# Who has a greenhouse?



## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

I have an aluminum lean to. We are planning on getting a bigger greenhouse to attach to my garden. We did purchase one from hayneedle.com. Opened it up and it was used! Plastic was all scratched up with some cracks in it where the screws were put, etc. so we are looking for a good place to buy one. 
Also, how big is yours? What is it made of? Pros? Cons? Etc.
Thanks


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

are you near a Big Lots? They are selling theirs with great prices!

http://www.biglots.com/c/outdoor/patio/greenhouses

I had wanted to get the big one then while I was in the store looking at them I talked myself out of it, all I really need is the smallest one for doing seed starting, I'll be doing raised beds so I settled on that little one.

I haven't assembled mine yet but I did compare a lot of reviews and forum posts on this brand vs. the one Harbor Freight sells and this was the clear winner. Apparently the HF model has the fabric so tight on the frame that is difficult or impossible to actually use the zippers and then those that do use the zipper found them splitting.

If I was going to live in a colder climate I'd either buy the biggest one on that really good sale, or I'd build this model that I think LincTex posted the URL for these plans, I really like this project. On this link you can see the entire project with a cut list and step by steps instructions and pictures. She and her husband and FIL did a great job!

http://ana-white.com/2012/05/plans/barn-greenhouse


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## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

Looking for about a 12x12. We do live in PA, so snow is a given. Figured I won't be using it probably Dec, Jan and some of Feb. We have so many projects going on now if I wait until we when time to build one, I won't get it for another ten years. 


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## nightwing (Jul 26, 2014)

I built mine an 8X20 with treated 4X4's and 2X4's 
used 4 sliding glass doors sheet metal hip high 
and a polycarbonate sheet clear roof the ends are 
open so in the summer I can remove the chloroplast 
sheet and have natural air flow to keep it from becoming 
an oven it has a wood heater and under the shelves are 
12 - 55 gallon water drums hopefully by the end of this 
summer I will have gutters and open collection barrels 
for hot house watering needs that can run off my solar 
panel 12 volt battery & pump


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## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

Uuugh you men! We headed outside and now he wants to build it. Like I said before, we have a ton of other things going on. Now, any ideas?



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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

sometimes that's the best way to get a project done that needs to be done but there isn't time. Stop everything else, knock it out, and then back to the other projects.


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## nightwing (Jul 26, 2014)

lilmissy0740 said:


> Uuugh you men! We headed outside and now he wants to build it. Like I said before, we have a ton of other things going on. Now, any ideas?
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Survival Forum


keep it simple 4X4's 2 up one across screwed in with a single lag bolt 
on each post buy what you want 8 footers equal 6 to 6 1/2 foot interior 
height cement each post drive a few old nails into the bottom to stick in concrete.
use treated 2X4's for rafters keep all the top level makes it easier to 
roof and block out birds and keep heat in ( I used spray foam in ridges)
sheet tin run on its side around the bottom clear next for 
light transmission next and roof clear. keep ends open you can rob old 
plastic card board signs (large ones) for removable ends 
keep the design simple and even as to materials like 8 foot wide 
the door on mine is 32 inches out side to out side because I use a 
upright piece of metal for a door screwed on one side so it has a 
self spring action and I have a cross bar bolted through on one side
loose and the other a hook from flat bar if you do it tight it will not 
rattle.
I have the opposite side of the door I have my wood stove you could do a fire pit with a stove pipe and a damper stove pipe comes in many sizes 
try it it needs to fit tight.
I save all my "junk mail" all year in barrels and use it to keep the green house from freezing in the winter. or a ceramic heater on low.

keep materials even and centered for the lengths you buy makes it fast easy and less CoNStrUStiOn measuring and cutting.


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

In this thread you will some pics of the one I built.
http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f14/anyone-make-cheap-green-houses-5251/


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## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

Thanks for the info and the link. I am not a visualizer. I like pictures. Lol
We was looking to put polycarbonate on it. Then we found a site for corrugated polycarbonate. So not sure now which to use. Was thinking of making the sides 2' from the ground with wood. But I am not sure this is a good idea. Would it shade inside? I am not planting directly into the ground. Thoughts?


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## jnrdesertrats (Jul 3, 2010)

I built a 18 x 30 using polycarbonate corrugated panels. I went with clear and used white greenhouse paint to make it opaqe. This winter we will wash off the paint and it will be clear for maximum light exposure. I must say I was not sure a greenhouse would work in the desert during summer, but we were able to grow things we never could before.

We got our panels and paint at greenhousemegastore.com be aware that they have permanent paint and removable.


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## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

jnrdesertrats said:


> I built a 18 x 30 using polycarbonate corrugated panels. I went with clear and used white greenhouse paint to make it opaqe. This winter we will wash off the paint and it will be clear for maximum light exposure. I must say I was not sure a greenhouse would work in the desert during summer, but we were able to grow things we never could before.
> 
> We got our panels and paint at greenhousemegastore.com be aware that they have permanent paint and removable.


Do you have a pic of your gh?

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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

I am really wary of the "temporary" greenhouses no matter how cheap they are. 

I have seen from friends that have them, how they just don't last very long under any conditions. Spend a little more and you get something that lasts 10-20 years instead of 6 months.


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## jnrdesertrats (Jul 3, 2010)

lilmissy0740 said:


> Do you have a pic of your gh?
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Survival Forum


Well I am usually a grower not a shower :lolsmash::lolsmash:

I will try to post some pics. We did have it pemitted and custom designed to withstand 130mph winds so it will be around for awhile.


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

Don't use treated lumber anywhere near a garden.

Google the use of treated lumber near eatable food. The chemicals in treated lumber leeches into the soil and can poison the soil and vegetables with toxins.

I used cedar in my garden. Yes it is twice as expensive but it lasts just as long.


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## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

Thanks for all the helps we started on the greenhouse. This is what we have done so far.









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## nightwing (Jul 26, 2014)

lilmissy0740 said:


> Thanks for all the helps we started on the greenhouse. This is what we have done so far.
> 
> View attachment 9462
> 
> ...


I used to have a lake house that wasn't that nice / well built


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## zimmy (Aug 17, 2012)

We live in the world of surplus everything. I built this from overstock, discontinued, damaged, and new, surplus parts, just need to be resourceful, and ambitious.


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## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

Seriously Zimmy? That stuff is old and recycled?? Man you are good. Some of our greenhouse is also left over scraps from other projects. But we still had to buy some 2x4s and all the poly. Plus the stepping stones,plus the.... Oh heck. Some was recycled but not a heck of a lot. I am impressed!


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## zimmy (Aug 17, 2012)

*Greenhouse*



lilmissy0740 said:


> Seriously Zimmy? That stuff is old and recycled?? Man you are good. Some of our greenhouse is also left over scraps from other projects. But we still had to buy some 2x4s and all the poly. Plus the stepping stones,plus the.... Oh heck. Some was recycled but not a heck of a lot. I am impressed!
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Survival Forum


Foam insulation in the floor came from a manufacturer that had 4'x8'x1" sheets of seconds insulation. (variable thickness)

Foundation is from old deck removed from back of the house.

Bricks came from a back lot of a concrete co. that were discontinued stock.

Studs were new treated treated 2"x8"x16' lumber ripped and cut to length then painted with latex bath paint.

Polycarb panels on side walls are 5/8" thick and came from a warehouse (roof blew off) in Louisiana from the Katrina hurricane.

Roofing system is from a surplus store in this area, a company that installed patio enclosures went out of business and dumped these on the surplus market. The polycarb is 1" thick and these are two units put together back to back to make one roof.

Door (has defects) and bottom windows are from a construction surplus store, bottom windows are for basements but worked fine for the greenhouse. Door handle is a brass pull from another old door.

Screws and nails were new but bought in bulk.

lilmissy0740, with you living in Pitts. Pa , there is surplus Everywhere, just need to hunt for it, and think outside the box.

Not sent from my iphone because I don't have one.


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## zimmy (Aug 17, 2012)

Here is a good example of surplus in this area, 4'x8'x1/4" thick fiberglass panels for $8 ea. I bought a pkup trk load.


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## zimmy (Aug 17, 2012)

Surplus, surplus, everywhere!!!


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## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

Zimmy, you either need to come here or I need to come there. Lol I am deal seeker. But lately those deals have been very hard to come by. 


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## zimmy (Aug 17, 2012)

lilmissy0740 said:


> Zimmy, you either need to come here or I need to come there. Lol I am deal seeker. But lately those deals have been very hard to come by.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Survival Forum


Craigslist is a good place to start.

HGR in Cleveland is a huge warehouse that buys and sales everything, you just never know what they might have.

I find it hard to believe that Pittsburgh doesn't have surplus stores of all kinds.

Talking to people and internet search can help find what you want. God luck!


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## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

Pittsburgh does have Construction Junction. You can find something good in there front time to time. Other than that it's doors and lots of em, lol. Habit for Humanity has a few stores sprinkled here and there. I am a little over an hour away from Pittsburgh on a good day. Plus I am not a big shopper to just look around for something to do for a day. Oh heck, it sounds like I am talking myself out of shopping. And I am rambling.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

The economy is far too strong to find good deals like what you have been finding.

I know of low paid Hispanic people that scour "Craigslist" and "Freecycle" as well as construction sites scooping up any all free and low-cost deals the moment they are posted. Competition is fierce.


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## mountainman (Nov 30, 2013)

I framed in OSB end walls and put a door in one end and a vent in the other. I attached the two end wall with a 21 ft. beam, top,center. I used 16 ft. cattle panels, arched them over the top of the beam and attached them on each end to a 6x6 with a 5x6 stacked on top of it to have an edge for the cattle panel to sit on. on the top the cattle panels overlapped about two feet. I tie wired the panels together. I then wrapped it with 20 re-enforced poly which I sandwiched together at the top of the arched ends.

This gave me a 20x21 ft. high sided greenhouse that has withstand-ed 70 mph winds here in Wyoming. I framed raised beds inside.


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## mountainman (Nov 30, 2013)

the whole thing cost me under $1,000 dollars


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## HarleyRider (Mar 1, 2010)

I don't have a greenhouse..................................mine's white!


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

HarleyRider said:


> I don't have a greenhouse..................................mine's white!


The house number wouldn't be 1600 by any chance?


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