Styrene vs toughened glass?

[bario1]

Hi all,

I'm considering buying a small greenhouse for my garden - there are many options to consider, but I wondered if anyone had an opinion on the benefits/disadvantages of 'styrene' glazing or toughened glass glazing? Does one perform better than the other in any way?

Any thoughts appreciated,

Thanks.

[Kristen]

Is Styrene like Polycarbonate or Perspex?

If so it has a reputation for panes blowing out - wind passing over the structure creates negative pressure above the pane, same as the principle of lift on an aeroplane wing, the pane flexes (because it is flexible, unlike glass) and then pops up. Wind enters the structure and either blows out more panes, or lifts the whole thing.

A solution is to silicon the panes in, but then any future dismantling is made much harder.

[arpoet]

I bought a 6 x 6 rion greenhouse with twin wall Polycarbonate and its fantastic Very rigid design and well made in thick green plastic sections, but not cheap. Its also very warm and lets in lots of light and I have had the best crop of tomatoes for years.
I also have a 6 x8 old glass greenhouse with is much colder and very draughty.

[bario1]

Thanks Kristen - I think styrene is the stuff you get when you buy cheap pre-made picture frames from places like Ikea. The greenhouse I'm considering has 2.5mm styrene glazing which seems a bit flimsy to me, particularly in Edinburgh! Maybe I'm answering my own question... but i also wondered if plastic and glass create different growing conditions in terms of insulation/light?

[Kristen]

i also wondered if plastic and glass create different growing conditions in terms of insulation/light?

I don't think so - cheap plastic will probably turn opaque over time; twin-wall polycarbonate will let less light through, but have better insulation properties in winter; plastic materials are lighter leading to lighter-weight frames - but that is good & bad: cheaper to make / transport, but more flimsy (if you want to hang your Tomato crop from the frame), and more prone to blowing away.

Glass breaks now & again, and regular horticultural glass breaks in a hazardous way (comapred to safety glass). Having said that, in the absence of kids kicking footballs etc., I've broken 3 or 4 panes in 20 years; once the lid wasn't properly on the water butt and blew off into the glass during a gale and I have lifted a tall plant in a large pot without thinking about the fact that there was little clearance above it before the cane supporting the plant hit the glass

[Bill HH]

I don't think so - cheap plastic will probably turn opaque over time; twin-wall polycarbonate will let less light through, but have better insulation properties in winter; plastic materials are lighter leading to lighter-weight frames - but that is good & bad: cheaper to make / transport, but more flimsy (if you want to hang your Tomato crop from the frame), and more prone to blowing away.

Glass breaks now & again, and regular horticultural glass breaks in a hazardous way (comapred to safety glass). Having said that, in the absence of kids kicking footballs etc., I've broken 3 or 4 panes in 20 years; once the lid wasn't properly on the water butt and blew off into the glass during a gale and I have lifted a tall plant in a large pot without thinking about the fact that there was little clearance above it before the cane supporting the plant hit the glass

Bit of a pane really.

Mine is polycarbonate and all the panes are siliconed in, seems to withstand the wind but I wouldn't risk leaving the door open in a storm.

[Martin H]

Bit of a pane really.

Did you have to?