Sunday, November 18, 2012

The Hoop House

My second greenhouse that the neighbors down the street let me build in their yard. 

Its dimensions are; 13'W x 20'L x 8' H
 I spent about $420 on the foundation, metal framing and four year cover plastic.

I managed to scavenge a door and some internal materials.
All the other materials I had around the house.
I used $250 worth of wood,
$50 worth of HDPE 30 mil pond liner (5'x20'),
A small water pump (400 gpm, 20w) and 10' of PET tubing, probably $50
Seventy five 3 gallon nursery pots and 200 gallons of compost, Free.

A total build cost of $770 approximately.
Uses 330 watts per hour, running 24/7
80 cents a day, $24 a month for electricity.

The water tank has a 300w aquarium heater in it currently that cost $40.  I want to see if a small heater can bring the water temp up, currently the water temps are 50F in the morning and 64F at dusk. I want to see what it takes to get the water to stay above 70F.



Simple tube bending jig made from a large pallet, some scrap pieces of wood and screws.
The tube is held stationary on one end and manually bent around the form six feet at a time.


I built a pretty basic foundation with untreated 2x6's and tie straps. 
Beneath the wooden frame, soil was removed and replaced with 6 inches of fine gravel to help with water drainage around the frame. The frame was then secured to the ground with 24" long hooked rebar at six points.

Rebar was driven in to the ground at four foot intervals along the inside of the frame.  
The rebar stakes were 24"long with 12" above ground level.  

The tubes that were bent earlier are connected together and then erected.  The open tube is placed over the rebar stakes and secured to the greenhouse foundation with metal straps and screws.

Once all the vertical ribs are in place horizontal supports are attached, in this case I used bolts but would probably use straps in the future.  All joints are covered with tape to protect the plastic from abrasion.

I covered the ends first and secured the plastic on the interior of the frame with staples.  On the exterior the plastic is stapled to the frame and taped over to seal the puncture.  

Where the plastic meets the ground it is rolled around a long strip of wood and then screwed to the frame of the hoop house.

The Hoop House 
13'W x 20'L x 8'H
260 sqft


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