Sunrooms and Greenhouses Archives - Aluplex Glass and Skylights

Garden Through Winter with a Temperature Controlled Greenhouse

October 31, 2022 By Webmaster

If you love gardening, you’re probably loathe to put down the trowel as the temperature drops. What if we told you you could garden year round with the help of a temperature controlled greenhouse? Many people think of greenhouses as something antiquated or industrial-scale. However, greenhouses are perfectly obtainable for anyone who’s willing to invest in one. Here’s how you could benefit from one of your own.

Maintain Your Routine

For a lot of people, routine is like breathing. You might not consider yourself a creature of habit, but everyone has some routine. You might always brush your teeth from left to right, or always make coffee before sitting down for the first time each morning. For some people, part of their routine is gardening. That might mean watering some potted plants in the kitchen windowsill, or it might mean kneeling in the backyard dirt. Whatever gardening means to you, if you’ve worked it into your routine, it can be hard to part with it as the seasons change.

Owning a temperature controlled greenhouse means you don’t have to change your routine as winter approaches. Losing a significant part of your daily routine can be really psychologically disruptive. Winter’s arrival is already difficult on most people. The sun is out less, the temperature drops, and it gets dark at a criminally early hour. The last thing you need in the midst of all of that difficult change is to lose access to a hobby that’s so integrated into your everyday rhythm. A greenhouse can ensure that you don’t.

Boost in Mental Health

Having a greenhouse can improve your mental health. Does that sound ridiculous? Let us name the ways!

For one thing, if gardening is part of your routine, keeping that routine in place as winter arrives can go a long way to keeping you in one piece, mentally. Routine is a cornerstone for a lot of people. Being able to continue on as usual is great for one’s sense of inner peace and contentment.

Additionally, winter comes with a lot of changes that negatively impact our mental health. One such change is the dying of plant life. Being surrounded by life has a huge subconscious impact on our mental health. When it begins to wither away, it can leave us with a sense of loneliness and desolation. Keeping a greenhouse means having access to a treasure trove of green life, even in the middle of a snowstorm.

Year-Round Produce

Gardening isn’t just fun, it’s also productive. This is one of the most rewarding hobbies one can have. In your case, the reward may be bell peppers and tomatoes. For others it may be roses and pansies. No matter what you like coaxing to life from the dirt, a temperature controlled greenhouse ensures the supply doesn’t end in October. You can continue to rely on the homegrown fruits and veggies you have, year round. We’re sure your friends and neighbors won’t mind the continuity either!

Aluplex Greenhouses

If you’re ready to put up a greenhouse on your property, look no further than Aluplex. As Toronto’s favorite glass manufacturer, we offer high quality, glass greenhouses in many sizes and styles. Get in touch and we’ll iron out the details in time for you to plant your winter crop!

Operable Kosher Sukkah Skylights for Your Porch

October 31, 2021 By Webmaster

For observant Jews, Sukkot is a great time to get together and celebrate with family. However, building your own Sukkah can be a time consuming process. For busy families, disabled Jews, or anyone else who struggles with creating their own, Aluplex has a solution. Check out our operable kosher Sukkah skylights and make Sukkot a bit easier in the years following.

What is Sukkot?

For those who aren’t aware, Sukkot is a Jewish holiday. During the holiday, observant Jews create a Sukkah – an enclosure made of natural materials. The Sukkah represents the kind of fragile dwelling the Israelites dwelt in during their 40 years of desert traveling. For the duration of Sukkot, observant Jews will eat, and sometimes sleep, in their Sukkah. The Sukkah must be taken down and rebuilt each year.

Operable Kosher Sukkah Skylights

Aluplex has a fantastic solution for building your yearly Sukkah. Instead of having to build an entire structure from scratch, we’ve come up with a more convenient, kosher alternative. The alternative starts with adding an enclosed porch to your home. After that, all you have to do is add our operable kosher Sukkah skylights, which are installed in the roof of your porch.

Build On Top

When it comes time for Sukkot, you can simply open up the skylights and build your sh’chach over top of the uncovered porch. Our kosher skylights can be opened manually or pneumatically, since observant Jews are not permitted to operate electric switches during Sukkot and Shabbat.

After opening the skylights, you can build your sh’chach however you like. Your porch will then become your Sukkah. You can then eat and sleep in more comfort than the in the average Sukkah, all while remaining kosher. This option is more accessible, which is great for disabled Jews who can’t build something elaborate each year. Plus, it allows for more temperature regulation and more comfortable sleeping arrangements.

When Sukkot Ends

When Sukkot is over, your sh’chach can be removed and the skylights can be closed. Your porch is then returned to normal and you can use it however you like the rest of the year. If you like plants, you could use your porch as a greenhouse. Keeping them inside the porch will prevent the harsh Canadian winter from killing them. You could even add a porch swing or hammock. With the wonderful addition of operable kosher Sukkah skylights, your porch will be full of sunshine year round. These skylights are a worthy investment for any observant Jew.

If you’re interested in buying some of Aluplex’s operable kosher Sukkah skylights, we’re only a call away. Contact us to learn more about our skylights and what other products we have to offer that may aid in the construction of your enclosed porch. We’re more than happy to answer any questions you have.

Porch Windows That Benefit Indoor Gardens

September 30, 2021 By Webmaster

If you’ve got a garden in an enclosed porch, we’re sure you want the best for your plants. Fortunately, there are some ways you can improve your plants’ environment. The first way is, if your enclosed porch was built more than ten years ago, it might be time to replace your enclosed porch windows. Here are some of the reasons you should consider replacing your porch windows and how it benefits indoor gardens.

Insulate Your Home

To start, your porch enclosure windows are a vital part of insulating your home. All windows in the house are weak points for insulation. Because your porch enclosure has a lot of windows, it’s easy for it to become the weakest link.

The reason why windows are so important to insulation is because of how they’re made. Old windows are often made of a single pane of glass. These single panes do very little to keep out heat or cold. More modern windows are made with two panes of glass with a layer of insulating gas between them. This insulating gas is heavier than air, making it harder for the heat or cold to travel through it.

People frequently forget that porch windows matter. So, it’s not uncommon for homeowners to have all of the windows in their home replaced only to forget to replace the porch windows. The porch is considered more outside than inside, especially if it used to be a patio space. If you’ve put an interior door where an external door used to be, or if you leave the door to the enclosed porch open often, the windows there are just as inside as the ones in the living room.

Even if your porch enclosure windows were put in a few decades ago and are double-paned and insulated, this insulating gas leaks out over time. Once the gas has escaped the windows, they no longer insulate much at all. This is why replacing old windows is so important.

Stabilize Temperature

When you replace old windows with those of higher quality and better insulation, your porch windows help to stabilize the temperature of your porch. The fluctuating temperature outdoors won’t affect indoor gardens negatively if the fluctuation is kept to a minimum. Nighttime cold and noontime heat will be held at bay with proper insulation.

Block Out UV

Something else that people don’t often consider about porch windows is that they have the power to protect your indoor gardens from UV. Regular windows don’t necessarily come premade with UV blocking features. However, a window film, in combination with good, insulating windows, can mean better plant growth and longer plant life.

Shop Aluplex

If you want a new set of porch windows to benefit your indoor garden to improve your indoor gardening experience, get Aluplex glass. Our windows are high quality and affordable, making the ideal replacements. Call us today if you have any questions about replacement and installation services.

Extend Summer Gardening with an Enclosed Porch Garden

September 1, 2021 By Webmaster

With the summer coming to an end, so are many of our wonderful summer plants. It’s always a sad sight when the temperature begins to drop and our favorite plants begin to wither. So, instead of saying goodbye, consider extending your gardening season with an enclosed porch garden. Don’t have an enclosed porch? Aluplex is here to help.

Quality Windows

If you want to keep gardening into the fall, and even in winter, you need to start with some quality windows. If you have an existing porch or patio, turning it into an enclosed one is easier than you think! While some contractors will be needed to prepare the surrounding walls, the main event is the addition of new windows.

If you want to get the most out of your enclosed porch garden, you should consider floor-to-ceiling windows. Windows that reach from hip to ceiling will also work. However, there’s something about the way floor-to-ceiling makes you feel surrounded by nature that we just can’t ignore.

Greenhouse Porch

With some big windows lining the walls of your new enclosed porch garden, you can begin reaping the benefits. Your porch will work just like a greenhouse. The windows will take in all of the sunlight that the sky has to offer while insulating your plants from the cold. Without additional appliances, this can extend your gardening season by a month or two.

Winter Oasis

However, if you want to garden year round, all you have to do is buy a few appliances. Mainly, you’ll want some plant lights and a humidifier. Plant lights produce heat and offer light on a spectrum that encourages photosynthesis – that is, they keep your plants alive. The humidifier will ensure your plants don’t dry out in the winter air. A space heater may also benefit your plants, but you’ll want to try going without first to see if that’s necessary. Monitoring the temperature of the enclosed porch garden will tell you everything you need to know.

With your garden growing happily throughout the winter, your enclosed porch garden will become your own little winter oasis. Did you know seasonal depression is often brought on by a lack of vitamin D due to staying indoors more? It’s also pushed forward by a lack of life surrounding the affected person. Surrounding yourself with large windows and beautiful plant life is a great way to keep up your mental health during the long, winter months.

Quality Glass from Aluplex

If you’re in the GTA, you can get all of the glass you need right here at Aluplex. We specialize in windows and glass, just like you need. Our quality is unbeatable and will leave you with a lasting porch garden for years to come.

Buy Durable and Beautiful Greenhouses in Toronto

March 31, 2021 By Ezra Vogel

If you enjoy gardening, being self sufficient, growing your own flowers, or just having a green retreat, a greenhouse is just what you need. Don’t let the seasons limit you; keep growing your favorite vegetables and seasonal blooms long after the peak of the growing season has passed. For those who have a green thumb and have their growing time cut short, Aluplex offers greenhouses in Toronto.

Year-Round Growing

One of the most fantastic benefits to having a greenhouse is the new ability to grow year round. Instead of trying to start seedlings in your home or beginning to plant late in the season, let yourself garden on your own time. With a greenhouse, there is no wrong time to bring a plant to life.

This isn’t just convenient when it comes to timing. When you rely on greenhouses in Toronto, you can continue providing produce for you, your family, and friends, even when the cold weather hits. The ability to allow your plants as much time as they need to keep growing and producing ensures you get the most out of each plant.

Practical Hobbies

While gardening is seen as a hobby by many, we can’t discard how useful it is. Even a smalltime gardening enthusiast can turn their hobby into something more with the help of a greenhouse. This kind of scale-up in garden space and growing time can make selling produce locally a newfound possibility. Try your hand at selling fresh veggies at the local farmer’s market. If nothing else, your family and friends will have a vastly improved cornucopia to pull from during the colder months than most.

A Green Haven

Seasonal depression is incredibly common. It’s caused by various things relating to the change in season, such as lower vitamin D intake (from less sunlight) to the decreased hours of daylight.

When your greenhouse is outfitted with growth lights, it can be incredibly therapeutic to be in during the colder months. Spending some time in the lively, green, and brightly lit space of your greenhouse garden can do a lot to keep depression at bay.

We recommend giving yourself a small lounge area in your greenhouse. Even just a bench and small coffee table can turn your greenhouse into an excellent retreat – both for you and those you invite over for lunch.

Quality Greenhouses in Toronto

The question then becomes, how do you get quality greenhouses in Toronto? You can’t just buy a greenhouse, can you? In fact, you can! Here at Aluplex, glass is our specialty. As you can imagine, a building made of glass is right up our alley. Implementing the clarity, strength, and durability of Aluplex glass in a greenhouse structure is the best choice you can make. It promises a long-lived greenhouse that can stand up to rough weather and a family of children.

Therefore, when you decide a greenhouse is the next step for you, give us a call. We love hearing from our local gardeners and look forward to helping you improve your growing space!