Any help or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.Need Help !! Windows on Greenhouse Roof
Need Help !! Windows on Greenhouse Roof
Does anyone out there have any experience or suggestions on installing glass panels on a lumber framed greenhouse roof? My plan is to sit the glass between the rafters recessing them them about 3/8 " which is the the glass thickness. They will sit on runners and I have neoprene spacers that fit around the glass edge. I have encountered a problem since the roof sheathing that I will use is 1/2 osb. What to do aboout the bottome edge of the glass without creating a dam> Any help or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.
Any help or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.Lets Grow Cacti!!
Floyd, one way to prevent a dam at the bottom is to make sure the glass is higher than the bottom support. This is a lot easier with plastic that can be attached at the top to hold it in place. I think most glass greenhouses have metal frames that hold the glass in place. But you could put some L-shaped brackets at the bottom edge that keep the glass from sliding down off the roof.
Another possibility would be to install a rain gutter along the bottom. The glass can rest in the gutter and water can then run down the glass and then along the gutter and out a downspout at the corner of the greenhouse. I think you'll definitely want to avoid having this gutter made out of wood, but plastic or metal would be better.
Another possibility would be to install a rain gutter along the bottom. The glass can rest in the gutter and water can then run down the glass and then along the gutter and out a downspout at the corner of the greenhouse. I think you'll definitely want to avoid having this gutter made out of wood, but plastic or metal would be better.
All Cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are Cacti
Mounting sheet glass on GH Roof
Posted by: Flavio (---.dyn.centurytel.net)
Date: Friday, 08-May-2009, 06:42:54
Hello all...Here it is May and I am still plugging away at my greenhouse project started months ago. Finally a solution to my challange of securing the glass on the roof from sliding off. Hopefully it will help someone else facing a similiar situation on their greenhouse project.
will try to describe what I used and how I installed the glass along with the photos. I apologize for long post and also the quality of the photo's.
This is an end view image of the aluminum strip that I found to hold the glass from sliding off the roof. As you can see it is fabricated so as to have two seperate what I call compartments. The outside edge is made to accept glass of different thickness up to 1/4 inch. The glass slides into this first compartment which is shown as a gap. The second compartment is independent from that on to which the glass fits. This makes it possible to drill holes to affix strip with the glass onto the 2x2 inch redwood framing on the lower edge of the roof. I also drilled two weep holes on this lower compartment in case some water would be collected there.
This is a front view of the aluminum strip tha I am using. You can see the gap into which the bottom edge of the glass slides into. Note that I drilled three holdes through it to screw onto the 2x2 inch framing.
This photo shows the 2x2 framing onto which the glass rests after it is insered into the gap on the aluminum strip. Note that I have put metal flashing on top of and on the downside of the 2x2 framing strip. This is done prior to mounting the glass. the butyl double faced sealing stip sits on top of the runners and the glass is set on top of the strip to form a seal.
Photo of glass on roof taken from inside the greenhouse. A partial view of the 2x2 framing onto which the glass is resting is shown.
This shows a group of several of the glass sheets installed on the roof.
I put two inch neoprene spacers between the side edges of the glass and the rafters. I then cut a strip piece of redwood to fit on the top and sides of the glass to cover the gap which results once the spacers are installed. I then put calking around the side edges of the glass. a thin bead of calking is run into the gap in the aluminum piece before the glass is slid into the gap. I also put a dab of calking in each screw hole before screwing the aluminum piece onto the 2x2 bottom piece. In addition, I also calk the flashing edges formed on the bottom end of the rafters shown where there are gaps. On the top of the rafters which seperate the glass installation you can see a strip of plywood on top of the rafters. This is sheathing that will cover the remainder of the roof. I had some drip edge bent into an upside down "U" shape with a flange on each edge. The flanges fit over the wood strips installed earlier around the top sides of the glass. I also run a bead of calking along all exposed edges of the final installation.
A special thank you to all who have been helping with ideas to solve problems that I have encountered thus far on my project. Your help has keep me on track. Needless to say, I am anxiously awaiting the completion of this project.
Posted by: Flavio (---.dyn.centurytel.net)
Date: Friday, 08-May-2009, 06:42:54
Hello all...Here it is May and I am still plugging away at my greenhouse project started months ago. Finally a solution to my challange of securing the glass on the roof from sliding off. Hopefully it will help someone else facing a similiar situation on their greenhouse project.
will try to describe what I used and how I installed the glass along with the photos. I apologize for long post and also the quality of the photo's.
This is an end view image of the aluminum strip that I found to hold the glass from sliding off the roof. As you can see it is fabricated so as to have two seperate what I call compartments. The outside edge is made to accept glass of different thickness up to 1/4 inch. The glass slides into this first compartment which is shown as a gap. The second compartment is independent from that on to which the glass fits. This makes it possible to drill holes to affix strip with the glass onto the 2x2 inch redwood framing on the lower edge of the roof. I also drilled two weep holes on this lower compartment in case some water would be collected there.
This is a front view of the aluminum strip tha I am using. You can see the gap into which the bottom edge of the glass slides into. Note that I drilled three holdes through it to screw onto the 2x2 inch framing.
This photo shows the 2x2 framing onto which the glass rests after it is insered into the gap on the aluminum strip. Note that I have put metal flashing on top of and on the downside of the 2x2 framing strip. This is done prior to mounting the glass. the butyl double faced sealing stip sits on top of the runners and the glass is set on top of the strip to form a seal.
Photo of glass on roof taken from inside the greenhouse. A partial view of the 2x2 framing onto which the glass is resting is shown.
This shows a group of several of the glass sheets installed on the roof.
I put two inch neoprene spacers between the side edges of the glass and the rafters. I then cut a strip piece of redwood to fit on the top and sides of the glass to cover the gap which results once the spacers are installed. I then put calking around the side edges of the glass. a thin bead of calking is run into the gap in the aluminum piece before the glass is slid into the gap. I also put a dab of calking in each screw hole before screwing the aluminum piece onto the 2x2 bottom piece. In addition, I also calk the flashing edges formed on the bottom end of the rafters shown where there are gaps. On the top of the rafters which seperate the glass installation you can see a strip of plywood on top of the rafters. This is sheathing that will cover the remainder of the roof. I had some drip edge bent into an upside down "U" shape with a flange on each edge. The flanges fit over the wood strips installed earlier around the top sides of the glass. I also run a bead of calking along all exposed edges of the final installation.
A special thank you to all who have been helping with ideas to solve problems that I have encountered thus far on my project. Your help has keep me on track. Needless to say, I am anxiously awaiting the completion of this project.
Lets Grow Cacti!!
I can see why you want a solid support for the bottom edge of the glass to prevent it sliding away, but really it isn't necessary. The glass on my greenhouse roof is held only at the sides and only by clips. The top edge slides under an overhang at the ridge, and the bottom edge just rests on top of the aluminium frame. The sides rest on a rubber gasket and are pressed down quite firmly by the clips. A full length capping would be better but I got the greenhouse for free so I'm not complaining 
In my climate, it is important to design for water drainage. Even with this design I still need to caulk the bottom edge of the glass to prevent water seeping in underneath. Maybe that's less of an issue for you.
In my climate, it is important to design for water drainage. Even with this design I still need to caulk the bottom edge of the glass to prevent water seeping in underneath. Maybe that's less of an issue for you.
--ian
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John P Weiser
- Posts: 1261
- Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 5:08 pm
- Location: Sparks, NV
Always nice to see your progress!
From the High Desert Steppe
of the Great Basin and foot hills
of the Sierra Nevada Range
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierrarainshadow/
sierrarainshadow
of the Great Basin and foot hills
of the Sierra Nevada Range
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierrarainshadow/
sierrarainshadow
Wow Floyd, I'm impressed with the quality of work you're doing. You really are building a heavy-duty setup.
I'd like to see an overview shot of the whole project. (maybe a couple of them) It appears that only one side will have glass, is that right?
I'd like to see an overview shot of the whole project. (maybe a couple of them) It appears that only one side will have glass, is that right?
All Cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are Cacti
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CoronaCactus
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- Contact:
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CoronaCactus
- Posts: 10421
- Joined: Thu May 24, 2007 6:16 pm
- Location: Corona, California USA [Zone 10]
- Contact:
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John P Weiser
- Posts: 1261
- Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 5:08 pm
- Location: Sparks, NV
OOPS! 
From the High Desert Steppe
of the Great Basin and foot hills
of the Sierra Nevada Range
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierrarainshadow/
sierrarainshadow
of the Great Basin and foot hills
of the Sierra Nevada Range
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierrarainshadow/
sierrarainshadow
Hey all!! Seems like I got things all stirred up. Floyd and Flavio are the same person...me. The pictures I submitted above are indeed of my greenhouse. I also posted this same information on the BCSS - British Cactus and Succulent Society forum which I subscribe to. Perhaps that has caused some confusion. If it is possible, I would like to create a thread (guess that is what it is called ) which would include all of my postings from the start of my project. To do this however, I need some help on how to proceed. What do you all think? .....Maybe make things more clear?
Floyd and Flavio are the same person...me. The pictures I submitted above are indeed of my greenhouse. I also posted this same information on the BCSS - British Cactus and Succulent Society forum which I subscribe to. Perhaps that has caused some confusion. If it is possible, I would like to create a thread (guess that is what it is called ) which would include all of my postings from the start of my project. To do this however, I need some help on how to proceed. What do you all think? .....Maybe make things more clear?
Last edited by floyd on Sat May 09, 2009 5:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
Lets Grow Cacti!!
daiv there will be some glass on both sides of the roof. There are seven pieces on this west side. However, because I am building this extension to tie in to my small existing northern light greenhouse the arrangement of windows on the east side will be somewhat different. On the east side roof I have installed three identical pieces of glass same as the west side but am still working on how and what type of glass will be required on the other part of the roof there. I will probably end up putting two smaller glass pieces in a vertical position cause of the interference of the other greenhouse roof. I will post photos of that later.
Lets Grow Cacti!!
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John P Weiser
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- Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 5:08 pm
- Location: Sparks, NV
Floyd aka "Flavio"
What I said still gos. Always nice to see your progress!
What I said still gos. Always nice to see your progress!
From the High Desert Steppe
of the Great Basin and foot hills
of the Sierra Nevada Range
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierrarainshadow/
sierrarainshadow
of the Great Basin and foot hills
of the Sierra Nevada Range
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierrarainshadow/
sierrarainshadow