We Want a Rematch!

We’d like to think that every greenhouse we build here in the Charlotte area can handle all whatever Nature decides to heap on it -  from tropical storm winds to piles of snow and ice. 

And they usually do.

But our undefeated record came to an end, when one of our cedar-framed greenhouses finally lost a fight with Nature ; KO’ed by a towering, ancient long-leaf pine tree that fell right on top of  the greenhouse during a high-wind storm. 

And it wasn’t a light jab, either ; Lisa’s cedar-framed greenhouse sat right in the path of this colossal tree - it’s massive trunk landing on the greenhouse’s gable roof like a clean right hook to the chin. 

Fortunately, the giant pine tree fell away from the couple’s home, and no one was injured.

The portion of the greenhouse’s red cedar 2”x4” rafters, 2”x6” ridge beam, and 8mm twin-wall polycarbonate roof panels that lay in the path of he tree were predictably crushed.

But, when we first saw the wreckage, we had to give this rugged little greenhouse design some credit, as its 5’-tall sidewalls - made with rough sawn red cedar 2”x4” -  remained fully intact. Almost if to say, “we’re not going down without a fight!” 

And we were equally impressed to find that greenhouse’s base, made with two courses of 

4”x4” red cedar timbers was unaffected by the impact of the huge tree, and could be reused. In fact, we saved Lisa a little money by building her new cedar-framed greenhouse right on top of the existing base of 4”x4” cedar timbers.

Of course, unforeseen events like this are the reason that there’s such a thing as homeowners insurance, and Lisa’s insurance company quickly approved our quote to replace the damaged greenhouse.

This 8’x10’ gable greenhouse design is framed with rough sawn red cedar, using 2”x4”, using 2”x4” for the gable and side walls, and 2”x4” red cedar rafters joined to a 2”x6” red cedar ridge beam for the gable roof. The greenhouse’s wall studs and rafters are spaced 24” on the center - giving tremendous strength to the structure, while minimizing shadows cast by the roof frame, and increasing the amount of sunlight into the greenhouse.

Just like with the first greenhouse, we glazed the new one with 8mm twin-wall, clear polycarbonate.Twin-wall polycarbonate glazing has outstanding insulation value, and this material is virtually shatterproof. Choosing this high-performance polycarbonate greenhouse glazing instead of single pane glass not only delivers better insulation value, it eliminates the risk of injury from shards of broken glass.

Twin-wall polycarbonate is far less likely to  even be damaged at all, when compared to single pane glass. And polycarbonate greenhouse glazing is easier and safer to clean up, remove, and replace if it ever is damaged - say, by a falling tree limb. Or even a whole tree. 

In the case of Lisa Smith’s crushed greenhouse, for example, while the twin-wall polycarbonate was damaged so much that it couldn’t be reused, there were no dangerous shards or splinters of the material to clean up after the tree crushed the greenhouse. In fact, twin-wall polycarbonate greenhouse glazing is designed to crumple, bend, and in extreme cases, tear from extremely heavy blows ( like Lisa’s ogre-sized pine tree ) - as opposed to shattering into small pieces and shards, like glass glazing can.

As with her previous 8’x10’ gable greenhouse, we fitted Lisa’s new 8’x10’ cedar-framed greenhouse with two automated roof vent windows, and a single 36”-wide hinged entry door centered on the front gable wall.

To help waterproof this gable greenhouse design, we first tape all of the seams between polycarbonate panels, then cover the taped seams with red cedar trim, and seal the edges of the trim with a premium, exterior-grade silicone.

Replacement greenhouse completed. Mission accomplished.

But will Lisa’s replacement greenhouse hold up to whatever Mother Nature might

throw at it next? 

We’d like to think so, and you can be sure that we glanced around more than once to see if there were any  precarious-looking large trees looming over the new structure.

None of the other trees in the couple’s backyard stood out to us as suspicious, but Nature  always has the final say, doesn’t she.

But if the past performance of our cedar-framed gable greenhouse design is any indication, Lisa can feel good that - barring another fallen pine tree, a bullseye shot from a meteorite, or a careless flying saucer - her 8’x10’ cedar-framed greenhouse will stand up strong against all the wind, snow, and ice that Mother Nature will pile on it.