Interesting plans. I printed them...and now I am looking at them wondering what the actual dimensions of the base of this greenhouse is. It is actually drawn to scale?

Today I helped a children's afterschool group assemble an out-of-the-box greenhouse. It'l be a miracle if this thing lasts the season, or does not get blown apart...But it was donated, and for that we are very appreciative. It'll get some veggies started for the kids garden. And hopefully see the program thrugh to the end of the season.....but I am looking at this greenhouse plan hyou mentioned above, and wondering if this might be something to work towards....

Sincerely,

Converse

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Permalink Reply by Johann on May 19, 2011 at 5:17pm

Converse,

The width should be 142'' outside to outside, look at item A = 138 '' plus your corner piece and the 2 J.

The lenght should be 153 1/2 " outside to outside, look at item B = 148 1/2 '' plus your J's (T's) and corner pieces.

The height is more than more than 72'', how much higher than 72'' I do not know.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Weeks on June 25, 2011 at 1:23pm

Looks interesting...My only concern would be how it would hold up to storms...

Do you think it is strong enough?

How do you plan to anchor it to the ground?

How much did the materials cost?

If I can make the time, I'll see if I can get some pricing up here in PA.

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Permalink Reply by Bob Rogers aka The White Lion on October 21, 2012 at 10:29am

If I may provide some input and my opinion, the basic design is a standard design and one that is easily adjustable for length and height, depending on how long you make your ribs.
If you ever get snow in your region, I would place the PVC ribs on 24” centers instead of 36” centers. Just remember this, if you want a tall greenhouse, you will need to use larger diameter pipe.
People use different sizes of PVC pipe and the smart ones do not go below 1” Diameter PVC. Anything smaller, is asking for trouble down the line and the last thing you want to be doing is repairs during the colder months.
The end walls should be built out of wood. This is easy to do and will provide for a much stronger door assembly. Trying to make your door out of PVC is a wate of time, it isn't strong enough and those plastic hinges aren't worth spit and you won't have a screened window for venting. In fact, you will have a much easier job by installing a standard screen door with windows for closing the screens. This will allow you cross-draft ventilation during the hotter months.
There are a number of designs on the web if you will look, that show how to make the wood built ends for this type of design.
As for covering your structure, you have a number of choices. If you get short of funds, you can start out by using 6Mil plastic sheeting, which comes in a number of lengths and widths. You can buy it at “ Lowe’s or Home Depot “ or maybe a local farm supply.
Another product which I plan on using for my outer covering are the “ Clear “ fiberglass panels which come in different shades; Clear, Smoke, Translucent and Green.
The clear panel makes the most sense, since it has the highest light transfer. If you need a second layer for insulation purposes, in order to grow year-round, then I would use the plastic 6Mil sheeting on the inside.
Some of the larger Farm and Greenhouse suppliers on the web have UV stabilized plastic sheeting, which is good for five years. You will have to look but I would order their catalogs and then you can relax while you look through them for your supplies, but that plastic sheeting is expensive.
If you wanted to you could even reverse the covering layers by using the fiberglass panels on the inside and the 6Mil sheeting over the top / outside. BUT There is a Caveat to using the plastic sheet you get at your local Lowe’s or Home Depot. It is NOT UV stabilized, so if you have an area that gets intense sunlight during the summer months especially, you will find that the plastic sheeting will need to be replaced every year. You might get two years if you are lucky but I recommend that you keep your eyes on it and as soon as the plastic sheeting gets hard or near brittle, replace it. Don’t let it get brittle or you will have all kinds of little plastic pieces covering everywhere and you do not want it getting into your fish tanks or for that matter, any of your tanks.

That is my opinion on the plan. I hope this gives you more to work with.

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Permalink Reply by Jesse Hull on October 21, 2012 at 3:54pm

I wonder why it says not to glue any of the parts together.

-To keep it portable perhaps? Seems like it would fair better in stormy weather if all the parts were glued.

Putting translucent fiberglass panels on it would make it much sturdier..

I'm thinking about building this, but setting up a rectangle of wood (like a raised bed) about 12-18" high. This would give it a nice anchored base to attach the greenhouse too, and allow for a bit more head room at the sides without making it more fragile.

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Permalink Reply by TCLynx on October 21, 2012 at 6:58pm

It's easy to have more head room at the sides. I only use PVC for the arch (use the gray electrical pvc since it is UV stabilized) and maybe the two pipes at the top (I use two so I can leave a vent in the ridge) For the posts in the ground and what I sleeve the pvc arches into I use metal pipe.

Tip the 1 3/8" fence rail is the same outside size as 1" pvc.

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Permalink Reply by Bob Rogers aka The White Lion on October 21, 2012 at 9:30pm

Dear Jesse,

I have seen it done both with and without glue. Most people use the white PVC which is commonly used for water. I’ll have to check with my local supplier about the Gray PVC pipe being UV stabilized or not but it is commonly used for Electrical conduit where allowed.

People use several ways to anchor the bases by either using wood as you describe and just setting the pipe directly on the ground.

You still need to have lengths of “ Rebar “ driven into the ground for your base. You then insert the remainder of the exposed Rebar into the base of your hoop ends. That provides the basic anchoring of the structure. However ….. If you live in an area that gets high winds or seasonal winds with any strength, you need to have an additional way to tie the structure down.

That is where the wood base comes into play. After placing the pipe over the exposed Rebar, which should be at least eighteen inches above the ground surface, you would then use “ Conduit Clips / Clamps “ to secure the pipe to the wood base. Using a minimum of one per pipe for each side. I would maybe think of using two and I would also, depending on how strong the winds can get, using an additional strap or cable assembly for additional hold down strength. The design would be up to you. If you get into a pickle, you can always contact me and I’ll help you figure it out.

As for the gluing thing, that is totally up to you. I have made PVC structures where I used no glue, some of the connections came apart with little effort, others are still stuck together, and I had to cut the larger parts into smaller sections to remove it.

It’s six of one and half of the other.

You are correct about using the clear fiberglass panels. They will do a number of things for you; they will help to strengthen the overall structure and provide additional support. They will give you better light transparency than the plastic sheeting and they have an extended life span, how much I do not know. You can use them on both the outside cover and you can use them as an inside cover, which would provide the air pocket for insulation, like a double pane window. If you are really good with power tools, you can even use them to build your ends. Just use one of the “ Hoop Ribs “ as the pattern for cutting the curve and cut it carefully, so that when you put it all together, you won’t have to use a lot of silicone sealant. The end framing could be built with either wood or the same PVC. Just remember to also include fitting of a manufactured screen door, which you might find at a local building salvage store for less than buying it new at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Just remember to frame the door properly.

I hope this helps you out ! … Good luck !

Jesse Hull said:

I wonder why it says not to glue any of the parts together.

-To keep it portable perhaps? Seems like it would fair better in stormy weather if all the parts were glued.

Putting translucent fiberglass panels on it would make it much sturdier..

I'm thinking about building this, but setting up a rectangle of wood (like a raised bed) about 12-18" high. This would give it a nice anchored base to attach the greenhouse too, and allow for a bit more head room at the sides without making it more fragile.