Rhino Greenhouses: Useful Information

Rhino Greenhouses Direct Ltd logo

Here you'll find asnswers to frequently answered questions about Rhino greenhouses.

 

Contact Rhino Greenhouses

 

Sales Enquiries:

+1(877)270-6799 | sales@rhinogreenhouses.com

 

Service Enquiries (after-sales, delivery, spare parts, technical assistance):

service@rhinogreenhouses.com

 

Free Delivery for all Rhino Greenhouses

Current Lead Times:
Typically 6-8 weeks depending on location
Free Delivery Area: Mainland US (exceptions may apply depending on location - available on request)

For delivery to other areas outside of mainland US please email sales@rhinogreenhouses.com.

Accessories Delivery

Currently we don't deliver standalone accessories to the US, however this will be coming in the future and any accessories ordered with your greenhouse will be delivered as planned.

 

25-Year Guarantee

The frame and powder-coated color finish guaranteed for 25 years so a generation of gardeners can rest assured that they are made to last.

Full guarantee information will be provided at the time of purchase, or at the request of the service team.

 

Rhino Greenhouse Bases

Careful and correct site and base preparation is absolutely essential for correct installation of your Rhino greenhouse. Making the site safe for installation is as important as technical considerations.

Base Plans

These guides contain precise measurements for Rhino Premium greenhouses, along with helpful suggestions for base preparation. Precise measurements should be strictly adhered to if a brick plinth is to be built.

Preparing the Site

  • Clear the space of all potential hazards.
  • Ensure there is sufficient space away from the site itself to lay out and assemble the greenhouse components.
  • Maintain a clear perimeter that extends at least 2ft around all sides of the greenhouse itself. You should have enough working room around the outside of the greenhouse to safely work and use a stepladder, including carrying and maneuvering large panes of glass.
  • Consider having convenient access to electricity and water, if you so wish.
  • Think about drainage on the site. Have you made this part of your base plan?

Rhino Greenhouse Base Options

The great news is that a Rhino greenhouse allows for flexibility, giving you options when choosing a base that's right for you.

You can choose one of the options below, based on how you want to grow, the aesthetic you're looking for or if the chosen positioning of your Rhino is dictated to you by the quality of foundation.

Soil Option

Unlike most other brands of greenhouse, Rhino greenhouses can be erected on soil. This is only possible because the Rhino greenhouse is so strong. Its combination of a sturdy base and framework mean it will happily sit on a properly prepared soil site.

In most situations soil is a perfect foundation, as long as it is level and fully compacted (freshly dug soil will shift too much to create a stable foundation).

While you do need to take time and care to properly prepare a soil site to the required standard, it does have the considerable advantage of doing away with the extra cost and time of building hardstand foundations.

Take note of the quality of the soil itself. Very heavy clay, waterlogged or very sandy soil can cause problems; a good amount of loam is ideal.

The greenhouse is held in its permanent position by concreting it in place using the specially supplied brackets and J-shaped ground anchors.

N.B. The ‘low-threshold door’ feature on the Rhino greenhouse is most easily incorporated onto a soil site, ensuring the bottom door runner and integrated ramp are supported from beneath. See Base Plans for example.

Hardstanding Option

The versatility of the Rhino greenhouse also allows installation on a hardstand. There are a number of different types of hardstanding bases, all of which must be smooth and level:

  • Paving Slabs: must be laid flat and level and should ideally be slightly over the greenhouse footprint size. See Base Plans to confirm exact size as this may differ from nominal sizes quoted verbally, in sales literature or website descriptions.
  • Concreted Area: see 'Paving Slabs' above.
  • Brick or Block Perimeter Plinth: must be laid on suitable footings so that it is level, square and exactly to the correct greenhouse footprint size. See Brick plinth base plan to confirm exact size as this may differ from nominal sizes quoted verbally, in sales literature or website descriptions.

On all types of hardstand base, the greenhouse is held in its permanent position by plugging and screwing down using the specially supplied base brackets and, wherever possible, the supplied raw bolts.

Please note that some hardstand bases may require a different fixing, which is the customer’s responsibility to source and use. We also strongly recommend that the top course is laid ‘frogs down’ to give a smooth surface on which to sit and fix down the greenhouse and that bricks/blocks are of a type that will allow drilling without cracking or splintering.

Rhino Greenhouses do not recommend the use of hardcore or hogging as base materials due to issues surrounding levelling and securing the greenhouse.

 

Materials

Aluminum Frame

Rhino Premium 10x20 in Plain Aluminium

All Rhinos are made from extruded aluminum. The raw materials are imported and then manufactured by hand at our UK factory.

Aluminum is strong and hard-wearing and, together with our class-leading engineering, will stand the test of time.

Toughened Safety Glass & Glazing Beads

Rhino Glazing System

All Rhinos are made with 4mm Grade A Toughened Safety Glass and is 33% thicker than most greenhouse glass. We believe it is the safest for families and the best for gardeners. Even the edges of the glass are rounded so that you don’t cut yourself during installation.

The glass can take some high impacts without breaking. Of course, no glass is indestructible. If it does break, it will shatter into very small pieces which seriously decreases the chance of injury, which you may expect from jagged shards of horticultural glass.

The large panes have no overlaps, which means the greenhouse is more airtight, easier to clean and lets in more light.

Furthermore, our unique glazing system makes it highly resistant to winds and storms. The rubber glazing strips hug the glass from top to bottom, locking it into place no matter how hard the wind blows.

Powder Coating

The quality of our greenhouses extends to our painted, powder-coated finish. This is applied offsite by a dedicated powder-coating specialist in the UK. They also coat parts for the likes of Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin.

The powder itself is specially formulated for Rhino greenhouses and is manufactured in the UK. The process is also chromate free, so it doesn’t harm the environment. Aluminum is not easy to paint. In fact every part is immersed in 12 different tanks in order to clean, etch and prepare it for the powder.

Once treated, each part is hung on a conveyor by hand in a very precise way so that the finish is applied exactly as required. An electrical current is passed through the powder so that it is attracted to all areas of the aluminum parts and is applied consistently.

Once fully powder coated, the racks are then baked at 200 Celsius, which melts the powder onto the sections for a perfect finish. This highly technical process is so good that it allows us to offer a 25-year guarantee on colored Rhino frames. You don’t even get that with a luxury car - but you do with a Rhino!