Wife's greenhouse

[RifleBowPistol]

After I got done building the deck on the back of our house, which that was the first project I had ever done like that. I decided to build my wife a large greenhouse. Because every year, we have to haul her overly large plants in the house, which is a chore. Those plants just keep getting bigger, heavier and more difficult to move, without breaking them. Her pencil cactus long ago, got too big to get into the house. The last time we moved it in the house, we broke and scratched up a lot of stuff, getting it in the house. So I decided, she needed a large greenhouse, because these plants are only going to get bigger and heavier.

I build all types of stuff out of steel, aluminum and stainless, but wood is not my thing, if I can't weld it I am lost. So this greenhouse deal, has been a learning experience.

I decided to build it similar to our deck, with a floor made of the same deck wood we used to make the deck, then treated 4X4s, 2X4s, 2X6s. I wanted a floor that would allow us to move her huge plants around easily and not drag them through the dirt. That and I figured getting them up off the ground, would help keep them warmer.

So I got started on this deal last spring, I got the 4X4s cemented in the ground, then made the frame for the flooring. Then made the ramp going up into the greenhouse. I knew I wanted something to make the lower part of the walls with, but was not sure. If I would use some exterior wall paneling or if I was going to use brick or what. Since I did not find any good deals on bricks. I see people selling bricks on facebook market place and thought, if I can find someone selling bricks cheaply, and enough, to do the lower part o the greenhouse. I would use brick. But I never found any of those deals when I needed to. So we looked at exterior wall paneling, after looking at multiple options, we decided that Hardie Plank, would be the best option. It will not rot. So I could run it all the way to the ground and the pack dirt or cement around the bottom of the paneling all the way around, to keep cold air from getting under the floor. And to keep critters out from under the greenhouse.

[Pedernal]

Looks awesome! What are your plans for the upper walls and ceiling??

[RifleBowPistol]

Since I work six days a week and I was doing this project all by myself, as usual . Then I am a long ways away from being good a this type of stuff. Then typical of me, I had a idea in my head, but there were a lot of things I just figured out as I went. Basically, the work was not going fast, by any means.

So winter weather got here, long before I was done. Also the plastic I wanted to use for the upper part of the walls, is expensive and I did not have the money for that plastic, but really wanted to use that one type of plastic. The plastic I wanted to use, is made or greenhouses. it's 1/4" think and has square tubes in it, to improve it's insulation abilities. Last year, I was finding the stuff for about $200 for a 4'X8' sheet. It was going to take quite a few sheets of that stuff to finish the greenhouse. The greenhouse is 10' across and 16' deep. Then two 3' wide doors on the front. The walls are 8' high from the floor up.

So last year, we got her plants in the greenhouse, then wrapped the upper parts of the walls and the top with thick plastic sheet. That worked but had problems. The wind kept blowing the plastic loose. So I had to screw boards over the plastic to hold it on the greenhouse. Stapling it was not working, when the northers blew in. Then with the flat top, when it would rain, the plastic would fill up with water, causing the plastic to stretch and then rip. You can't see that from the outside. So the top would be wide open and some of her plants got damaged.

So at some point last winter, when it was warm. I made trusses, then it got cold and rained some more. So they sat there for a while. Then it warmed up and quit raining, so I figured out how to put them on top of the frame of the greenhouse, then hold them in place with 2X4s, while I screwed them to the greenhouse frame. Then tied all of the trusses together. Once I got that done. I put plastic over the trusses and left it that way for the rest of last winter.

[txheartshot]

Great work. That thing will
Last forever. My folks just moved to their place outside of Doss, and my dad is going to have to build a green house for all my mom’s plants. I’m planning on helping when I can, and we’re thinking it’ll be about this size. Anything you would’ve done different? It looks stout as can be.


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[RifleBowPistol]

So at some point this past spring or summer, pulled the sheet plastic down, from the walls and roof. Then I got the corrugated plastic panels on the roof and that was all I really got done.

This this fall, my wife made it clear, I needed to get her greenhouse finished. so I started looking for plastic panels for the upper parts of the walls. I still wanted to use the hollow plastic greenhouse panels, but did not want to spend the money that the ones I found last year cost.

So we were at Home Depot a couple months ago and saw they had 2'X4' panels of the hollow greenhouse panels. They were only $35 each. So even two of those is only $70, much cheaper than the $200 for a 4'X8' panel, I had been seeing for the other stuff last year. So I bought quite a few of them, I lost count weeks ago.

I started off, thinking I was going to just screw them up on the greenhouse, it did not look very good and I was crushing the plastic panels where I was running screws in. So I went back to Home Depot and started looking for ideas to put those panels on the greenhouse. I looked all over the whole store. After being in there for probably 2 hours. I happened to go back to where they have the roofing panels and the greenhouse panels. At the end of the shelves they have all of that stuff. there is a cardboard tube, standing up, with clear plastic channel in it. I got to looking at that stuff and realized that's what you are supposed to use to attach the plastic greenhouse panels.
So I felt kind of stupid at that point. But nobody else at Home Depot knew that either, they are there most everyday working. Nowhere I looked, it said here is how you attach these panels to your greenhouse. It's a figure it out yourself deal. They make and sell all of the pieces, but I did not find any info on what you need and how to make it all work. I came up with my own system.

So with the system I came up with after asking many people about how I should attach the plastic channel to the greenhouse and got either, I don't know or just bad ideas, because they did not care or had no experience with the stuff.

I found some Phillips head screws that the heads are mostly flat, they are called modified truss screws, not sure how they are used on trusses. But I made them work for attaching greenhouse plastic panel channels.

I think it's starting to look pretty good at this point. My wife commented today, that it is starting to look a lot better than she was expecting. She obviously knows my carpentry skills.

I also put the plastic panel on the doors. The front of the greenhouse faces to the east, the back end to the west. So I wanted as much clear panel on the east, west and south walls. At one point, I was thinking of using left over Hardie Plank at top front and rear of the greenhouse, to close up the end trusses. But have decided to use the many left over pieces of the greenhouse plastic panels. I have the top of the rear end of the greenhouse done, as of today. I will get the top of the front end of the greenhouse done next weekend.

[RifleBowPistol]

This whole project was a figure it out as I was working on it, deal. Like I said, the original 4'X8' plastic greenhouse panels I found, are right around $200 each. Then this fall we found the 2'X8' panels for $35 each, so $70 to make 4'X8'. Then on one of my many trips to Home Depot, looking for pieces to make something work and not knowing what I really needed. I swear I found some of the 4'X8' greenhouse plastic panels or $80 each.

Well when I got to putting the plastic panels on the doors, I figured out that I really needed at least 3'X8' panels. Then remembered that I thought I saw some 4'X8' panels for $80. So I looked online and sure enough I found some 4'X8' greenhouse panels for $80. So I went to Home Depot, they said yes, at one time they had them but have not hand any in a while, they only had the $200 a panel stuff.

So I went to the New Braunfels store and they had five sheets of the $80 a panel 4'X8' sheets. I was a bit irritated that I found those right as I was finishing up putting the plastic panels on the greenhouse. Had I had 4'X8' panels, instead of the 2'X8' panels, it would have been a lot faster to put the panels up. But oh well, it's done now.

Something I noticed a couple weeks ago, I had probably eight of those plastic greenhouse panels stacked up near where I was working in the back yard. It got cold and then started getting late. So I started picking up all of the tools and materials I had laying around. When I went to pick up those plastic panels, they were noticeably warm. As where everything else laying around was ambient temperature, which was probably in the upper 40s at that point. But those panels were noticeably warm. That was impressive.

So this morning, I was going outside to start putting up the plastic panels on the top rear and hopefully the top front of the greenhouse. I went into the greenhouse about 8:30 this morning, it was probably in the mid 50s outside at the time. When I went into the greenhouse, I would say it was 30 degrees warmer inside. Something else I noticed, is that if you touched any of the wall studs that had sun light shining on them through the plastic panels. The studs would be very warm, almost hot.

Last weekend while I was putting up plastic panels, my wife was inside the greenhouse, with clear silicone, sealing up everything that looked like it could be a air leak. She did a very good job, I was impressed. I had seen many leaks, as I was building the greenhouse, and figured I was probably going to have to point them out to her, but she found them on her own. Then did a very good job of sealing them up.

I removed the ramp going up into the greenhouse, because the greenhouse is on a slope to begin with, then with the sloped ramp, putting a ladder on the ramp was not going to work. I needed to put a ladder where the ramp was, while I was putting up the trusses and the roof. Since both of those are done, I can put the ramp back. Getting the plastic panels on the outside of the greenhouse and getting it sealed up was more important than the ramp at this point.

Also I wanted to put Hardie Plank all the way around the bottom of the greenhouse to completely seal up the bottom. With the ramp off, I was able to do that much easier.

Once I have the plastic on the front upper part of the greenhouse. I will put the ramp back on the front of the greenhouse.

Then after that, I am going to run power out to the greenhouse, put three or four lights up inside. We have a bunch of cheap lights we removed from inside the house, shortly after we moved in. My wife made me replace every light fixture in the house. So I have been using those light fixtures for lighting for the deck and now I am going to put some in the greenhouse. I think I have somewhere between six and eight of those left over.

Then I am also going to install two wall outlets, so we can plug in one or two space heaters for those times, when the sun does not come out for days and it stays in the 20s or colder.

Then other things I am going to do, is find some cheap interior wall paneling, maybe something like the old wood paneling that was common back in the 70s. Whatever, just something cheap and wood. I will put that up on the inside of the greenhouse, to the inside of where the Hardie Plank is. As I put that paneling up, I will put insulation in the walls. I have been thinking of packing some type of insulation up under the floor, to help insulate the inside of the greenhouse from the ground. I don't want anything that will get damaged by water, because she waters her plants inside the greenhouse, part of the reason for the treated wood, decking floor. The water just runs right on through to the ground.

Other things, I will eventually build some shelves, to put plants on. Eventually we will have a large garden. I figure we can get tomatoes and other plants going in the winter, put them on the shelves. I am also going to come up with a way to hang her ivies up, from the trusses. Not exactly sure how I am going to hang those just yet. I will get that done in the next few weeks. I want to get those up off of the floor, the ivies get stepped on and smashed regularly.

Then one of the projects for next summer, will be some form of ventilation. Either some vents, windows or both. Not sure, for now, we just open the doors. I also have to work on finishing the doors. I came up with a latch idea, basically copy the latches used on the back doors of 18 wheeler box trailers. So my wife can get both the top and bottom of the doors latched, without having to get a ladder. I will get that done in the next couple weeks, maybe, by this weekend. I got to get some argon for my TIG and some rod. I am mostly out of aluminum, stainless and mild steel rod. I think I will make the pieces out of stainless, so it does not rust.

[RifleBowPistol]

Great work. That thing will
Last forever. My folks just moved to their place outside of Doss, and my dad is going to have to build a green house for all my mom’s plants. I’m planning on helping when I can, and we’re thinking it’ll be about this size. Anything you would’ve done different? It looks stout as can be.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yea, get a carpenter who is experienced at framing houses to help. That and research up materials, as far as what's available and how you are supposed to use some of the pieces. The plastic panels I put up, did not come with instructions on how to use them nor did anyone I know of, know anything about attaching them to a greenhouse. I would bet there are forums or websites on building greenhouses, probably even books. I would look for any of those I could find. To get more ideas on what's available and how to put it together.

[Pedernal]

I might have missed it where did you get the corrugated clear plastic roof panels??

[RifleBowPistol]

Either Home Depot or Lowes. At one point we were shopping at both places, but since I have mainly been going to Seguin Home Depot. Both carry the panels. You can get them in clear, or various colors of tinted. They also sell plastic or wood pieces cut to the same basic shape as the corrugated panels, that you can put under the panels. Too keep from crushing the panels when you are running screws through the panels. Those pieces also help fill the holes created top and bottom, since the panels are not flat. Another one of those things I figured out on my own, on my many trips to Lowes and Home Depot. I was going to fill the holes at the top and bottom of the panels with spray foam, then on my second or third trip, buying corrugated roofing pieces. I found the wood and the plastic pieces to up under the ends of the corrugated panels. I bought the wood pieces the first time. I already had the plastic panels at the house. I thought the wood would insulate better. Then got home with the wood pieces and found they were not the same shape and the spacing between the high and low points, were different than the plastic panels I bought. Turns out the plastic fillers are made with the correct spacing. They don't completely fill the holes created by the corrugated panels, but they fill most of the holes. My wife finished sealing them up with clear silicone.

[ktjones]

DELETE DELETE DELETE! Please! My Wife CANNOT see this!

[RR 314]

Looks great! Good job!

[cwill]

Looks fantastic!

[Btutt24]

Looks awesome!!

[hunt247]

Don't forget air ventilation and a heater.

[RifleBowPistol]

Don't forget air ventilation and a heater.

Eventually I will put some type of vents in it. For now, we just open the doors during the day, close them in the evening and trap birds inside. Found out this morning, when I went and opened the doors, I closed up a bird inside, yesterday afternoon. A buddy of mine told me they make thermostatically controlled vents for greenhouses. I am going to look for those eventually.

I am planning on insulating is as well as possible, so it takes a small a heater as possible to heat it, preferably no heater, most of the time. I worry about space heaters catching on fire or catching something on fire. It will have electrical outlets for the purpose of plugging in heaters.