
- It allows the highest light transmission and protects from UV rays
- It is the perfect glass to avoid climate change. Best used for weathering resistance.
- It has the thermal insulation capabilities that during overwinters no artificial high temperatures are required in the greenhouse.
- It prevents the yellowing of glass that could be seen on many other greenhouse glass materials that could be clearly seen gradually over time.
- Plexiglass provides you 30 years of non-yellowing guarantee.
Pro steps of greenhouse installation:
- Choose a design:
You need to start building your greenhouse by first choosing its design, it will define the specific framework of your greenhouse. For choosing the right design, its basic purpose should be kept in mind. In sense, it should be perfect for the plants that you will be growing in it.
- Choosing a location- quite necessary!
Location plays a major role in making your greenhouse design work. Parameters like humidity and extreme temperature should be kept into consideration while choosing the locality.
- Gathering materials and pieces of equipment:
Before constructing it, you must have all the materials and pieces of equipment like concrete blocks, digging tools, boards, glass, hammers, humidifiers, heating, and cooling systems, measuring scales, thermometers, etc.
- Building the greenhouse:
Now once all the materials and the right place are selected then, start building the greenhouse by first setting its foundation, then building the walls and roof. While setting its infrastructure, pave some areas for drainage purposes.
- Select a cooling, heating, and ventilation system:
Now when your greenhouse is ready, you need to set a ventilation area and install all the other cooling and heating aids. Now you are all done. The only missing thing will be your beautiful plants. It will be a dream come true moment for any hobbyist gardener to see his plants flourishing right in front of his eyes.
Wrapping up!
Constructing a greenhouse involves a lot of effort plus it demands lifetime care, but by using plexiglass you can minimize your worries as it helps plants to grow healthier by giving ultimate protection from UV-rays. Also, it’s far more affordable than other sorts of glass with providing great strength.