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re: any cheap way to build a greenhouse?
1 feb 1999
daniel woodard wrote:
> i'm thinking of trying to build a lean-to greenhouse this coming
>fall. anyone have any ideas on how to build a cheap one?
yes. first place a 4 cent/ft^2 black polyethylene film vapor barrier
on the ground, and place a used tire on top every 4' along the outside
edge (my service station gives me $1.25 whenever i take one away.)
attach a 2x4 to the outside edge of the tires by bolting it through
the treads, and fill the tires with soil to make indoor planters and
a ballast foundation. add more tires on top of the bottom layer to raise
the beds and reduce the cost if desired.
then nail or screw a pressure-treated 2x4 along the eave of the house,
and buy a bunch of 1x3s (10 cents/foot) to make $5 doubled curved beams
on 4' centers by attaching 1x3 spacer blocks to a 1x3 every 2' and bending
it between the foundation and eave 2x4s. then bend another 1x3 over that
and screw it on to the spacer blocks with deck screws. (when i bent dry
12' 1x3s to an 8' radius, about 30% of them snapped.) a horizontal 1x3
purlin strung through these bows at mid-level is helpful.
attach one large piece of uv-stabilized greenhouse polyethylene film
(about 5 cents/ft^2, with a 4-year guarantee) to the frame with cedar
1x3s around the perimeter of the film (or use bayer's new clear urethane
film at 35 cents/ft^2 with a 10 year guarantee), and let 1 or 2 feet
of film lie on the ground in front of the greenhouse to make an air
seal. cover this film with some stone. add poly film endwalls.
then cover the black poly film on the ground with old rugs or a few
cubic yards of ground up tree chips (free from power line maintenance
people) or shredded wood playground mulch (about $16/yd^3, locally.)
the film will last longer if covered with shadecloth in the summer.
one hazard is ice that may slide down off the roof and puncture it.
this is one good reason to store the shadecloth on a pvc pipe roller
at the top in the winter.
nick
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