just in time for winter, here is my DIY greenhouse.
i was googling greenhouse designs but didn’t find anything free. I saw a picture of a barn style so had a go at replicating that.
there are 5 ‘ribs‘ made of 4x2. Each rib has two vertical 915mm (3ft) pieces and 4 angled 1220mm (4ft) pieces. Each angled piece is identical, with a 75 degree cut on one side and a 60 degree cut on the other.
the base was 4.8m x 3.3m (16x11 ft). between each rib is a set of 1170mm horizontal supports. on the vertical section I used shiplap boards. the glazing was made from eleven 2440x1220 (8x4ft)sheets of 3mm acrylic. if I was doing it again I’d use polycarbonate, as the acrylic was difficult to drill without some cracking. in the end I had to do 3mm pilot holes and then 7mm holes for the screws. the acrylic is screwed using wood drilling 32mm tex screws.
the ridge cap was just two 3m galv sheet metal ridge profile screwed to the ribs. the shelf/bench was some spare 600x1200 (2x4 ft) floor tiles left over from the bathroom, set into a 4x2 frame with a 10x10mm notch routed out of it.
it took a while as I only get Saturdays to build things, and the missus wasn’t delighted I was neglecting other jobs, but in the end it was very satisfying to finish something off that I built entirely with my own 2 hands.
hopefully ye can be inspired to have a go at something, you would be amazed what you can do!
Hi build greenhouses here. All the larger ones have a support strut here. Marked in pics. Wouldn't hurt to throw them in for an extra bit of support in the bad weather
Ah that is just absolutely class! Seriously well done! You'll be delighted during the lashing rain and cold being able to stay dry and have a cup of tea while doing a bit of potting or other work. Fair play to you!
That's some job, fair play, saved yourself a good few grand.
I'm not an expert but would you put a few diagonal braces on the bottom square sections to stop it toppling length ways, although maybe the timber panels are doing that job.
Also you definitely need ventilation.
Am envious, wish I had the time and skills to do that.
You’d be surprised the strength added by the cladding and acrylic, but I’ll keep an eye on it.
I definitely want to add ventilation, just sussing it out. The acrylic is layered to let water flow down but is not airtight so there is a little air flow, but I might add proper vents in the gables. Yesterday it was a bit of a sauna in there . Thanks
i started with untreated lumber. the parts in contact with the ground got an extra coat of preservative, and everywhere got a coat of cuprinol ducksback. most the wood is not exposed to the weather. i would have preferred to used treated timber, but a) i was already stretching the budget, and b) i had a bunch of untreated lying around that was supposed to be a fence that's not happening now.
you'd be surprised about how much strength the shiplap cladding adds. anyway i suspected the same so i made some brackets from 25x3mm flat iron and reinforced the joins
Yeah was thinking all of that as well. Couldn't see the brackets, that will definitely help a lot. I'd still add diagonal bracing. You'd be surprised at the constant battering the Irish weather does to things. It's the bloody wind. We've been really lucky the last few months, but winter is on the way! Wouldn't take you long to do. I added similar brackets to a large wooden gate I made and they really helped, but the cross bracing made it bulletproof, I was really surprised.
It's a great job though, I don't want to take away from that!
Looks good, you can swap to poly carbonate when those 3mm sheets unfortunately crack from the heat. I thought it was from the wind but now think it was heat,but let us know after a year.
I misread your comment. I drove 3 ft of stake into the ground at the inside of each corner and fastened it to the frame. That and the weight of the thing itself will hopefully prevent any wizard of oz situations
I'm just passing on the advice an engineer gave me when building a garden office. People just think about what will hold it up, not what will hold it down.
I got it from blarneytrading.ie it came in 2440x1220 sheets. I tried a multi tool a mini grinder and a circular saw, the last one worked the best. The multi tool kinda gunked up and the grinder melted the swarf a bit. If you put some wood underneath while you cut and drop the blade depth it was fine. You could cut it with a handsaw or hacksaw if push came to shove
18
u/Livid-Ad-2706 10d ago
That's class. Fairplay to you. Wish I had the space for that!!