Tools needed dismantle greenhouse

You will find that the roof vent slides into the ridge bar from one end and the vent and ridge bar form the hinge themselves. Some form of stop is often employed to keep the vent from moving side to side.

Elite use a rubber tube with a screw to lock this in place, others use a bar with a screw inside. To remove the vent you simply lift it up as shown and slide it the shortest way to the end of the ridge bar. Dirt often accumilates inside the slot in the ridge bar making this slightly difficult but they will come out with a bit of gentle persuasion.

This greenhouse had a standard bar and peg manual window opener which did not require removing. If the greenhouse had an automatic opener then this will need removing before the vent will slide off. The slam bars for the vents come off next. Two bolts are used to hold these in place, once they are loosened slide one side down until it comes away from the roof glazing bars.

Some models may need the nut removing completely but most have a slot which allows for loosening only. It is at this point you may find out how badly corroded your bolts are.

If these two shear off rather than untighten the chances are that most of the bolts you need to remove will do the same.

It is actually possible to leave these in place and remove the two glazing bars they are bolted to as a "H" section but I prefer to remove the bar as it is very easy to twist this section in transit and damage the bar, spares will in all probability not be easy to find.

There are many greenhouse spares that are universal, sadly roof vents and slam bars are dedicated to the greenhouse they were made for and the chances of another manufacturers fitting are slight. The roof bars are the next item to be removed. You may be very unlucky and find thet steel bolts have been used in places, as have been used here. These are a nightmare and I have never sucessfully undone a steel bolt in a greenhouse.

Google "Galvanic Corrosion" Even with copious WD40 applications the rust that will inevitably be there will tend to hold the nut on so tightly that the bolt head will spin in the glazing bar channel. This will damage the bar and generally mean a bodge at best to refit, at worst a new bar to add to your budget, glazing bars are fairy interchangeable within reason.

I carry a small pair of bolt croppers to cut the nut off, you will be unlucky if you come across this though, most people have enough sense to use the proper aluminium bolts.

In a perfect world all bolts would undo easliy. You can save a little time by using a Nut Spinner with a 10mm head to remove the nuts. Most greenhouses use 10mm nut heads, Crittall just happen to use 11mm heads. I loosen all the roof glazing bars top and bottom and remove them as I go along. If the majority of bolts are shearing it is easier to actually tighten the bolts which will shear the bolts off with less effort. We stock the nut spinners in our tools section of our webshop, they are not expensive and are a boon especially when you rebuild your greenhouse.

They make tightening the bolts in the corners of the greenhouse a very simple procedure, using an open ended spanner will test your patience! Once all the roof glazing bars are out the ridge bar is the next. This is a simple job, two bolts only hold each end of the bar, these are untightened and then usually slide down the end extrusions allowing the bar to come away from the end sections.

This is one operation where help is a bonus. Once the roof is off you will be left with four walls bolted together. Every greenhouse is fitted to its base in its own way, this is the time to remove the greenhouse from the base.

Once free from the base each corner of the house is generally held with three bolts, two at the top and one at the base. The photo to the right shows a top corner section where on this particular greenhouse the bottom nut will untighten and the bolt can slide down away from the junction. The bar that the nut tightens over is the top bar of the side section. The top nut will require complete removal to allow the roof corner support bar to be removed before the bolt can be slid upwards and free of the junction.

Once both bolts are away from the junction the side bar will simply slide out and the top of this section of the greenhouse will be free. The bottom junction is dismantled exactly the same but there is only one bolt holding the bottom of the end section to the bottom of the side. At this point help is more than a bonus, you will now have a very unstable greenhouse flapping around. Carry on around the other three corners and you wll be left with four greenhouse sections looking a little like this.

This is as far as I go when I'm dismantling. Formaldehyde is another option but will kill everything in the soil including good bacteria so this is not an ideal remedy.

When to clean your greenhouse Greenhouse cleaning is best done with regard to the plants being grown: For summer cropping such as tomatoes: clean in winter when the crop has been cleared. For all year round plants such as orchids: clean in mild spells in autumn are best to improve light transmission as winter. Both the inside and outside of your greenhouse panes will need cleaning. Take a bucket and sponge and long handled sponge, thoroughly wiping over every pane with a solution of glass cleaner to soak and scrub off dirt.

Mix one teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide with one cup of water. Wet a cloth with the mixture and wipe on mold. After it sits for at least 10 minutes, scrub the area to remove all mold and stains before wiping down surface.

Sweep the greenhouse from the top to the bottom. If you've had disease in your greenhouse the year before, dispose of plant material in the bin, not the compost pile. Pre-scrub all surfaces of larger pieces of algae , moss, and other growth. Sweep again if necessary to remove all of this material.

Can you move a greenhouse? Category: automotive green vehicles. A fairly common scenario amongst greenhouse owners is growing trees that eventually cast too much shade. What is the best way to transport glass? How do you transport a large pane of glass? How do you transport toughened glass? How do you transport glass in a van? How to Safely Transport Window Glass.

Put on your gloves. If you plan to rebuild the greenhouse in a different location, it is handy to keep the frame intact in sections.

Each slope of the roof, for example, might be kept as one piece. This requires a vehicle with a large enough roof rack, or a van with large enough dimensions to fit the sections in.

The advantage of this, of course, is that you take less of the structure apart and have less to set up again once you reach your new destination. It does require a little more strength when moving it, and there is an increased chance of bending it while moving it, so there are risks as well, despite the added convenience.

Doing it this way, you are also less likely to get confused when trying to put it back together. When removing the clips, good technique and the right tool will save you from a lot of frustration and will make the job a lot quicker.

There are various kinds of clips, but most of them are similar enough to employ the same removal technique. Insert the screwdriver blade under the clip and gently lever it, a little at a time to prevent damage.

Keep a finger over the clip as you remove it to prevent it from flying up to hit you or be lost in the lawn. It is worth mentioning that the glass might be slimy, even if dry, and the combination of thick gloves and care are necessary. Each of these may cause problems if not handled carefully and patiently. Run the blade of the screwdriver along the edge where moss has grown and it should come off very easily. With the top panes out, move on to the lower ones.

If the sizes of glass differ, make a diagram with notes before taking them out. It will seem like a waste of time, perhaps, but will save you time and frustration in the end. When removing glass from the walls, tip the top edge out first, then lift outward so that the pane is flat, parallel with the ground.

This will reduce the chances of dropping panes. The panes always come out toward the outside of the greenhouse upwards in the case of the roof , never inwards. For this reason, it is worthwhile to clear the area around the greenhouse of brambles or other obstacles that might get in the way. Strap the glass securely for transport. It helps to place something soft between panes to reduce the chance of breakage. Tea towels, regular towels, or even tee shirts are great for the job, but any soft material should do.

Place the glass panes on edge, rather than flat against the floor. This will make it so that each pane only supports its own weight, rather than having the pane on the bottom support the whole lot.

Glass is also stronger on end than laid flat. It is also best to move glass in a boot or the back of a van, rather than in the passenger areas. Once the glazing is off and securely stored, the door comes next. Remove the bracket that keeps it from sliding free, and it should slide off the end of the track and come free. If it is a hinged door, simply remove the pins of the bolts that hold it in place the bottom one first usually works best and lift it outward to free it.

Next, remove the roof vents. These should lift up slightly and slide along the roofline and out at the ends. Dirt sometimes makes this track a bit rough, but with some wiggling and careful persuasion it should come free. There is a variety of stoppers that might be in place to keep the vent from moving side to side, but these should be easy to remove, sometimes requiring removal of a screw. Some greenhouses have automatic openers that need to be removed before the vents will move — this is usually the small matter of a few screws.