Greenhouse Retrofit Question
Printer-friendly versionHello - We have a 20+ year old Four Seasons greenhouse attached to our home (a decent photo attached). We love it very much but it looks quite rough from the outside - the seals in nearly every one of the glass windows has broken, meaning severe condensation and in some cases even water standing between the panes. The half circle panes are old plexi or acrylic and are yellowed and cracking.
The structure itself is in excellent shape. The problem is that when I had the Four Seasons representative out to look at replacing the glass they quoted nearly $30,000!! I couldn't believe it. . .
I have solid home improvement skills and am considering removing and replacing the windows myself. My question is whether I should have replacement windows made (they are not standard sizes) or whether I could 'convert' the greenhouse and use some type of polycarbonate panel for the windows and still have a weather tight greenhouse for our difficult Minnesota winters.
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Will
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I am just completing a 10 x 12 foot greenhouse conversion from a Four Seasons Greenhouse/sunroom. The structure is very well engineered and put together and should last for a very long time, being made out of massive aluminum pieces. I use the glass for the roof because of the curve and the strength. I am building end walls for my lean to style greenhouse from redwood 2 x 4's and 8 mm polycarbonate. it should be easy to remove the glass and replace it with polycarbonate OR just take it apart and replace the glazing tape on the structure side and redo/ or renew the seals with high quality silicone caulking. The vertically running strips are the last to go on, so they have to come off first. From the outside you pop off with a screwdriver the lead like metal strips that seal the channel the screws are hidden in (save them, straightening them by bending with your hands or gently hitting them with a rubber mallet). once those screws are removed the strips pop off. The cross wise metal strips are secured from the inside with stainless steel screws hidden behind plastic strips. Once they are removed there is only the flange muntins and the aluminum beams that the glass is sitting on ( with glazing tape between the aluminum and the glass. If leaks are your only problem, you can rebuild from this point back and reconstruct a water tight roof. Believe it or not I was told to stand and walk on the glass roof with little danger (just don't drop any tools!) If you choose to replace with polycarbonate you will have to work around the fact that you won't be able to stand on the roof as you reassemble it, but with care it can be done with ladders or scaffolding and planks. You can rent a lot of gear and still beat $30,000. Steve
That sounds like a pretty awesome structure you got there, Doc. You got any pictures you can post of that, either on your profile or here in a post?
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In my opinion you should choose windows that you can get replaced easily so that the next time you need to have a another replacement the windows can be ordered from the market for a usually shape or make of windows and not have to waste money on such things when you can actually get it done at a lower cost. Since I love to have good rugs in my home I always choose Persian Rugs Toronto as they will replace and maintain my rugs at a very low cost allowing me not to have to worry about costs and maintenance which can be high.
Julia.
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Julia
The costs to retrofit should not be crazy, and it really important to shop around. When looking for a replacement window you should take into consideration the new government tax credits that are available now. It can make it much more affordable.
Polycarbonate is an excellent glazing option and will certainly cost much less than the glass quote you received.
Things to keep in mind with polycarbonate include shipping costs. They can be quite high because the material must be trucked and a custom crate must be built. However, when compared to the price on glass you are facing, the price for polycarbonate is a bargain in comparison.
Also, in order to seal the material efficiently you would need to purchase the aluminum glazing cap and bar. It is an excellent system for cleaning up the appearance and sealing the installation.
The nature of a polycarbonate install is also not quite the same as glass. With glass, the panels generally fit inside a frame. So you end up with many small panels all situated into their own individual frames. With polycarbonate, the panels are large sheets. These sheets are installed directly to the frame sub-structure with screws. The panels can be as large as 6' wide, and basically any length you need them to be. The glazing aluminum joins two adjacent panels. There is also a U-channel that fits on an edge, be it top, bottom, or sides. Of course polycarbonate can be installed similarly to glass, i.e. in small panels, but that is not the recommended or most common installation method.