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Howdy y'all, we are planning on replacing the grennhouse roof with glass and was wondering if shade cloth would be necesessary? I live in El Paso, TX Zone 8a : 10 to 15 (F). The roof is about 8 l x10 w.

Thanks for any tips!


Mark

Definitely! I worked in greenhouses for the North Carolina State University Soybean Research Dept. in Raleigh, NC back in the day.

Glass greenhouses heat up and fry plants plenty quick without shade cloth. Ours were maybe 50% and the plants did well. Fan ventilation was there, too. Big air moving fans.

Used to know several guys painting their glass roof with semi-transparent white paint (like lime). Otherwise the heat inside will be unbearable and keeping up with ventilation almost impossible. If you want to use this GH winter time as well will be good to have removable shading instead.

Thanks y’all!

I will keep the air flow and shade in mind. We are still looking at options. So far it seems like glass for the roof since it’s more permanent and then maybe plastic film does the sides.

Will keep ya updated!

Mark

Look into UV-resistant corrugated or twinwall polycarbonate sheeting available from Greenhouses Etcetera:

https://greenhouses-etc.net/polycarbonate-glazing.htm

I've been using their polyfilm for a couple of portable GHs I rig up during the November-May rainy season here in L.A. Unfortunately the tops turn into a trout pond when it rains, so back in October I added 3.5 mm twinwall roofs for some decent rigidity. Here's the roof over my plant bench:



I know that glass lasts forever, but maybe not the best since we have other options. Hopefully this'll give you some good ideas.

Even though there are a lot of trees up there, they don't shade your plants...
I think many readers up here would like one of those trees next to their greenhouse instead of the "normal" big leavy ones that cause all the shade.

Hi Steve, we did think about the corrugated panels and the poly carb but ultimately went with glass. Mostly due to availability.

We ended up installing the glass and now just need a few more pieces. We found giant double pane doors, and split them so ended up with 10 pieces. We ended up layering the roof to help with leaks and keeping the water moving. I’m going to put fan in there to keep the air moving. So far it’s been about 15 degrees warmer than it is outside.

The plants have reacted very well I’d say. Everything is looking green. Have already had several blooms also! I can’t wait to see the progress.

Will try to upload pics.

Left side


Roof


Outside left


Front



Mark

Evidently it does not snow much in your area from the flat pitch on the roof? In the UK most greenhouse roofs are around a 45 degree pitch in order to shed the snow quickly so the weight causes no damage to the glass.

Typical British amateurs small aluminium and glass greenhouse:-

https://www.greenhousestores.co.uk/6x6- ... 5adec7126d

Ho Dave, not, not much snow. If it does snow it’s nothing too heavy. We did think about giving it more of angle but thought this would work out.

The only issues I’m seeing right now is the windows being too tinted. Some of the plants are stretching towards the sun. Still have to figure it out.

Mark

Steve Johnson wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 8:37 pm Look into UV-resistant corrugated or twinwall polycarbonate sheeting available from Greenhouses Etcetera:

https://greenhouses-etc.net/polycarbonate-glazing.htm

I've been using their polyfilm for a couple of portable GHs I rig up during the November-May rainy season here in L.A. Unfortunately the tops turn into a trout pond when it rains, so back in October I added 3.5 mm twinwall roofs for some decent rigidity. Here's the roof over my plant bench:



I know that glass lasts forever, but maybe not the best since we have other options. Hopefully this'll give you some good ideas.

Super cool setup. Looks like Silver Lake or Echo Park area. How did this handle the heat this summer?

DV8 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 5:51 pmSuper cool setup. Looks like Silver Lake or Echo Park area. How did this handle the heat this summer?

Actually, I live 3 miles west of Exposition Park, which puts me about 6 miles southwest of downtown L.A. Normally, the Silver Lake/Echo Park area would be hotter, but it's been the same here as there since mid-August. I moved into my current digs 20 years ago, and this is my first summer feeling like I'm living in Phoenix. Miserable for us humans, but the cacti are lovin' it. And at least I'm enjoying a nicely extended growing season!