Greenhouse question

Davesnave · 28 April 2008 at 8:30PM

.....And the pop bottles will last how long? They are not UV stabilised, so they'll go brittle after a season or so. Seems like a lot of hard work for something that could be achieved more simply with good old polytunnel polythene. My frame made with that hasn't been recovered in six seasons, but its about ready for it now.

Sorry to be such a cynic, but I wonder if the adults in the Greenspace link would have been quite so keen to build this without the free child labour!

Lotus-eater · 29 April 2008 at 8:42AM

Davesnave wrote: »

.....And the pop bottles will last how long? They are not UV stabilised, so they'll go brittle after a season or so. Seems like a lot of hard work for something that could be achieved more simply with good old polytunnel polythene. My frame made with that hasn't been recovered in six seasons, but its about ready for it now.

That is exactly what I thought, looks a great idea, but I know when I have used those bottles as cloches, one year and they start to go brittle and leave annoying bits of plastic all over the place.

To the OP, I have had exactly the same quandary. I looked at prices of polycarbonate and realised for the price of buying enough to fit out a greenhouse, I could actually buy a cheap greenhouse with polycarbonate glazing! So that was the plan and then sturdy up the cheapy greenhouse with bits of wood.
It didn't exactly go to plan though. After still being worried about the glazing flying off in the wind and having to replace the plastic after a few years, I realised I would actually be better off with a toughened glass greenhouse and got one on special offer from the greenhouse people. Should last for far longer than a polycabonate one and I don't have the hassle of replacing the glazing ever few years. Say I stay here 10 years, that greenhouse I've got will cost about the same as a cheap poly glazed one and should be alot less hassle................ hopefully

irnbru_2 · 29 April 2008 at 12:34PM

dazza001 wrote: »

The problem is, I cant believe how expensive the polycarbonate sheets are.

+1

I eventually had to buy some from EBay for a coldframe project.

langfangcharlie · 29 April 2008 at 2:00PM

I am trying to build a greenhouse for as near as nothing as possible, just got a 6 x 8 eden greenhouse freecycle, i have enough 6 x6 inch wood from a fence i have taken down for a base, the things i am now looking at before I start are. method to anchor it down and my only real expese will be around a 100 M6 x11 bolts square head and the nuts and the varous glazing clips,

where is best or does any have some spare and ill pay for postage,
thanks

any helpfull replies will get a free tomato from my first crop:mad:

Sailor_Sam · 29 April 2008 at 5:13PM

i agree the plastic may not last long, but i bet the kids had a great time building it.
if you could get enough bottles, next time you want a fun birthday party, better than taking them all to Mc donalds

mrs_baggins · 29 April 2008 at 6:19PM

if you are a bit handy at DIY you could make a greenhouse that is made out of that blue water pipes like they make cloches out of but on a bigger scale.something like this here http://www.powen.freeserve.co.uk/Projects/polytunnel/polytunnel.htm

then get some plastic sheeting to cover it. there will be an outlay for the sheet guess about £90 or so though!

Davesnave · 29 April 2008 at 7:01PM

Sailor_Sam wrote: »

i agree the plastic may not last long, but i bet the kids had a great time building it.
if you could get enough bottles, next time you want a fun birthday party, better than taking them all to Mc donalds

Well, anything is better than taking them to Mc Donalds, but just think about the logistics:
1500 bottles @ 1 minute a bottle = 1500minutes

1500 minutes = 25hours

Share the job between 10 sensible, compliant kids and that's 2.5 hours to get the bottles cut & threaded on the sticks.

How long to fix the sticks to the frames? Let's say half an hour per frame.
Six frames plus a seperate door = say 3 hours

So that's 5.5 hours

Half an hour to clear up.

Total 6 hours if you make all the frames in advance.

Oh, hang on, the kids are playing footie with the bottles, except Hermione, who has gashed her finger badly with the scissors....ah, and Alex, who wants to make a submarine.....God, whose idea was this?..... Put that hammer down Edwina ! Now where's the Elastoplast....Eric, be careful! Doh, that's only 1497 now..... OK then, who's for a trip to Pizza Hut?:rotfl:

ScratchandSniff-->[X] · 30 April 2008 at 7:01PM

dazza001 wrote: »

Hi,

Does anyone know of any alternative plastic that I could use for this, anything other than the type that comes on a roll eg, the flexible stuff.
It doesn't have to be polycarbonate or perspex, anything similar(but cheaper) other than glass.

cheers

Plumbers for shower screens they've taken out when doing a bathroom (safety glass).
Also double glazing companies for failed d/g units.

Larumbelle · 9 June 2008 at 4:13PM

Hi all

I know a lot of people have been trying to find a way to get hold of a cheap greenhouse and I thought I'd share my solution. New was out of the question, OH didn't want a 2nd hand one because he says they never go back together right, and I thought the PVC ones were too small (and quite expensive for what they actually were). I know you can get bigger PVC ones but they seem to be either dear or out of stock.
I've made myself an 8 foot by 7 foot greenhouse/polytunnel type thing for less than £10 and thought the idea behind its construction might work for other people too. Obviously everybody's won't be exactly the same but it was really just to give people ideas.

Here's how I did it:

Materials: 1 x cheap gazebo (Argos have one for £10 if it is in stock near you, otherwise tesco, wilkos and woolies all have them less than £15). We got ours for a tenner at argos, there was a bit missing so we negotiated a partial refund and got it for £6

1 x huuuuuge plastic bag we scrounged one from a manufacturing company near us for nowt, so if you ask around you should be able to do the same. The plastic is really thick, the kind of stuff polytunnels are made from
1 x big garden cane (3 if you don't want a huge square greenhouse) again, I scrounged these, but you can buy bundles of 10 foot canes from wilkos for £2.
Tent pegs and guy ropes: Should be in with the gazebo, if not camping shops like go outdoors have them really cheap.
Duck tape not the real stuff, the Wilko 99p version

Build like you would a tent or wendy house! When you put the roof in, you won't have the right parts if you aren't building a square. So just use one tube in each corner and run canes across to support the roof. The tension will hold them in place.
Get your huge bag and bung it over the frame. We built our frame so it would be a snug fit for the bag, but if not cut and stick it. You need to cut and stick some duck tape wherever you cut / peg the bag down/ add guy ropes to add strength. You might want to cut a door in too if you can't lift the plastic easily. We used a cane to open out one of the gussets on the bag and added closeable air vents too. Oh, and we used the gazebo roofing as a groundsheet.

Can't visualise it? Here's a link... (it's not a great pic, I know)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26489708@N07/2608226000/

(The shelves were scrounged from a skip, or made from junk, and were just waiting for their moment in the sun!)
Personally I love the fact that I did it for as little as possible, but for fancier people this might give you a few ideas to tide you over until you can afford a proper greenhouse?

KittyBoo_2 · 30 June 2008 at 9:28AM

That's brilliant!
I love the idea of doing things for as little money as possible.
I have toyed with the idea of buying a new one as I will be hitting the big 50 soon and thought I would treat myself.
Your design is really in line with my downsizing principles and so I am going to have a go at this.
Thanks for the inspiration.

Greenhouse question

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