building a coldframe ?

[Catwoman63]

Hi Rach, I tried to copy and paste the link but it didnt work for me, search for "The Range" on the internet they still sell them for £35 (other places are more expensive) the polycarbonate sheets i bought from Amazon for £9.99 each, they are 5ft x 2ft, so you will have lots spare after cutting it.

By the way i have seen cold frames in the sale on "Greenfingers.com" might consider buying these for my 2 boys instead of making more.

http://www.greenfingers.com/

[Ozric Jonathan]

Rach I think Bev is using standard acrylic which often doesn't let uvb through it but some kinds of it do. With basic acrylic sheet the only way of being sure is to test the stuff yourself.

But for this purpose does it matter if it's uv transmitting? Maybe not.

[burnt toast]

How about these Rach - I think they are both very good prices as include post & packing & a generous size, especially for one tort:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4004810362...84.m1423.l2649

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Keter-Plan...item1c326e6365

[yuna1971]

Originally Posted by burnt toast

How about these Rach - I think they are both very good prices as include post & packing & a generous size, especially for one tort:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4004810362...84.m1423.l2649

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Keter-Plan...item1c326e6365

Had a look, they look great. And a good price.

Know this is dumb (poor Jon's had me on his case for a while on this lol) but in terms of how the tort goes in and out, do you put on bricks or cut a doorway out. Do you normally leave the open top window thingy closed? Or is this whole thing turned around so that open top thingy is then..'the entrance in/out'

I'm au fait with indoor setups but outdoor...hopeless eh? xx

[burnt toast]

Leave top shut (can open if raosting hot, but then again they probably wont venture in there if too hot)

The wooden one would be ok to cut hole through with stanley knife or the like. Or you could mount on either bricks/breeze blocks/wood & leave a gap for them to come/go. ( make sure its at one end rather than middle, so if cool they can tuck up in opposite end)

[burnt toast]

I have one on breeze blocks will try & get a picture

[Daryn]

I love the rabbit hutch idea, very clever and looks the part well done.

Would like to add my finding's to this, I made a small cheap coldframe in April from left over material from my enclosure, I also took some temperature readings..........

As you can see its very simple, just 4 bits of wood screwed together and a piece of polycarb on the top with a opening at the front.





So this photo was taken an hour after placing it in a sun spot in my border..



And this is after about 90 minutes



You don't need to spend daft amounts of money to keep your torte warm, obviously their will be days that you need to use your tube heater and basking lamp but not today.

You could easily make a large one of these and stick it in a sunny spot of your garden instead of spending 100's £££££££££$$$$$'s on a greenhouse, double the height would be an easy tast if needed. Its warmer in this little thing than in the big enclosure I made.

TBH you could have a couple of these around your garden in sunny spots and just use a dog kennel or something with a tube heater and lamp inside for those cloudy/chilly days, double skin and insulate. Cheaper and more pleasing on the eye.

Hope this helps someone out.

[Daryn]

I will add this to show the difference from outside temperature to the inside of the coldframe.

This was in my border area, its a little sun trap ............



And this was the coldframe right next to where I got the above reading from

[4chester]

I would look to add some edging to the polycarb to seal it, as when the moisture gets in algae and the like start to grow, probably not a problem in a good summer but something to think about in a wet one

Mark

[Daryn]

Good idea Mark, TBH this was just supposed to be an experimental one to see how it performed but my torte uses it more than the large coldframe set up enclosure I have .

Ill see what happens with the mark 2 model lol but I still love that rabbit hutch one on here it looks awesome, but mine was cheaper lol. A coldframe on a budget