We often get asked by our customers what some of the key greenhouse buzz words mean, after all they can be a bit confusing especially if you’re just starting out buying your first greenhouse. So we wanted to take a moment or two to explain what some of the common buzz words actually mean. We’re sure you’ll have more as well, so be sure to leave them in the comments box below and share with your fellow gardeners!
Colour
You’ll normally be able to choose the frame colour of your greenhouse. The most common are silver (usually included as standard in the cost) green and black. Most frames are aluminium, some come with a matt finish rather than a shiny one depending on the greenhouse make and model you go for.
Glass type
There are often more choices to be made with the glass for your greenhouse. The standard glass is called horticultural glass and is the cheapest option available. It’s often a 3mm wide pane of glass which is adequate for your greenhouse, however if it breaks, it will break into large shards which can be quite dangerous so just be aware of this.
Toughened safety glass is normally 3mm or 4mm thick and will withstand greater levels of impact before breaking (it will normally withstand a football hitting it for example). If and when it does shatter, it will break into lots of smaller pieces which will be safer to clean up. Toughened glass is also heavier than standard horticultural glass, adding more weight to your greenhouse.
You will also see polycarbonate glazing as an option when looking at greenhouses. Polycarbonate is stronger again compared to toughened, and 200x stronger than standard horticultural glass. Therefore, it will withstand far greater levels of impact, making it an ideal choice if you have young children playing in the garden.
Lourve
Glass louvres allow for air to easily circulate around your greenhouse, helping with ventilation. They look a lot like a set a horizontal blinds – just glass ones! Louvres are often an additional extra which you can opt to include when purchasing your greenhouse.
Cresting
Cresting is the nice bit of patterned decoration found on the top of your greenhouse. It should be the same colour as your greenhouse frame and adds a bit of extra style to the top of your greenhouse. Cresting is normally an extra which you can opt for when buying your greenhouse.
Integral staging
Integral staging is the racks/shelves at working height within a greenhouse. These are normally the same colour as the frame of your greenhouse, however you can also purchase freestanding staging if you wanted to.
Shelving
Shelving refers to the small shelves which are found around head height in your greenhouse. They’re handy for storing small gardening accessories, packs of seeds etc. You can also use these to help get your plants or vegetables started before moving them into larger pots.
Auto vents
Vents are also important to help maintain a healthy air supply in your greenhouse and allow for ample air circulation, however if you don’t want to have to remember to open and shut your vents, purchasing an automatic system is a good option. They aren’t powered by electricity, rather they are powered by the sun as the metal cylinder containing a mineral wax expands when heated, causing the vents to open and when it cools again, the wax shrinks causing the vents to close again – clever eh!
Eaves
Many greenhouse retailers will refer to some models having high eaves. What they are actually referring to is the area where the greenhouse roof meets the walls of the greenhouse. Obviously the higher the eaves, the more head room available for gardeners
Zero Threshold Door System
This term is seen a lot when looking at Eden greenhouses. The Zero Threshold Door System is designed to have a smoother opening mechanism compared to other greenhouses and is not meant to jam. These door systems also don’t have a threshold bar so any wheelchair users can gain access to their greenhouse much easier
Threshold bar
The threshold bar is the bar which normally sits under the door to your greenhouse and is what your greenhouse door will slide along. Some modern greenhouses have done away with this threshold bar, making accessing your greenhouse easier than ever!
