Choosing a Cold Frame

[Fleurisa]

I've been given some gift vouchers for amazon and I'd like to buy a cold frame with them. Has anyone got any recommendations for any of the cold frames they sell. A lot of them have bad reviews for being flimsy. I'd like one that won't blow away in the slightest breeze and can be pegged down onto the soil or be used on paving, but can also be relocated easily.
Or if you can recommend a cold frame from a different retailer I would be interested too

[bario1]

How much can you spend?

[Fleurisa]

I was hoping to keep it under £100

[Bigmallly]

Even the cheapo polycarb ones have holes in the aluminium frame so you can peg it down. I drilled & plugged one into paving flags but you could just put a brick in each corner. Oh, get a 5th brick to put on the lid..........

[Fleurisa]

Bigmally, what make is yours?

[Bigmallly]

It was very similar to this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Polycarbonat...CQNV8A392YNBB5

[Fleurisa]

the reviews aren't too promising on that one. It seems like you have to pay more than £100 to get anything half decent

[bario1]

What about making your own? I made one using a mixture of bought and salvaged materials and it's much bigger/stronger than anything I could have bought. Materials cost me about £100. You any good with a saw and a hammer?

[ButternutSquash]

I bought a polycarbonate and aluminium one for £24 from Aldi/lidl. It has blown across the garden twice but it is now sorted. The trick is to have the openings face away from the wind such as towards a wall, and use bricks to weigh down the corners inside (there are ledges). You could place bricks around the outside to hold it down. Yes it is light but it is amazing, you can put out tomato and courgette seedlings a month earlier than usual. I also bought a Halls jumbo cold frame with toughened glass. It took two hours to erect, but it is huge, heavy and very very good. I can barely lift it when the roof panels are off. It is a bit out of your price range, sadly.

There are some cheapish wood and poly cold frames that might be heavy enough to stay put in wind. Make sure you get one with decent height. I am using my halls for chillis planted in the ground.

I worked out that it would be difficult to make one for the price you can buy them unless you can get recycled parts.

[bario1]

Here's mine, the lights are two double glazed window frames I got from Gumtree, the rest I built:

[Fleurisa]

The Halls cold frame does look good, but I'd like something I could move easier.

I'm no good with a saw and hammer, hubby is but I'd end up waiting ages for anything to be built

[ButternutSquash]

Here's mine, the lights are two double glazed window frames I got from Gumtree, the rest I built:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]46836[/ATTACH]

Nice. Probably toughened glass too, I think it is in double galzing, or at recent stuff.

[Philthy]

I have an idea and most of the components to build my own; it's not your conventional design, so I'm still working on getting permission to install it

I have the front end of a metallic blue ford fiesta: front wings, bumper, grill, lights, two tyres, and bonnet c/w hinges and rod. The idea is to cut panels out of the bonnet, cover these with clear perspex (i.e. material that'll flex to match the contours in the bonnet), then assemble the other parts as if they were still part of the car.
The back of the 'coldframe' will be the end of the greenhouse. The grill provides ventilation when the lid is closed. The bonnet rod props the lid open in warm weather.
I figured metal heats up quicker than wood.

Anyone done anything similar?

[teakdesk]

I figured metal heats up quicker than wood.

Nice idea... very "Le Salvager"!

Metal also loses heat quicker than wood so will cool quicker overnight. Probably not too significant though.

[Bren In Pots]

I have the front end of a metallic blue ford fiesta: front wings, bumper, grill, lights, two tyres, and bonnet c/w hinges and rod. The idea is to cut panels out of the bonnet, cover these with clear perspex (i.e. material that'll flex to match the contours in the bonnet), then assemble the other parts as if they were still part of the car.

Anyone done anything similar?

Your idea makes my tin bath cold frame seem boring, so don't forget to post photos so we can all have a look.