Replacing Glass in the Doors of My Vegetable Greenhouse
As many of you know, deer can quickly decimate trees and shrubs, and greatly damage vegetable and flower gardens. My entire farm is enclosed with tall deer fencing, but on rare occasions, one will find a way through an opened gate or gap in the barrier netting.
Earlier this season, a curious doe wandered onto the farm and founds its way into my vegetable greenhouse - an expansive glass house used primarily for growing fresh produce during colder months. The deer was not inside long, but unfortunately, in an effort to find a suitable exit, she did kick and break the panes of two glass doors. Last week, these doors were repaired by a team from Kuritzky Glass Company, Inc., a family owned and operated business in nearby Mt. Kisco, New York.
Here are some photos of the process. And don't worry, the deer was not hurt - she quickly ran away and is now off the property.
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- I have several doorways into this vegetable greenhouse. Here is one of two broken double doors. Each door is fitted with a double paned, tempered and insulated glass unit – only one pane from each door was broken.
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- Here, it is easier to see the double panes – shards of glass are sitting in the void between the two insulating sheets of glass.
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- This is the other glass door that was broken. Again, only one of two double panes. It is a little hard to see here, but the remaining pane is in this door.
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- Here is a closer look at the remaining pane. The glass from the broken unit is completely gone from the top of the door frame.
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- Ira Heim, from Kuritzky Glass Company, starts by carefully removing the broken pane. Here he is using a “5-in-one tool” designed for working with glass and other similar tasks.
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- Ira removes the aluminum snap trim moldings that support the glass in the door.
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- This must be done carefully, so the remaining pane is not damaged in the process. Moldings are on all four sides of the glass, so Ira works his way clockwise around the door.
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- The knife/scraper section of the tool is thin enough to be wedged between the molding and the frame itself.
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- In some areas, Ira uses a soft faced mallet to help insert the knife in between the molding and the frame.
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- Here is the glass completely removed. The black rubber coating around the glass is called “butyl” and is used to seal the two panes of glass together and prevent moisture in the air from getting between the two units.
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- Kuritzky’s colleague, Ian Rabinowitz, works on the other door to speed up the process.
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- Each of the glass replacements was precut to the exact dimensions. Each glass unit has a thickness of 1/8-inch, which includes two panes per unit with 3/16-inches of air space between the glass. The overall thickness of the unit is 7/16-inches.
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- To remove the existing glass and install the new piece, Ira uses an eight-inch pump up vacuum suction cup. These suction cups firmly hold the glass, so it can be transported from the truck to the doorway. They can be used for flat glass, curved or bent glass, auto glass and even some patterned glass.
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- Each sheet of glass is approximately 50-pounds, so Ira is very careful when moving it into place.
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- Ira uses the soft faced mallet to re-install the moldings that hold the glass.
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- He places the molding over the glass…
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- … and then gently pounds it into the track until it clicks.
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- Here, Ian is placing the other glass unit back onto the door frame.
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- And then begins returning the supportive aluminum snap trim moldings.
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- To prevent leaks, Ira caulks and seals the glass with black silicone.
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- He carefully moves around the entire perimeter of the glass to ensure every bit of space is covered.
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- Here is the newly installed glass paned door.
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- On this day, the doors are kept open because of the extreme heat. We put a piece of netting attached to two bamboo poles in the door opening to prevent any unwelcome visitors.
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- This door looks great – the glass looks as if it has always been there.
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- Here is the other identical set of doors. A few of our crops can be seen inside the greenhouse – the corn is growing fast. We also covered this doorway with netting to protect our precious vegetables inside. What are your experiences with deer in the yard? Share your stories with me in the comments section below.
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