I get a lot of phone calls and emails asking about polycarbonate, what it is and how to install or save it. There is so much confusion around these subjects. Objection This article is to clarify these points.
1. Polycarbonate green crystal greenhouse like glass. This is wrong. Twinwall or Polycarbonate Triplewall is used for greenhouses. The easiest way to describe it is imagine looking down the end of a cardboard box. There is a sheet outside, a sheet inside and the ribs running directly between these two sheets. Even though the exterior sheet has glass like clarity, the middle rib will distort your view. You will see color, but it is not clearly formed.
2. Polycarbonate greenhouse is difficult to cut. No, no. The sheets can be cut with a round saw, the table looks, even the jig looks with a fine teeth knife. Simply cut it because you will be a plywood. If you want, you can use compressed air to remove dust from the channel.
3. I can save my greenhouse ライオットシールド polycarbonate in direct sunlight for a long period of time. Oh, please don’t do this. There is a protective film on the sheets. This is for protection during transportation and also to direct you where the sheet should go to the sun (protected UV). If you leave the sheets open in the sun for a long time, the protective film will melt into the sheets and it is impossible to remove.
4. I can bend my greenhouse polycarbonate with a circle as I want. Wrong again. There is a minimum bending radius determined by each producer for each sheet thickness. Be sure to request this information if your design requires a bending sheet.
5. The sheets will be heavy and difficult to handle. No. The 4 ‘x 12’ sheet from 8mm Clear Twinwall Polycarbonate will weigh around 20 pounds.
6. I need silicone all my joints. No need. Profiles that come with sheets (H, u, R and F) are all right and does not require silicon when installed according to the manufacturer’s specifications.
7. I don’t need to order sheets for all my roof length. I will only join them along with H profiles that run horizontally. This is the worst violation of all. Your roof will leak in this joint, and become moldy chaos. Be sure to order your sheet for the whole length you need.
8. I can run sheets with ribs that run vertically or horizontally, which one I like. NO! The sheets must be run with vertically ribs so that whatever condensation formed on the channel can flow.
9. I can put the flats of a greenhouse polycarbonate. No! You must have at least 1 at 12 roof pitches, or a 5 degree slope. Many try to flatter. Many are not happy when their roof leaks. There is no way to fix it and there is no way around this rule.
10. The greenhouse polycarbonate will only last several years. Not true. Most manufacturers supply ten-year warranty on material. Some even have a 15-year warranty now. Polycarbonate usually exceeds the warranty period while still appearing and looks good.
In my opinion, Polycarbonate is the upper glacic glass material available. Just follow some simple rules when installing, and you will have a comfortable, functional, and beautiful greenhouse for years to come.