Thank you.
DIY Greenhouse??
- Thread starter Gilcano
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- Jan 2, 2013
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- Longmont, Colorado
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I'm jealous, you've got your greenhouse operational. 
I just spent a hectic weekend plus a few hours today working on my pvc pipe frame, and finally finished the walls today. I think the framework is going to be semi-permanent, but I'll take down the plastic covers during the Summers, will have to see how it works out. I was planning on starting to put up the plastic on the walls in the next couple weeks, then realized that would block at least three of the sprinkler heads, so I'll have to wait until I'm ready to shut off the sprinklers and then just hope it works out.
Figured since I had mentioned my plans earlier this year, I should post some progress pics...
I'm planning on laying out an offset peaked roof with windows I can open, but will have to experiment a bit with the pipe to see if my idea will work. The entire garden is laid out in an L shape, with each leg about 18 feet long. The walls are 6 feet high, but between the ivy on the fence and the bushes in the neighbor's yard, I have an excellent windbreak to help protect the greenhouse. There will be two doors leading in (where you see the breaks in the low fence of ivy). The twine I added to the ends really increased the rigidity of the framework. The poles in from of the tomatoes also have T's in them about half way down, which I will extend into the greenhouse to create shelving space for Spring planting, and then can be used to support the tomatoes vertically as they grow next year.
My hope is to get the roof and walls up before we get a hard freeze, and save my tomatoes. We typically get one or two nights of frost sometime in October, and then have more good growing weather until late in November, and I always hate losing my tomatoes so early. I already have some heat lamps, just need to finish building the structure...
I just spent a hectic weekend plus a few hours today working on my pvc pipe frame, and finally finished the walls today. I think the framework is going to be semi-permanent, but I'll take down the plastic covers during the Summers, will have to see how it works out. I was planning on starting to put up the plastic on the walls in the next couple weeks, then realized that would block at least three of the sprinkler heads, so I'll have to wait until I'm ready to shut off the sprinklers and then just hope it works out.Figured since I had mentioned my plans earlier this year, I should post some progress pics...
I'm planning on laying out an offset peaked roof with windows I can open, but will have to experiment a bit with the pipe to see if my idea will work. The entire garden is laid out in an L shape, with each leg about 18 feet long. The walls are 6 feet high, but between the ivy on the fence and the bushes in the neighbor's yard, I have an excellent windbreak to help protect the greenhouse. There will be two doors leading in (where you see the breaks in the low fence of ivy). The twine I added to the ends really increased the rigidity of the framework. The poles in from of the tomatoes also have T's in them about half way down, which I will extend into the greenhouse to create shelving space for Spring planting, and then can be used to support the tomatoes vertically as they grow next year.
My hope is to get the roof and walls up before we get a hard freeze, and save my tomatoes. We typically get one or two nights of frost sometime in October, and then have more good growing weather until late in November, and I always hate losing my tomatoes so early. I already have some heat lamps, just need to finish building the structure...
Looks good. Can't wait to see the roof and cover.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2013
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- Location
- Longmont, Colorado
- Hardiness Zone
- 5a
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Me either.
I was thinking about the roof last night, and I think pvc pipe is going to be too flexible to hold the weight of the snow. Instead I'm going to try to build the center riser out of pvc pipe (which will have a few poles to the ground in the Winter to keep it secure), then use 1x2 pine strips to span the slopes on either side. Considering the lack of pvc fittings with 30-degree angles, using the pine will certainly be a lot easier, most likely cheaper, and certainly a lot more rigid.
For the cover, I can get 10mil plastic from the hardware store that is made for painting... cheap stuff and easy to replace.
I was thinking about the roof last night, and I think pvc pipe is going to be too flexible to hold the weight of the snow. Instead I'm going to try to build the center riser out of pvc pipe (which will have a few poles to the ground in the Winter to keep it secure), then use 1x2 pine strips to span the slopes on either side. Considering the lack of pvc fittings with 30-degree angles, using the pine will certainly be a lot easier, most likely cheaper, and certainly a lot more rigid.
For the cover, I can get 10mil plastic from the hardware store that is made for painting... cheap stuff and easy to replace.
An arc of thick PVC should be strong enough, would shed snow and rain and you can attach with a T fitting. With the pine strips you will have to cover with tape to avoid the plastic constantly rubbing and causing tears. The 10mil box store plastic is not UV protected and the cold winter will cause it to wear even more with the constant freezing and warming up. You are better off shelling out $60-100 for a nice 24x24 roll of 6mil UV 4year plastic. Just my opinion. I have read a lot of stories about hardware store plastic becoming brittle and falling apart in a few months.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2013
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- 31
- Reaction score
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- Location
- Longmont, Colorado
- Hardiness Zone
- 5a
- Country
My previous attempt at a greenhouse (about a decade ago) was a row of simple PVC hoops covered by a thinner version of this plastic. I'm aware it isn't UV resistant, but surprisingly the plastic lasted for 3 seasons for me (having it set up for about 2 months each year). The thing is, this stuff is so cheap that replacement cost isn't really an issue. And if I have squirrels or other critters digging holes through the sides, it won't be as expensive the replace a sheet. I'm planning to cover the frame in sections, with the largest pieces being 8' x 15', and the next largest piece being half that size. It should make it easier to handle by keeping the panels small, and I may even double-over on the roof for extra strength.
As for the pine wearing the plastic... everything is getting a coat of paint anyway. I found this Italian Olive that blends wonderfully with the surrounding plants, so my framework isn't an eyesore to the neighbors. The paint on the pine with soften the effects of rubbing, and there's a decent chance I may have to replace the roof once or twice a year anyway due to hail damage -- again another reason to use the cheap stuff. Although if the greenhouse works out well, I may try to source some cheap transparent roofing material to make it more permanent. Alternatively, if I could find a roll of cheap window tinting film, I could put that over the main plastic on the roof to collect more heat in the cold months. There's options to try, I just have to get the framework set up and work with it for a couple years to see what works best for my area.
As for the pine wearing the plastic... everything is getting a coat of paint anyway. I found this Italian Olive that blends wonderfully with the surrounding plants, so my framework isn't an eyesore to the neighbors. The paint on the pine with soften the effects of rubbing, and there's a decent chance I may have to replace the roof once or twice a year anyway due to hail damage -- again another reason to use the cheap stuff. Although if the greenhouse works out well, I may try to source some cheap transparent roofing material to make it more permanent. Alternatively, if I could find a roll of cheap window tinting film, I could put that over the main plastic on the roof to collect more heat in the cold months. There's options to try, I just have to get the framework set up and work with it for a couple years to see what works best for my area.
Sounds like you have it worked out. Sounds good, can't wait to see the progress.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2013
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- 31
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- Longmont, Colorado
- Hardiness Zone
- 5a
- Country
Gotta hurry... the weather forecast is suggesting a temperature drop into the 30's in two weeks.
Lucky you. It is hot here and about 80 in my greenhouse with the shade cloth and exhaust fan. I am ready for fall, I hope it cools off soon.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2013
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- 31
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- Longmont, Colorado
- Hardiness Zone
- 5a
- Country
Only 80 here today, it's been hovering around 90. Unfortunately it is not unusual for our temperature to swing 50 degrees on a daily basis around this time of year. I was watching the temps one day this Spring, it was 8 degrees a 8:30 in the morning, and 54 degrees by 11:30... As you can imagine that gets *really* hard on the plants! So I'm more concerned with creating a buffer for the temperature swings, the average daily temps aren't usually as issue.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2013
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- 31
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- Location
- Longmont, Colorado
- Hardiness Zone
- 5a
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I'm making very slow progress on my greenhouse... what should have been simple construction is turning out to take a long time to assemble (although it may be the painting that is taking the most time)! I got some of the roof panels made this weekend and covered two of them. Today when reading through the forum I realized I had forgotten about the air-gap for insulation, so I made a store at Home Depot on the way home and picked up some thin 2mil plastic to cover the inside of the roof frames (seen below on the smaller panel). It's flimsy, but there shouldn't be any contact with it so I think it will do the trick... time will tell!
The top of the roof panels is being covered with two layers of 6mil plastic... heavy stuff and it feels like it will easily take the weight of snow and hold up to most of the hail we see here. The last real challenge is in constructing the windows and figuring out how to seal them against drafts when closed, but I have some ideas to test out.
Anyway, it's not much. but here's another pic to celebrate the milestone...
The top of the roof panels is being covered with two layers of 6mil plastic... heavy stuff and it feels like it will easily take the weight of snow and hold up to most of the hail we see here. The last real challenge is in constructing the windows and figuring out how to seal them against drafts when closed, but I have some ideas to test out.
Anyway, it's not much. but here's another pic to celebrate the milestone...
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2013
- Messages
- 31
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- Longmont, Colorado
- Hardiness Zone
- 5a
- Country
I've been bustin' butt the last couple weeks, holding my breath and hoping for good weather. I finally finished up the roof last weekend and knew the walls would be fairly easy, however the forecast took a sharp turn for tonight, and we're supposed to get down around 34 degrees. Too close for comfort, so I took today off work to get the project done...
Whew! Cutting plastic all day, and my mom came over to lend a hand on the larger pieces. Those end panels had me really concerned, but earlier this week I figured out I could make a wood frame to follow the roofline, then drape and clip the rest the same way I planned on doing the other walls. It worked, and with the ends in place this morning, we got busy hanging up the rest of the walls. I tried to keep most of the sections small, to make it easier to replace plastic over time, however the two panels for the back walls are each 15' long. I stapled scrap 1x2 lumber (left over from the roof frames) along to bottom to give some weight and help keep the panels in place.
In some places the ivy o other obstacles prevented the wood from hanging flat on the ground, so I made use of some of the many Autumn leaves to fill the gaps. The wood framework for the roof ended up being a little heavier than I expected. I have several vertical poles along the way for direct support, but I also added a couple of angled pipes at key spot to help brace against the stronger Winter winds.
In most of the pictures you can see the occasional white pieces on the painted pipes. To clip all of the plastic in place, I cut chunks of 4" pipes, then turned them sideways under the saw and cut out 1/4 of the pipe to make a notch. So instead of a solid pipe, it ends up looks more like a C. My wife and I filed off the corners so the clips were smooth, and then I just went through and snapped them on as the plastic walls were hung in place.
At the far end above is where I was trying to grow peppers this year. I was really hoping they would do well with the deep tilling and lots of fresh fertilizer, but they didn't. However the plants at this end will generally die off earlier, and this end will get the most sunlight in the cold months. My intention is to eventually try building a hydroponics rack here where I can keep heated water flowing and get an early start on plants for the next season. At the other end of the greenhouse are my Winter onions, which can take the cold weather, but being enclosed may help them to get an earlier start.
Additionally, the two red barrels seen above are earmarked for compost bins. The indented rings around the top and bottom will be ideal for rollers, and I'll build a rack to set the barrels at 45-degree angles. I intend to have them situated just under the plastic in that corner, and maybe the heat from the composting process will add additional warmth inside the greenhouse.
I didn't have time to build proper doors yet, but there are spaces for two of them. I just hang a sheet of plastic over each opening for tonight. The tomatoes should be safe for now, and Sunday I'll be picking up a bale of straw to put down around their roots. Depending on how the temperatures hold out inside, I may also try planting a late batch of radishes and peas -- might as well try using some of the extra seeds, and if it's too cold they won't grow until next Spring anyway.
Ugh... so much work, but it's finally done(ish)! Now all I can do is see how the plants hold out, and see if the framework holds up to the abuse of Winter.
Whew! Cutting plastic all day, and my mom came over to lend a hand on the larger pieces. Those end panels had me really concerned, but earlier this week I figured out I could make a wood frame to follow the roofline, then drape and clip the rest the same way I planned on doing the other walls. It worked, and with the ends in place this morning, we got busy hanging up the rest of the walls. I tried to keep most of the sections small, to make it easier to replace plastic over time, however the two panels for the back walls are each 15' long. I stapled scrap 1x2 lumber (left over from the roof frames) along to bottom to give some weight and help keep the panels in place.
In some places the ivy o other obstacles prevented the wood from hanging flat on the ground, so I made use of some of the many Autumn leaves to fill the gaps. The wood framework for the roof ended up being a little heavier than I expected. I have several vertical poles along the way for direct support, but I also added a couple of angled pipes at key spot to help brace against the stronger Winter winds.
In most of the pictures you can see the occasional white pieces on the painted pipes. To clip all of the plastic in place, I cut chunks of 4" pipes, then turned them sideways under the saw and cut out 1/4 of the pipe to make a notch. So instead of a solid pipe, it ends up looks more like a C. My wife and I filed off the corners so the clips were smooth, and then I just went through and snapped them on as the plastic walls were hung in place.
At the far end above is where I was trying to grow peppers this year. I was really hoping they would do well with the deep tilling and lots of fresh fertilizer, but they didn't. However the plants at this end will generally die off earlier, and this end will get the most sunlight in the cold months. My intention is to eventually try building a hydroponics rack here where I can keep heated water flowing and get an early start on plants for the next season. At the other end of the greenhouse are my Winter onions, which can take the cold weather, but being enclosed may help them to get an earlier start.
Additionally, the two red barrels seen above are earmarked for compost bins. The indented rings around the top and bottom will be ideal for rollers, and I'll build a rack to set the barrels at 45-degree angles. I intend to have them situated just under the plastic in that corner, and maybe the heat from the composting process will add additional warmth inside the greenhouse.
I didn't have time to build proper doors yet, but there are spaces for two of them. I just hang a sheet of plastic over each opening for tonight. The tomatoes should be safe for now, and Sunday I'll be picking up a bale of straw to put down around their roots. Depending on how the temperatures hold out inside, I may also try planting a late batch of radishes and peas -- might as well try using some of the extra seeds, and if it's too cold they won't grow until next Spring anyway.
Ugh... so much work, but it's finally done(ish)! Now all I can do is see how the plants hold out, and see if the framework holds up to the abuse of Winter.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2013
- Messages
- 31
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- Longmont, Colorado
- Hardiness Zone
- 5a
- Country
Whew, just in time! We actually got down to 30 degrees early this morning with a heavy frost, but I checked in and all the plants look great! I found a nice digital thermometer at walmart today that shows humidity and temperature, and also shows the daily highs and lows for each... perfect for monitoring the conditions inside. It's currently showing 70 degrees and 58% humidity, which is about 10 degrees and 25% higher than outside. It will be real interesting to see how the overnight lows do because we're expecting more near- or below-freezing lows through this week.
By the way, if anyone is curious, I estimate I have about $400 in materials in my greenhouse. I seriously over-estimated the amount of plastic I would need, which is great. My first purchase was a roll of 20 x 100 foot 6mil plastic, which I excepted to only cover the roof (I doubled-over the plastic for more strength), and I expected to be buying another 50' roll for the walls. Instead I completed the whole project with the single roll, plus I had another roll of 10x25 3.5mil that I used on the inside of the roof panels to help retain heat. On the other hand, I underestimated the amount of 1x2 pine I would need for the roof, and ended up using about 70 sticks (8' long), so that drove the price up some. The pvc pipe is rather cheap, but the fittings can get expensive. Standard Tee's and elbows are fairly cheap, but the 3-way corners and the 4-way crosses can range up to $3 each. Overall not a bad price for the size of this greenhouse, but it was a LOT of labor to get it built.
By the way, if anyone is curious, I estimate I have about $400 in materials in my greenhouse. I seriously over-estimated the amount of plastic I would need, which is great. My first purchase was a roll of 20 x 100 foot 6mil plastic, which I excepted to only cover the roof (I doubled-over the plastic for more strength), and I expected to be buying another 50' roll for the walls. Instead I completed the whole project with the single roll, plus I had another roll of 10x25 3.5mil that I used on the inside of the roof panels to help retain heat. On the other hand, I underestimated the amount of 1x2 pine I would need for the roof, and ended up using about 70 sticks (8' long), so that drove the price up some. The pvc pipe is rather cheap, but the fittings can get expensive. Standard Tee's and elbows are fairly cheap, but the 3-way corners and the 4-way crosses can range up to $3 each. Overall not a bad price for the size of this greenhouse, but it was a LOT of labor to get it built.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2013
- Messages
- 31
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- Longmont, Colorado
- Hardiness Zone
- 5a
- Country
We had a hard freeze last night, so I decided to increase my chances of success. You can get light sockets at Home Depot that have a screw-top and a built-in hanger. Basically what I do is take a regular (cheap) extension cord and split the wires where I want my socket to go. Unscrew the top off the socket, lay the wires into the groves, and screw the top back down. There is pins inside the groove that pierce the wire to make contact. I now have four hanging light bulbs that can be easily placed in the greenhouse. I used regular flood lights (two are 60W, the other two are 75W) and have them hanging above the tomatoes, then put them on a timer to come on at 2am and go off at 7am.
Outside it got down to 27F. There was frost everywhere this morning, even on the roof of the greenhouse. But inside was still fine, only getting down to 36 degrees and no apparent harm to the tomatoes. However since I'm also trying to get the plants to grow again, I decided to grab a couple small space heaters from Amazon today. They can put out either 750W or 1500W of heat, have a fan, and have a safety switch on the bottom so if they get knocked over, they turn off. Since 1500W is about the most you can run through a single outlet, I plan on running each at the 750W setting and set them at either end of the greenhouse, then we'll see if I can bump the overnight temps back into the 40's. During the day it's still fine, usually getting about 20 degrees warmer in the greenhouse than the outdoor temps.
Another curious thing -- the humidity goes up into the 90% range every night. I don't know if it's a poor quality sensor reacting to the cold, or if it really does get more humid at night, but it always drops back into the 40-50% range during the day. The straw is keeping moisture in the soil, so I guess it's fine.
Oh, I also planted some radish seeds. If I can keep it a little warmer at night, they just might grow.
Outside it got down to 27F. There was frost everywhere this morning, even on the roof of the greenhouse. But inside was still fine, only getting down to 36 degrees and no apparent harm to the tomatoes. However since I'm also trying to get the plants to grow again, I decided to grab a couple small space heaters from Amazon today. They can put out either 750W or 1500W of heat, have a fan, and have a safety switch on the bottom so if they get knocked over, they turn off. Since 1500W is about the most you can run through a single outlet, I plan on running each at the 750W setting and set them at either end of the greenhouse, then we'll see if I can bump the overnight temps back into the 40's. During the day it's still fine, usually getting about 20 degrees warmer in the greenhouse than the outdoor temps.
Another curious thing -- the humidity goes up into the 90% range every night. I don't know if it's a poor quality sensor reacting to the cold, or if it really does get more humid at night, but it always drops back into the 40-50% range during the day. The straw is keeping moisture in the soil, so I guess it's fine.
Oh, I also planted some radish seeds. If I can keep it a little warmer at night, they just might grow.