Commercial vs Domestic Polytunnels: What Really Changes?
A domestic tunnel and a commercial tunnel can look very similar. Step inside and the difference is obvious. A domestic tunnel is usually for garden crops, seedlings, a smallholding, or an allotment. Commercial polytunnels are working structures that take a lot of punishment. They are built for repeated access, heavier cropping, larger spans, stronger weather loads, and need to be durable to last. That does not make a commercial tunnel. It just means they are meant for different jobs. Frame strength and scale Domestic tunnels are normally smaller and lighter. You can often put one up with basic tools, grow tomatoes, salads, strawberries, and overwintering plants, then adjust things later without much drama. Commercial polytunnels have to cope with more. Longer runs, wider bays, crop support wires, irrigation, staging, stock use, and barrow or machinery access all put extra strain on the frame. Steel thickness matters. So does hoop spacing, bracing, anchoring, and door desi...