Greenhouse

[watertrade]

Hi Guys,

ages ago I posted a message about greenhouses. I was thinking about building one. I couldn't really afford to buy a new one so I have done some research ( actually heaps!!) and I've started to build my own.

I have taken two weeks off work and I've started building.

the following pics are of some of the more major developments.

this was the site of the greenhouse in the back corner of my yard the cubby house had to go. I'm was lucky enough to have friends with Kids. A mate took it away - about 4 days work ;) On removing the cubby I found that there was a concrete slab.

the site without the cubby. There was still a tree,a slab and two small walls in the way.

the concrete slab yay.

the hole from the tree = this was hard work

I woke up this morning to find all my foundations filled with water.

this is how I finished today. I almost have the base finished. tomorrow I will start cutting the frame

it will look something like this

a solar greenhouse -

this is only the first stage of the greenhouse. the second stage will be the floor (blue metal) and the cover. and the third stage is the heating - either a solar water heating or solar air heating/rock charging.

I will most more pics when I get more done.

Edited October 12, 2007 by watertrade

[Evil Genius]

That´s Great Watertrade. I´m building one too. But the one i´m making is much smaller. Yours looks like the World Trade Greenhouse against my sweetie; very cool! . Keep us informed how it progresses! bye Eg

Edited May 18, 2007 by Evil Genius

[PD.]

Awesome work man. I wish i could have a larger GH and with the amount of seeds i have put in i think i will need a bigger one at some stage. Being in a rental is a pain in the arse though, that and im a lazy bastid so it will be awhile till i build one. Are ya using recylcled material or new stuff? Plastic or shadecloth?

[watertrade]

Awesome work man. I wish i could have a larger GH and with the amount of seeds i have put in i think i will need a bigger one at some stage. Being in a rental is a pain in the arse though, that and im a lazy bastid so it will be awhile till i build one. Are ya using recylcled material or new stuff? Plastic or shadecloth?

I have wanted one for ages and now that I'm out of the renting game I can build a more permanent Greenhouse.

I would have liked to use recycled materials but I'm using new stuff.

when the time comes to cover it I will be using a product called 'solarweave' its a three layer plastic material with good light transmitance and has a 5 year UV warrenty. its rip proof too. at $4.95 a square meter it won't be too bad to cover.

The covering will come in the next few weeks... if I get the frame up !

cheers

[PD.]

ya lucky bugger I hope its all smooth sailing for ya.

[watertrade]

That´s Great Watertrade. I´m building one too. But the one i´m making is much smaller. Yours looks like the World Trade Greenhouse against my sweetie; very cool! . Keep us informed how it progresses! bye Eg

What kind of covering are you using? and what kind of design?

I don't realy know much about greenhouses - I've just jumped in at the deep end and gone with the solar greenhouse design. .

Cheers

[watertrade]

ya lucky bugger I hope its all smooth sailing for ya.

Thanks, I have already run into a few probs which I have been able to get around. I think my carpentary skills arn't really up to the job.

If anyone knows... what kind of tolerences are accepted in the building industry?. what kind of errors in measurement are 'close enough' -for example I think after concreting the foundations in I'm off square by about 2 cm - corner to corner. (I will check exactly later)

[Evil Genius]

Hi watertrade, At the moment i´m still making the fundament. I´m not good in such things and because of this it´ll take years. I haven´t decided for a special type but i´ll buy me a prefabricated greenhouse. I´ll have a look in a few catalogues this weekend.Until then I´ve just bought me a few Mini Greenhouses to bridge the timegap. bye Eg

[shruman]

"If anyone knows... what kind of tolerences are accepted in the building industry?. what kind of errors in measurement are 'close enough' -for example I think after concreting the foundations in I'm off square by about 2 cm - corner to corner. (I will check exactly later)"

From memory if it serves me correctly 5mm.

[Torsten]

what material will the panes be? glass is cheap, but smashes so easily with such long panels. Polycarbonate is expensive, but won't break. Polycarbonate is also more likely to survive hail, which is important if you are growing cacti.

[watertrade]

I would love to use polycarbonate but unfortunately I can't afford it. I think I worked out polycarbonate would be over $1000 to cover this greenhouse _ I will use 'solarshield' plastic film. I might start replacing sections in glass or polycarbonate as I can get it

[Torsten]

i think film is better than glass if you are growing cacti simply due to the hail risk. thick new film can take quite a beating and even if it does break it will usually still provide some protection.

Fairly thin PC can be bought on a roll for quite cheap. Maybe have a look at the width of that material so you won't have any waste when you eventually change to PC. Don't buy it at bunnings - get the address off the roll at bunnings and buy a whole roll from the distributor at half price.

[VINS]

about polycarbonate :

remember that a few of or favorite plants need UV to produce the goodies

if the space between each part of the frame is too long, then the polycarbonate will move each time you have wind, and ths will create a nasty noize if your house is close to the green house.

about film :

don't forget to create some sort of windows for ventilation

i made a green house with PC a few years ago and my conclusion after using it, is : glass is cheaper and better in my opinion, it is easy to make windows and to replace the broken part

you just need to paint it with a white paint, to build it without too much space between the part of the frame and to protect the upper part with a fit latticework on

ps; since you seems to be a good "builder" and since you began with a big installation: it could be a usefull idea to put a source of power (to heat during the winter, to control the photo period with light, etc)and eventually a source of water.

it is better to think about this at the begining of construction instead of later

[Auxin]

Cool project

Before deciding to cough up the $$ for polycarbonate you may want to research the implications of bisphenol A leachate from the polycarbonate getting around plants that may be consumed.

wiki link

[watertrade]

ps; since you seems to be a good "builder" and since you began with a big installation: it could be a usefull idea to put a source of power (to heat during the winter, to control the photo period with light, etc)and eventually a source of water.

it is better to think about this at the begining of construction instead of later

I would like to have power and water installed but to be honest I will be lucky just to get the frame up - I'm not a natural when it comes to building stuff like this - I'm pretty much just learning on the job. If you could see my hands! I have bled each day since I started. nothing serious, just scraped knuckles etc.

Heating will be my next install after covering the greenhouse. I'm looking into solar water heating or maybe solar air heating - with a thermosyphon ;)

Thanks for the info on bisphenol A leachate, Auxin. I have pretty much broke the bank making this so I probably won't have the chance to buy polycarbonate for a while yet. I wil keep it in mind when I do .

The following pics are how I left things this evening. I have the frame pretty much done I just need to install and make everything square.

all the timber cut and ready to be put together

the five major parts of the frame

The beginnings of the installation.

tomorrow another big day

[watertrade]

The Slanty Shanty....

60% finished

[KlUe]

Looking good so far watertrade, look forward to seeing your final results!

[Guest homoGenius]

That cubby house could have been easily converted to a functional greenhouse by sawing out the wall panels and putting on some film.

Two days ago I put the plastic film on my frame and last night it dropped to 8 degrees C. Some of the plants don't look too happy and probably would have died without the protection.

[Ace]

You are doing some awesome work here WT - I've really taken a breath of your inspiration (or is that B.O. from working too hard?? )

Is there any chance you could post your plans for the plant shack? I rather like how you've worked it alongside the fence - but would that pose any probs with the council or anything? Especially being on a cement block and all - I was under the impression that all permanent structures had to be about 5 metres away from the boundaries... Any ideas?

Edited May 23, 2007 by Ace

[~shameless~]

Ironic this subject is my user name and first post!

Great work so far- consider that plastic film looks great when done properly and is cheap!

Buying the bulk roll from the wholesaler would leave you some left over to reskin the frame if damaged

How you ventilating it?

[watertrade]

That cubby house could have been easily converted to a functional greenhouse by sawing out the wall panels and putting on some film.

I could have done that - but to be honest it would have been a pretty crappy greenhouse. My mates kids are pretty happy having a cubby too

Is there any chance you could post your plans for the plant shack? I rather like how you've worked it alongside the fence - but would that pose any probs with the council or anything? Especially being on a cement block and all - I was under the impression that all permanent structures had to be about 5 metres away from the boundaries... Any ideas?

It’s not really on a cement block more like 8 big footings. ;) Council permission?? wha? There is 50cm around the greenhouse for access to the fence and for maintenance of the greenhouse. If it was 5 meters from the fence it would be in my bedroom! Just hope the neighbours don't mind the new structure.

I don't really have any plans. I've kinda made it up in my head - I do have a few pages of sketches and calculations of the angles & dimensions though etc

If it turns out to work ok I might write up a 'how to'

The pic below is where I left it today. I have pretty much done all I will do until I can scrounge some materials.

The next few things to get done are...

1: board up the left hand wall.

2: insulate and clad the back and sidewall

3: make a door and vents

4: paint the frame

4.5: make benches on the back wall.

5: dig out the clay in the middle and fill with blue metal.

6: cover the frame

7: start growing!

8: start building a solar water heater or solar air heater.

[watertrade]

Well after a few months of no money to invest in the greenhouse my workmates chipped in to help me out for my birthday. I think I should be right now.

This is how it looks this afternoon after a few hours building the back and side wall- they are insulated with rockwool, the outside wall is harditex board the inside just ply.

Next I will make up the vents and a door at work and hopefully install them next weekend.

Then build a work bench onto the back wall/

Once I have my door and vents I will paint it white.

Then I will dig out the inside and fill with quarry scalpings (cheaper than blue metal) to a depth of about 30/40 cm deep - I'm also going to bury all my mess under the greenhouse - all the broken bricks and cement anyway.

[watertrade]

OK, some more time off work and more money.....

This is where I'm at as of tonight.

Since the last pic I have

*dug out 2/3rds of the excess soil, leaving about 25cm of depth for blue metal or rock chips.

*finished painting the walls the lovely grey (will be white eventually)

*installed a workbench (made from my old futon bed) the slats are spaced a bit far apart but that’s all a queen size bed allows for!

*Started installing the vents (you can see the frames in the foreground of the pics - and on the bench)

*put up some shade cloth to protect my wussy indoor cacti until they toughen up.

BAM!

[watertrade]

384 days later this is where it ended today.

its painted white & I started covering it this weekend with plastic. I decided to go with Thermax 180um. it seems pretty good and easy to work with.

[Lachy]

Nice! That's something I'd love to do.

...except that I suck at using power tools to build stuff.