Description
Cedar Cold Frame – 4×2
Compact, sturdy and beautifully crafted — a premium cedar cold frame designed to give young plants the sheltered start they deserve.
The Cedar Cold Frame 4×2 is the perfect solution for gardeners who want reliable, space‑efficient protection for seedlings, cuttings and tender young plants. Built from Western Red Cedar, it offers natural durability, excellent weather resistance and a warm, traditional aesthetic that blends effortlessly into any garden.
These Alton Evolution cold frames are made from the same thick and sturdy cedar profiles as the Evolution range of greenhouses, complete with mortice and tennon joints. Complete with sliding and hinged lids you can open these in a variety of ways including two different heights with the inbuilt cedar props or you can keep them in the closed position but slide them across. At the final stage of hardening off, you can remove the lids completely by simply sliding off, then the walls of the cold frame provide that bit of shelter and warmth.
Bar capping options
The Evolution cold frame comes as a choice of two bar capping options – one with cedar capping as standard to retain the glass or the option to upgrade to Aluminium capping. If you want to retain the natural timber look of your cold frame then you can stick with the cedar capping, however if you want to go for more maintenance free, then you can choose the Aluminium capping system. Powder coated in the Moss colour, this is designed to blend in perfectly with the cedar both when new and later when the cedar weathers to its natural silvery colour. If you intend to add the Cedar panel upgrade kit, then you will need to use the cedar capping kit.
Both versions feature twin 3mm toughened‑glass lids for maximum light transmission and improved safety. Each lid lifts independently, allowing easy access and precise ventilation control — ideal for hardening off plants or regulating heat on warmer days.
Optional boarding kit
You can also add the cedar panelling kit for your cold frame, this consists of a full set of boards for all around the cold frame, all made from quality western red cedar. They can give a cosier area for the plants as the wood insulates, as well as having an attractive appearance. They will, of course, reduce light to your plants. Luckily, when you add a boarding kit, it is fully flexible. You can just put some of the boards in and leave some sections with just glass in (see right) or you can remove the boards and just have all glass.
The way that this works in practice is that the capping holds the glass in and also holds the boards in in a similar way (so to change to boards you need to remove the glass and insert the boards) which is done fairly easily by simply unscrewing the capping and swapping over.
Made from Cedar
Alton Greenhouses are made from Canadian Western Red Cedar. Cedar is a very low maintenance timber, with fewer knots than Redwood or Whitewood, giving it a smoother appearance, making it ideal for painting.
Cedar has an attractive deep red colour, which silvers down over time, and contains natural oils which protect against wood rot, fungal disease & insect attack.
Cedar has higher insulative values than other timbers, and a desired service life in excess of 30 years with suitable maintenance. Alton Greenhouses are supplied treated in a clear wood preservative. We recommend that Cedar should then be treated with a solvent based wood preservative every 6 – 8 years to protect against moisture ingress.
*All sizes are approximate *
Guarantee
Your Alton greenhouse comes with a free 10 year frame guarantee. This covers the cedar framework against faulty
manufacture. Moving parts are guaranteed for 12 months. Exclusions include : glazing, wind damage, Labour, and accidental
damage. Alton greenhouses are delivered in a totally natural cedar colour but we do factory treat with a clear wood
preservative- there is no need to re-treat it unless you particularly want to -your frame is guaranteed against rot for 10 years,
as long as you clean it once a year.