My greenhouse has been smashed

[FizzingAda]

Storm Boelo has struck my 12x6 greenhouse, went to check it this morning now the horrendous wind has finally died down, many of the panes are shattered, both in roof (two of the openers), and in the walls. Glass everywhere, in the greenhouse bed, and all over the veggie patch. It's that safety glass that shatters into a million pieces, so I wonder if I should just dig it in. I think the frame might be damaged too. And if we get more winds I wouldn't be surprised if it gets more damage.
I know it's nothing to what some people are suffering, but it's sad. Fortunately I cleared the last of the crops two weeks ago.
the insurance company have told me to get estimates for repair. As we are well past being able to go up ladders and tackle this it may be a tad expensive. I don't know how they would do it without dismantling the whole thing 😱.
and our fence had to be held up with rope, it's leaning dangerously.
A storm to remember!!

Oh that's horrendous for you.
I was saying to my son yesterday that a lot of the people round where I live don't really give a damn about their gardens so the storms and high winds are definitely less stressful for them than for those of us whose gardens are of real importance to.us.
I've survived so far with only planters being blown over and shrubs shriveling with wind damage
in my area the weather isnt going to subside until at least Wednesday. What is the forcast saying for your area OP,? There doesn't seem much point in taking any action until these current high winds have supsided- unless there is real chance that people will be put in danger. Perhaps that will give you a bit of breathing space to consider your options?

I am sorry, that’s a rotten shame. I’d love a greenhouse, but we get the gales too often to risk it. Even our garden fences are specifically chosen to let the wind through, so they blow down less often. I hope you can get it sorted, and that it lasts well.

@nocoolnamesleft Might a poly-crub be suitable for your garden? They are built to withstand wind-force in Shetland, and some of the smaller islands are getting them so that they can have fresh fruits and vegetables more regularly than it gets there by plane/boat.

I feel your pain, @FizzingAda ! I've had several of the glass panes go in mine before now. I managed to buy replacement panes for a while, but the company has since stopped selling that range of greenhouses. Hopefully, some of the agricultural merchant places around here will come up trumps for cutting glass if/when the next one goes!

Ooh, have to have a look.

The wind is still blowing, it's about 49mph now. Insurance company say it has to be over 55 for a claim, and on Sunday it was 65, so they are happy for us to go ahead. However, I'm wondering what to do - what if we get it reglazed and along comes another storm. Don't know how many times they would pay out!
Notorious pig, a glazing company will cut safety glass to size for you, we've had that done in the past.
the polygrubs look interesting, but a bit expensive, and they are too big for our plot. We're too old, can't face dismantling our g/h and building another.

My old storm weary glass greenhouse was untouched by the storm which took down oak trees, power line etc but the polycrub lost the north west corner of the roof. The gusts were terrifying.
Given the ferocity of storms, it might be an idea to replace the glass with acrylic sheets? If you do, throw everything at them like glue, battens and clips.
It’s also worthwhile putting two vents in either end. The wind gets in and then just smashes its way out. A few air vents helps, I have inexpensive ones (tumble drier types) and it seems to do the trick in the greenhouse.

There are four automatic roof openers, two of them have lost the glass. Also two,louvres vents are floor level, one of them has been blown out, the Louvre’s are still intact but the frame is twisted. Other roof,panes are smashed, plus wall glass. The people we bought our house from kept a piece of land next to us, heavily planted with trees, which protected us from the prevailing wind. They were all cut down last year, and we get battered now, so I'm wondering what to do for the best now. Acrylic might be an idea.
the glaziers are coming out in a few days somwe'll see what they suggest.

Don’t leave the glass in the garden. Especially if there are lots of sharp edges. You’ll be picking it out and cursing for years. Pick up as much as you can now.

Yes, we’ve swept up all we can, off the paths. It's a bit more difficult on the soil or plants, the bits are tiny, and if you pick up a larger bit it just crumbles. Someone I know suggested using a vacuum cleaner in a low setting and gently wafting the tube over it all, then sifting the result, so when the wind finally drops we'll give it a go.

I feel really sad for you. It’s devastating to find a beloved greenhouse wrecked after the storms. We reinforced the corners with metal to twist the aluminium frame back to a semblance of square and replaced the roof glass with Perspex. It isn’t pretty but it held well during the last storm and should be ok for the next lot. Also, you can use the smashed glass as a heat sink. There are lots of videos on YouTube on how to do it. My little shards of heartache are buried in an old insulated fish box but it does work.

Sorry you’ve been through it too, Cedarcreek. My greenhouse and my pond are the happy places in my garden. I like the idea of a heat sink, will look into it 👍. And the Perspex for the roof.