Vitavia Greenhouse Refurbishment

I’ve finished refurbishing the Vitavia greenhouse. Hopefully it will continue giving good service for many years to come despite the extreme storms we get here being open to the Irish sea.

Refurbished Vitavia Greenhouse being Fitted Out

Refurbished Vitavia Greenhouse being Fitted Out

Last year the Vitavia greenhouse was damaged in a storm. Two large 1500x610mm sheets of toughened glass shattered and the frame was a bit out of square. I could have just got replacement glass but it would happen again.

Toughened glass is pretty strong. It will stand up to a quite heavy blow in the centre of the pane, no problem. But, pressure or a knock on the edge or twist the sheet and bang! The sheet explodes into thousands of fragments. Because the frame was out of square, it would just happen again and again if the glass was replaced without sorting out the frame.

On close inspection, the base rails were also damaged. In fact the aluminium moulding was tearing in places. Not something that could be repaired or bodge fixed by me. I contacted Vitavia who kindly found and sent me replacement parts.

The Greenhouse Base

Greenhouse Frame

Glass Stripped from Greenhouse Frame following storm damage

The greenhouse rested on 3×5 wooden beams. Not the best way to support it but I knew that they’d be level. I’m not the best builder and getting concrete smooth and level is surprisingly tricky.. for me at least! These beams were rotting, despite being pressure treated timber.

The slabs in the centre were becoming increasingly uneven and some had cracked. They were laid on blobs of concrete sitting on a sand base. Ants seemed to find this the ideal home. They made all their tunnels and excavated surprising amounts of the sand causing the problem.

By now I realised this was all getting a bit beyond me. I did wonder if it was time to just go down to the one smaller greenhouse on the other side of the house. However, a greenhouse is so useful and growing is my main passion.

First task was to remove all the glass and doors. Leaving the greenhouse with glass in but some pieces missing would allow the wind to get in and completely destroy it. The frame on its own is not affected so much by strong winds.

Call for Help!

Greenhouse Frame and Base

Greenhouse Frame and Base, New beams installed and lifting the old slabs.

I’ve a pal who works with a builder. When out of your depth, get help! Getting the old wooden beams out was a bigger job than I expected. When I laid them, I’d over-engineered and they were very well tied in to concrete paths. Still, he got them out and laid new treated beams down. He’d got some damp proofing membrane which he wrapped the buried part of the beams with. That should help keep them from rotting in the years to come.

We also applied a couple of coats of Cuprinol wood preservative to the exposed top of the beams. Marvellous stuff, Cuprinol. Not cheap but it works so well.

Next the old slabs in the centre were lifted and the unbroken stacked away. I decided to replace them all with thicker slabs that should be less fragile. The sand underneath was scraped out and the new slabs laid on a bed of concrete. That should stop the ants. In theory, at least.

New Slabs Laid in Greenhouse

New Slabs Laid in Greenhouse

Next it was time to change the frame base rails and the bent strut at the front. Whilst there wasn’t any glass in the frame bolts were loosened and everything squared up before tightening them back up. Then the base was pre-drilled and screwed to the wooden beams.

Replacement Glass

Glass Piles on Lawn

Various sheets of glass sorted out on the lawn

I bought two sheets of glass to replace the broken ones. £148.00! At that rate it would cost more than £3,500 to re-glaze the whole greenhouse. That’s a bit much when I could buy a whole new Vitavia Jupiter 8×14 greenhouse for around £1,600 from Greenhouse Stores!

Re-Glazing

My son-in-law Gary offered to put the glass in whilst I looked after my grandson. He wasn’t very pleased with my abilities to play Minecraft so it was off for a run around at the beach. We won’t discuss the price of an ice cream..

First of all Gary sorted out the glass into the various sizes before starting. As usual, glazed the roof first and then the walls. Rehang the doors and it’s job done.

Man Glazing a Greenhouse

Gary Glazing the Greenhouse, start with the roof.

Cleaning

The glass was pretty mucky and there was a fair bit of algae growing on it. I know that dirty glass can reduce light transmission considerably and algae even more. Usually we’re talking between 10% and 15% but it could be as much as 20%

I remember talking about this with a commercial tomato grower some time back. He explained that maximizing light transmission in a greenhouse is crucial for successful tomato production, as it helps to ensure that the plants receive the optimal growing conditions necessary for healthy and high-quality fruit. Reduced light equals reduced photosynthesis which equals reduced growth, later cropping and ripening along with lower crop yields. It also reduces disease resistance.

The glass was thoroughly cleaned inside and out. Whilst I’d got the cleaning gear out, did the Eden greenhouse as well.

Setting Back Up

Made a start setting up the benching etc. The border in the Vitavia needs a few weeds removing along with some remaining bits of broken glass. Then I will have to be top it up with compost so it is ready to plant.

The Quadgrows will get set up as normal and then the greenhouse will be a go for the season.

Posted in Allotment Garden Diary
One comment on “Vitavia Greenhouse Refurbishment
  1. Penny Clamp says:

    Great to see renovation rather than replacement John, truly in the spirit of the times.
    We have an old wooden Alton greenhouse, given to us by a friend many years ago. We have regularly replaced wood and glass over the years and last year gave it a major refurb. Its a really long double unit -about 20 feet I think and was sagging in the middle and one unit leaning southwards! its too expensive to replace at that size but I love it dearly. It now has a prop in the middle and the sag has been straightened.
    Of course there is always the safety aspect to a greenhouse and I wouldn’t necessarily encourage everyone to tackle repairs necessarily!

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