Green House

[Lloyd_E]

Today I started my greenhouse project. It will be 12'x22' (footprint) by 7.5' high on the low side to 12' on the high side. It will be attached to my workshop. Gets sun from sun-up to about 3 pm. I managed to get the sono-tubes in between all of the other daily chores.
Tubes are down about 48" well below our frost line. The 14" auger got the bulk of the earth out - to depth of 43" - 5 inches dug the old fashion way! We (my buddy just bought a band saw mill) will be starting to saw timber this weekend. It will be post&beam. 8" sills, 6" posts, 3"x9" x14' rafters and 1x4 strapping for lexan. Floor joists will be 6x6" dovetailed at ends with 2"x6" splined floor boards. The back wall will have buckets painted black with anti-freeze mix in them. They will be used as a heat sink. An exhaust fan will carry away extra heat to outside in summer but will be redirected to the workshop during the winter. The roof will be glass as well. It will tie into the existing workshop roof which I have to reroof(with metal) this summer.

A few photos of the tube...

 

[coreshot]

Looking good, what kind of snow load do you expect? I assume you get snow from your avatar...

 

[Lloyd_E]

Snow load is up to 12". But with the metal roof and lexan material it should shed quickly.
We have a horse barn/avatar and there is a shed attachment on the opposite side of the workshop now that I will be mirroring the roof angles too - the snow tends to blow off or melt quickly with the dark green roof material.

 

[schmism]

seems a little late to mention it at this point but......

if the date/time is right on your camera, seems your green house is going to spend a LOT of time in the shade....

so with the short number of hrs of sun during the winter (when the green house is used most) you may find it under performing.

again a little late to mention it, but im surprised you didnt opt for a partial buried pit green house due to your extended cold weather.

 

[Lloyd_E]

schmism,

The photo was shot at 4:30pm our time / eastern. In the winter at this time it is almost dusk/dark. 3pm is the cut off for light. Part of Dec, all of Jan and Feb will be unusable even with a partial buried unit and lots of additional heat - elect/oil etc. I have two friends that run similar set ups now and even with this past winter which was mild with only a 2-3 week extreme cold snap they shut down for about too months. The plan was to use the sun with very little additional heat/power usage. But we shall see how this all works out in the end....

 

[dmccarty]

Did the auger touch the barn?

Is Lexan what your are using for the "glass" walls and roof?

Later,
Dan

 

[Lloyd_E]

Yup... ouch... Hit a rock or concrete. We have owned the property for twenty years. One thing I did discover is that the barn is resting on a concrete wall that goes about 10" below ground level... without a footing... what where they thinking? Yes Lexan. It is 30"x8' @ $18 per sheet. Hopefully with my order I can get a bit of a discount. I need at east 25+ sheets.

 

[valley]

We built a small greenhouse a couple years ago, used Lexan. The Lexan will break when it gets cold. We plan a much larger one for this year not sure what to use.
I have a thin fiberglass on one of the porches, it has held up for over 20 years now. If I can get that I would be happier.

 

[EddieWalker]

Sounds like a great project.

How about some shots of the lumber being milled?

Eddie

 

[Lloyd_E]

Will do. My buddy that owns the mill is stuck in France due to the Volcano in Iceland. He just texted me to say he may not make it back this weekend due to the back log of flights. Hate when a volcano ruins plans!!!!! Anxious to get mill up and running...

This is the stuff I am using: GE Plastics Lexan Clear Storm Panel for hurricane protection armors windows and doors with up to four times the impact resistance of a half-inch of plywood, and yet it's up to 30-50 percent lighter than the metal panels traditionally used. It can be left in place for the entire hurricane season. They won't rust or corrode, and they retain their shape after impact. A single panel can completely cover a window or door, which eliminates the need for multiple panels. Features: visually clear coverage; multiple panels may be aggregated for unique or wide openings; UV protection on both sides; installed by directly mounting the panel with simple hardware.

I used it on my implement shed doors this past fall/winter and had no problem with breakage... even when I noticed them banging/closing one day. Even snow pilled against them didn't seem to create a problem.