Ensure your greenhouse’s sturdiness against strong winds! Discover our tips for choosing and installing a durable and wind-resistant greenhouse, using suitable materials and anchoring systems to face adverse weather and provide optimal protection in all climatic conditions.
1. What risks does my greenhouse face in strong winds?
Installing a greenhouse means creating a sheltered space for plants throughout the year. However, your garden greenhouse remains exposed to the elements, especially violent winds and hail.
During storms or powerful gusts, a poorly anchored greenhouse or one made of low-quality materials can suffer significant damage:
- Glass or panel detachment
- Uplifting of the structure
- Hail impacts or shattered glazing caused by debris and projectiles
A strong, robust, and well-installed greenhouse can withstand even challenging conditions. Below are some tips to improve the wind resistance of your garden greenhouse.
2. Choose the Right Structure for Optimal Resistance
Selecting the proper greenhouse structure is essential for its durability against weather conditions, especially wind. While several types of greenhouses are available, not all offer equal robustness. The primary types are tunnel greenhouses with tarps, metal greenhouses, wooden greenhouses, and wrought-iron greenhouses.
Tunnel Greenhouses: More Vulnerable
Tunnel greenhouses, though affordable and easy to install, are often highly vulnerable to adverse weather.
We’ve all seen those dilapidated tunnel greenhouses in a garden or field, with exposed metal hoops and torn tarps blown away by the wind.
Despite attempts to reinforce them (e.g., burying the tarp edges in trenches or using anchoring feet), these lightweight structures often succumb. Even when well-installed, they require constant maintenance and frequent repairs.
Wood and Metal Greenhouses: More Resistant
On the other hand, greenhouses made of metal, wood, or wrought iron are built on a more stable model inspired by house structures. It’s no coincidence that their shape is similar to that of a small building, with straight walls and a roof pitched at 10-30%. This type of design is stronger and more stable, allowing gusts of wind to slide across the roof without causing excessive wind resistance.
However, not all metal or wooden greenhouses are weatherproof. Unsuitable wood or poor quality metal can lead to rapid deterioration of the greenhouse.
- Unsuitable wood may warp, crack, and lose strength when exposed to humidity.
- Metal, if unprotected, can corrode, causing instability in the structure, making it more susceptible to wind damage.
3. What Makes Helio Greenhouses Resistant to Violent Winds?
Helio greenhouses are specifically designed to withstand harsh weather conditions:
- Straight lines and gentle slopes: Their design minimizes wind resistance while maintaining an elegant garden aesthetic.
- Structure in larch or Douglas fir wood: These naturally Class 3 woods are highly resistant to humidity and freeze-thaw cycles, ensuring structural stability and durability even in outdoor environments.
- Compact polycarbonate glazing: This material, which is lighter than glass, is also more resistant to impacts and gusts of wind. Unlike horticultural glass, which can shatter and become sharp under pressure, compact polycarbonate stays in place, providing extra strength. It also helps bracing the greenhouse, contributing to its stability and rigidity.
With these features, the Helio greenhouse is the ideal choice for those looking for a tough, solid greenhouse. Helio wooden greenhouses can stand up to the wind and last over time.
4. Properly Orienting and Installing Your Greenhouse
How to Orient Your Greenhouse Against the Wind?
To ensure your greenhouse’s strength and resistance to wind, orientation and placement are key. A well-oriented greenhouse catches less wind, significantly improving its stability and durability. Here are some tips to help you position your greenhouse effectively:
- Position the Gable End Toward the Prevailing Wind:
Your greenhouse should be oriented so that the gable ends—the narrow sides—face the prevailing wind. This setup minimizes wind exposure. With this orientation, the reduced surface area exposed to gusts helps limit the risk of damage. Proper positioning allows your greenhouse to withstand stronger winds, providing better protection for your plants.
- Use a Windbreak Hedge for Extra Protection:
A well-placed windbreak hedge can significantly reduce the force of gusts hitting your greenhouse. It’s best to plant a hedge with uniform density to slow down the wind without creating turbulence. Typically, a 3-meter-high hedge effectively protects an area extending about 15 meters behind it. When positioned perpendicular to the prevailing wind, a windbreak hedge becomes a major asset for maintaining your greenhouse’s stability.
- Avoid Dense Walls and Hedges Nearby:
While dense walls or hedges may seem protective, they can actually increase the risk of wind turbulence. Installing a greenhouse too close to a wall or between two dense hedges can create a funnel effect, accelerating wind speed. To prevent this, maintain adequate distance between your greenhouse and nearby obstacles.
Managing Your Greenhouse During Strong Winds
During strong winds, it’s essential to securely close all openings, including doors and vents, to avoid air pockets that could destabilize the structure.
Sometimes, it’s necessary to disconnect automatic window openers. Even in strong winds, internal temperatures might not drop enough to trigger closure. If the roof remains slightly open, it can lead to wind exposure and potentially result in the entire roof being blown off.
Helio greenhouses can be equipped with an optional storm kit for enhanced security. During severe winds, stainless steel braces can replace the automatic vent openers, ensuring the roof stays firmly closed and preventing any wind exposure at the top of the structure.
5. A Solid Foundation for Optimal Wind Resistance
To guarantee the stability of Helio greenhouses against strong winds, every model comes with a robust anchoring kit. This includes earth screws approximately 40 cm deep and 4 cm in diameter, which are driven securely into the ground and attached to the greenhouse base using treated steel brackets. These fixtures ensure effective anchoring across various soil types, enhancing the greenhouse’s wind resistance.
For particularly exposed areas or when greater stability is needed, the greenhouse can be secured onto concrete beams or blocks. In such cases, Helio provides anchor bolts to attach the base directly to the concrete support. This solution not only increases stability but also ensures a level base, simplifying the greenhouse assembly process.
In very windy regions or on sloped terrain, foundation screws are recommended. These galvanized steel piles are driven approximately 120 cm into the ground, providing maximum anchorage.
While this option ensures exceptional structural stability, it requires specialized equipment for installation. We strongly recommend having our team handle this setup for optimal results.
6. Helio: Durable, Aesthetic, and Resilient Greenhouses
The design and materials used for Helio greenhouses are specifically chosen to ensure exceptional resilience against natural elements.
Each Helio greenhouse features a sturdy frame made from larch or Douglas fir, wood species known for their resistance to frost, humidity, and temperature fluctuations. Naturally classified as Class 3, these woods can withstand prolonged exposure to moisture without requiring additional chemical treatment. Their inherent durability makes them ideal for greenhouses, even in the harshest conditions. Furthermore, these materials are highly valued for their technical and structural properties, ensuring stability without compromising the greenhouse’s aesthetic appeal.
Helio greenhouses are equipped with compact polycarbonate panels, a material that is both lightweight and highly resistant. This compact polycarbonate is 200 times more impact-resistant than glass, providing excellent protection against weather events like hail and strong winds. It is also UV-treated, ensuring long-lasting transparency without yellowing. Unlike horticultural glass, compact polycarbonate does not shatter into sharp fragments in the event of an impact.
To minimize wind exposure, our greenhouses are designed with reinforced structures to withstand extreme conditions. Tests conducted on Helio greenhouses installed on the Breton coast demonstrated their ability to endure storms with gusts exceeding 190 km/h.
The structure is calculated to withstand strong winds in all directions (compliance with eurocodes NF EN 1991-1 -4).
Conclusion
Choosing and installing a Helio wooden greenhouse means opting for a robust,
wind-resistant, and durable structure.
Thanks to high-quality materials, tailored anchoring solutions, and a design optimized for integration into any environment, our wooden and polycarbonate greenhouses provide optimal protection for your plants, even in challenging conditions.
