TECHNICAL 16 · STANDARDS
EN 13031-1: what the greenhouse standard covers, in plain terms.
EN 13031-1 is the European standard for the design and construction of commercial production greenhouses. It is the reference most serious buyers name — and the one most often named without being read.
The current published version is BS EN 13031-1:2019. It sets requirements for structural design, loads, serviceability and durability for commercial production greenhouses, and it is the standard designers use when a project is specified to European practice.
| Area | Content | Relevance to a frame buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Commercial production greenhouses | Confirms it is the right standard |
| Loads | Permanent, snow, wind, operational | Defines what the frame must resist |
| Snow | Includes a normative annex on snow load | Why snow is treated specially |
| Serviceability | Deflection limits | Why stiffness matters, not just strength |
| Durability | Coating and material requirements | Links to coating standards |
Read the standard itself for the requirements; this page is orientation, not a substitute.
What a steel supplier can and cannot say
We can supply steel to a drawing that was designed to EN 13031-1. We cannot certify that the structure complies, because compliance is a property of the design and the erected structure, not of the tube. Any supplier who says otherwise is selling a certificate they do not own.
How to use it in a purchase order
Write: “Structure to be designed to EN 13031-1:2019 by the buyer's engineer; steel supplied to the approved drawings; coating to ISO 1461.” That separates design responsibility from supply responsibility in one sentence, and both parties know what they are signing.
What if the project is outside Europe
Local codes apply — a US project follows its local building code, a Gulf project often follows a national code plus recognised European practice. EN 13031-1 is a useful benchmark for load logic even where it is not the governing code, but the governing code decides.
Read next
Pages that answer the question this page raises.
- 08.03Snow loadGreenhouse snow load: ground snow load, shape and exposure coefficients, EN 1991-1-3 and E→
- 08.06Zinc coating standardsZinc coating standards for greenhouse steel: Z275 mass coating, ISO 1461, ASTM A123 and GB→
- 09.05Certificate registerGreenhouse supplier certificate register: AAA credit certificates, high-tech certificate, →
- 08.01Specify a frameHow to specify a greenhouse frame: span, bay, eaves, load case, covering, coating, fitting→
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