Building one's own greenhouse
 

Can anyone recommend web sites that instruct one in the building of a
greenhouse? Googling doesn't turn up anything interesting.
--
Which of the seven heavens / Was responsible her smile /
Wouldn't be sure but attested / That, whoever it was, a god /
Worth kneeling-to for a while / Had tabernacled and rested.

Building one's own greenhouse
 

Frederick Williams wrote:
Can anyone recommend web sites that instruct one in the building of a
greenhouse? Googling doesn't turn up anything interesting.

I built my own once at a previous house. I plan to do so again sometime
at my new house. A lot depends on the balance you want between useful
and pretty. I didn't use any plans - other than my own sketches. It is a
simple matter to use some 3" x 2" pressure treated timbers to build a
frame and fasten clear corrugated PVC sheets to it. You don't need to
make any fancy joints if you don't want to, just use metal angle joining
brackets which are cheaply available from places like Wilko's. The
hardest job with mine was laying a concrete floor - I mixed all the
concrete by hand and it was back-breaking.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

Building one's own greenhouse
 

"David in Normandy" wrote...
Frederick Williams wrote:
Can anyone recommend web sites that instruct one in the building of a
greenhouse? Googling doesn't turn up anything interesting.

I built my own once at a previous house. I plan to do so again sometime at
my new house. A lot depends on the balance you want between useful and
pretty. I didn't use any plans - other than my own sketches. It is a
simple matter to use some 3" x 2" pressure treated timbers to build a
frame and fasten clear corrugated PVC sheets to it. You don't need to make
any fancy joints if you don't want to, just use metal angle joining
brackets which are cheaply available from places like Wilko's. The hardest
job with mine was laying a concrete floor - I mixed all the concrete by
hand and it was back-breaking.

I built ours as a Lean-to against the back wall of our garage.

Dug out and poured concrete into some footings, finished level with the
soil, built a 3 brick high wall on that with ally angle brackets screwed
into the top of that for the upright posts. To finish the base, a concrete
capping on top of the bricks finished at an angle to take the
condensation/water etc away from the wood.
Spacings of wooden uprights depend on the size of glazing you can get/want.
I used 2 x 4 corner and door posts with 2 x 2 for the other bars. ( strong
because I need to get on the roof some times, with a walking board of
course)
Glazed with acrylic for warmth and safety.
Roof is twin walled plastic but I wouldn't use it for all the glazing as it
can "draw" some plants that like a lot of light.
Don't forget a door.

Use as much plastic and non ferrous metal as you can to avoid rot....brass
screws, plastic glazing bars, etc. and treat all timber before use and paint
before final assembly. Dulux Weathershield (Satin White) paint system is
good.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
just W. of London

Building one's own greenhouse
 

Frederick Williams wrote:
Can anyone recommend web sites that instruct one in the building of a
greenhouse?

Not really.

What I would say though is think long and hard about the glazing.
The cheapest (horticultural glass) is easy to get as a replacement but
when it breaks it breaks into long jaggy pieces of glass (dangerous).
The dearest (polycarbonate) is hard to get. We got toughened glass as
youngest was in danger of 'piling' through the glass and this shatters
into lots of little pieces, it is really quite strong when loads are
placed on it but it is quite delicate at the edges, and will shatter
rather than crack . I wish we had gone with a polycarbonate system or
laminated glass and hang the expense. Frightened to look at the
greenhouse (probably unnecessarily) in case one of the panels goes as
the whole panel will need replaced not just a crack taped or some such.

So if NO chance of children animals etc breaking the glass probably
ordinary stuff will do (after all it has worked on windows for hundreds
of years)if at all worried go for an 'unbreakable' method and hang the
expense, do not choose the halfway house (like I did) of toughened glass.
All IMHO

Building one's own greenhouse
 

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...
Frederick Williams wrote:
Can anyone recommend web sites that instruct one in the building of a
greenhouse? Googling doesn't turn up anything interesting.

I built my own once at a previous house. I plan to do so again sometime at
my new house. A lot depends on the balance you want between useful and
pretty. I didn't use any plans - other than my own sketches. It is a
simple matter to use some 3" x 2" pressure treated timbers to build a
frame and fasten clear corrugated PVC sheets to it. You don't need to make
any fancy joints if you don't want to, just use metal angle joining
brackets which are cheaply available from places like Wilko's. The hardest
job with mine was laying a concrete floor - I mixed all the concrete by
hand and it was back-breaking.

does it have to be a concrete floor? My neighbour has a glasshouse with dirt
beds for growing his tomatos. My polytunnel partially sits on an old
concrete pad that used to have a garden shed. The rest of the tunnel I have
put in to raised dirt beds for planting & wooden pallets between for a walk
way. I would like to get rid of the concrete pad to create more garden beds
but it is a pain. It need not be a concrete floor, flagstones, pallets etc
will do.

rob

Building one's own greenhouse
 

George.com wrote:

does it have to be a concrete floor?

You can have a dirt floor if you want. Depends on the uses you will put
the greenhouse to. The one I made was next to the back of the house and
also served as a makeshift conservatory so the concrete floor was handy.
I spent many a happy hour in there in the evenings with a good book and
a pint or two of home-brew surrounded by hundreds of my favourite plants
watching the sun go down. :-)

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

Building one's own greenhouse
 

In article ,
says...
Can anyone recommend web sites that instruct one in the building of a
greenhouse? Googling doesn't turn up anything interesting.

Do you want to build it from wood, alluminium or upvc? start with what
you want to glaze it with as this nearly allways comes in standard sizes
and it makes sense to make the structure take these.

You will be hard pressed to beat a standard kit bought on line and
delivered complete with glass (which is the expensive bit)
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

Building one's own greenhouse
 

Charlie Pridham wrote:

In article ,
says...
Can anyone recommend web sites that instruct one in the building of a
greenhouse? Googling doesn't turn up anything interesting.

Do you want to build it from wood, alluminium or upvc?

Wood with about one metre of brick wall at the base.

start with what
you want to glaze it with as this nearly allways comes in standard sizes

I didn't know that. I thought glass merchants cut it to any size.

and it makes sense to make the structure take these.

You will be hard pressed to beat a standard kit bought on line and

Less fun?

delivered complete with glass (which is the expensive bit)

--
Which of the seven heavens / Was responsible her smile /
Wouldn't be sure but attested / That, whoever it was, a god /
Worth kneeling-to for a while / Had tabernacled and rested.

Building one's own greenhouse
 

"George.com" wrote:

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...
Frederick Williams wrote:
Can anyone recommend web sites that instruct one in the building of a
greenhouse? Googling doesn't turn up anything interesting.

I built my own once at a previous house. I plan to do so again sometime at
my new house. A lot depends on the balance you want between useful and
pretty. I didn't use any plans - other than my own sketches. It is a
simple matter to use some 3" x 2" pressure treated timbers to build a
frame and fasten clear corrugated PVC sheets to it. You don't need to make
any fancy joints if you don't want to, just use metal angle joining
brackets which are cheaply available from places like Wilko's. The hardest
job with mine was laying a concrete floor - I mixed all the concrete by
hand and it was back-breaking.

does it have to be a concrete floor? My neighbour has a glasshouse with dirt
beds for growing his tomatos.

I fancy a soil floor.

My polytunnel partially sits on an old
concrete pad that used to have a garden shed. The rest of the tunnel I have
put in to raised dirt beds for planting & wooden pallets between for a walk
way. I would like to get rid of the concrete pad to create more garden beds
but it is a pain. It need not be a concrete floor, flagstones, pallets etc
will do.

rob


--
Which of the seven heavens / Was responsible her smile /
Wouldn't be sure but attested / That, whoever it was, a god /
Worth kneeling-to for a while / Had tabernacled and rested.

Building one's own greenhouse
 

Frederick Williams wrote:
"George.com" wrote:
"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...
Frederick Williams wrote:
Can anyone recommend web sites that instruct one in the building of a
greenhouse? Googling doesn't turn up anything interesting.
I built my own once at a previous house. I plan to do so again sometime at
my new house. A lot depends on the balance you want between useful and
pretty. I didn't use any plans - other than my own sketches. It is a
simple matter to use some 3" x 2" pressure treated timbers to build a
frame and fasten clear corrugated PVC sheets to it. You don't need to make
any fancy joints if you don't want to, just use metal angle joining
brackets which are cheaply available from places like Wilko's. The hardest
job with mine was laying a concrete floor - I mixed all the concrete by
hand and it was back-breaking.

does it have to be a concrete floor? My neighbour has a glasshouse with dirt
beds for growing his tomatos.

I fancy a soil floor.

What I did was a line of flags down the centre to walk on and 2" of
gravel under the staging to keep weeds down. Then with space on the N
side to grow tomatoes, ginger, daturas etc without shading the plants on
the bench.

Regards,
Martin Brown

Building one's own greenhouse
 

Frederick Williams wrote:
Charlie Pridham wrote:
In article ,
says...
Can anyone recommend web sites that instruct one in the building of a
greenhouse? Googling doesn't turn up anything interesting.

Do you want to build it from wood, alluminium or upvc?

Wood with about one metre of brick wall at the base.

start with what
you want to glaze it with as this nearly allways comes in standard sizes

I didn't know that. I thought glass merchants cut it to any size.

They do - for a price. If you design one based on standard sizes it is
cheaper. And if you intent to heat the greenhouse in winter you should
also consider twinwall polycabonate (aka conservatory roofs) as the
glazing material. It comes in much bigger sheets than glass.

and it makes sense to make the structure take these.

You will be hard pressed to beat a standard kit bought on line and

Less fun?

Regards,
Martin Brown

Building one's own greenhouse
 

In article ,
says...
Charlie Pridham wrote:

In article ,
says...
Can anyone recommend web sites that instruct one in the building of a
greenhouse? Googling doesn't turn up anything interesting.

Do you want to build it from wood, alluminium or upvc?

Wood with about one metre of brick wall at the base.

start with what
you want to glaze it with as this nearly allways comes in standard sizes

I didn't know that. I thought glass merchants cut it to any size.


Horticultural glass is usually of 3mm thickness as apposed to 4mm which
is the lightest weight window glass

There are 3 standard sizes of Horticultural glass, Dutch lights which are
large and hard to handle and I would avoid

2' x 2' and 2' x 18" (although I think that has become 610x610 & 610 x
457)

Other possible sizes are 610x508, 610x533, 610x559

But the basic spacing is 610mm any more and it starts to be unsafe for
that thickness of glass, whatever you decide a conversation with your
glass supplier before you start will save you lots of time and money.

NB its much harder to glaze wooden home made greenhouses as most of
the clip systems are designed for the alluminium houses (try and avoid
putty at all costs, and I personally would also avoid painted finishes)

--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

I wouldn't agree that the glazing is the hardest part. Here is a company that you can buy Polycarbonate from: http://www.bayplastics.co.uk/polycarbonate_sheets.htm

Pretty pricey if you ask me though - Perspex is a cheaper option: http://www.bayplastics.co.uk/perspex_acrylicsheets.htm

You can even have them cut to your size. What does everyone else think?

Building one's own greenhouse
 

In article , Grumpy-
says...

'soup[_2_ Wrote:
;864360']Frederick Williams wrote:-
Can anyone recommend web sites that instruct one in the building of a
greenhouse? -

Not really.

What I would say though is think long and hard about the glazing.
The cheapest (horticultural glass) is easy to get as a replacement but

when it breaks it breaks into long jaggy pieces of glass (dangerous).
The dearest (polycarbonate) is hard to get. We got toughened glass as

youngest was in danger of 'piling' through the glass and this shatters

into lots of little pieces, it is really quite strong when loads are
placed on it but it is quite delicate at the edges, and will shatter
rather than crack . I wish we had gone with a polycarbonate system or

laminated glass and hang the expense. Frightened to look at the
greenhouse (probably unnecessarily) in case one of the panels goes as
the whole panel will need replaced not just a crack taped or some
such.

So if NO chance of children animals etc breaking the glass
probably
ordinary stuff will do (after all it has worked on windows for hundreds

of years)if at all worried go for an 'unbreakable' method and hang the

expense, do not choose the halfway house (like I did) of toughened
glass.
All IMHO


I wouldn't agree that the glazing is the hardest part. Here is a
company that you can buy Polycarbonate from: http://tinyurl.com/ksw9bb

Pretty pricey if you ask me though - Perspex is a cheaper option:
http://tinyurl.com/lsp8yg

You can even have them cut to your size. What does everyone else think?




--
Grumpy-Grower

Perspex would go brittle and shatter within a couple of years it is much
better to use glass or polycarbonate and its much easier to have it the
size you want and not have to cut it
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

Building one's own greenhouse
 

Grumpy-Grower wrote:

I wouldn't agree that the glazing is the hardest part.

I never said (or thought) the glazing was hard, what I was saying is
think long and HARD about what material to use.