I would love a cold frame...

[Bex]

where can I get one from?
I've looked on the 'tinternet and they either look really rickerty or cost the earth.
I know I should make one myself but believe me I am so unpractical buying one would work out cheaper.
Any suggestions!

[nick the grief]

Hi Bex,

Doddle to build one & I'm no master carpenter honest. I have two temporary ones. 1 is all polythene & the other is 3 sides wood. They cost wm about £20 to build & pack flat behing the greenhouse when not in use.

[Geordie]

I built all of mine from scrap pallets, if you want instructions let me know, all materials were free! (except screws)

[Snadger]

I built all of mine from scrap pallets, if you want instructions let me know, all materials were free! (except screws)

I'm drawing plans for a hen coop and run and all the sizes are based on what I can get out of pallets!
Sound ecological sense methinks (nothing to do with me being a tight git!)

[Bex]

Looking good Nick - I'm going to print out plan, plus any others I can get and decide which to have a bash at.

Come on then Geordie, instructions please. Maybe I'll get my brother to help me might as well get some free labour out of him as he is expecting any surplus veg I grow. Give me a packet of seeds and I can grow them, give me a plank of wood and I'm at a loss.

[Snadger]

Looking good Nick - I'm going to print out plan, plus any others I can get and decide which to have a bash at.

Come on then Geordie, instructions please. Maybe I'll get my brother to help me might as well get some free labour out of him as he is expecting any surplus veg I grow. Give me a packet of seeds and I can grow them, give me a plank of wood and I'm at a loss.

Give me a packet of seeds and I'll grow something, give me a pallette and I'll think of something to make with it!!!

[Geordie]

OK....simplest design first....have given sample sizes for the timber, these are a guide depending upon how long / high / wide etc you want the cold frame to be. I am assuming that your top is to be made of glass or perspex but I always used old windows so my cold frame size was govened by the size of the window I was using. If you want to use an old window, all I do is when I spot somebody having double glazing fitted, just ask the fitters if you can have a couple of the windows. They are often pleased to get rid as it is less work for them.

Anyway to make the frame as versatile as possible it is made in 2 sections, a rectangular section at the bottom and a sloping section at the top. For the bottom section:

4 planks - 2 @ 120cm long, 2 @ 55cm long (width & thickness will depend upon pallet etc but as a guide, 22.5cm & 2.5cm)
4 corner posts @ 24cm x 50mm x 50mm

Note the corner posts are a little longer than the width of the board. When you have screwed the boards to the posts, the posts should stick up above the level of the board. Assemble the bottom section to form a rectangle shape. Make sure the two longer boards overlap the ends of the shorter boards and not the other way round, ie so total length of my example is 120cm.

For the top section:

4 planks - 2 @ 120cm x 22.5cm x 2.5cm, 2 @ 55cm x 22.5cm x x2.5cm
4 corner posts - 2 @ 12.5 cm x 50mm x 50mm,
2 @ 19cm x 50mm x 50mm

Cut a slope along the two short pieces of wood. The slope on this example is from 15cm to 22.5cm along the length of the timber.. Screw the corner pieces at each end of the now sloping sections. The 12.5cm posts at the 15cm end and the 19 cm posts at the 22.5cm end. Make sure the posts that protrude upwards from the bottom sections have enough room to slot in underneath the posts for the top section. In this example glass will lie flat along the slope so dont allow posts on top section to stick out above the boards.

So now our top section should fit squarely onto our bottom section!

For this example am going to use a sheet of glass. If you want to use perspex but will need UV resistant perspex which is expensive! Go for 6mm glass, doesnt need to be toughened - this is just as easy to break only the glass breaks into small lumps not the usual shards.

Glass size 62cm x 120cm to allow all edges of the frame to be covered with a small overlap. If it is new glass you have had cut use sandpaper to 'polish' the edges so it is safer to handle.

If you prefer you can make a hinged lid, so reduce the size of the glass accordingly. Using my sizes the frame is high enough to make into a hotbed if you want.

Good luck!

[Geordie]

If you really want to push the boat out buy some copper strip and put it around the bottom of the frame to keep slugs at bay.

As a rough guide a 60cm square of copper cut into 10cm widths will just cover the bottom of the frame below and cost about £12. Remember to use copper nails when fixing.

[Bex]

Thanks Geordie, will print all the info out when back at work and ask my brother to help me.

Thanks everyone.

[Alice]

Hello Bex, I saw cold frames in Dobbies today. You're right about the price and the quality.. About £65 for rickety rubbish. The only answer is make them yourself. You're only talking about knocking 4 sides together and putting a bit of glass on top. You can do that .... can't you. 'course you can.

[Bex]

Thanks Alice, for the encouragment, I'll certainly give it a go.

[serenity]

snadger, could I ask, did you get round to finishing those plans for a chicken coop? I need a new coop for one of my birds who is getting bullied a bit but can't spare the cash to buy one at the moment. I intend to put her separately and get her a little friend to keep her company

[Hazel at the Hill]

Sorry to jump onto this thread late, Bex - but if all else fails (not that you'll need it now, but just as a contingency plan, you understand!) last time I was at Fosters garden centre at Shenstone they are selling coldframes for £20, which I thought was pretty reasonable.