DIY Greenhouse Plastic

GuitarTown

Hi all,

I'm about to build a small greenhouse. The space I have it approx 3 ft x 4 ft. One of the sides is a shed wall and another a garden wall. These are nearly 7 ft tall. So I'm building a frame that will have two clear plastic walls (one with a door) and also a clear plastic roof to go with these. The two sides that will be the clear plastic get the most amount of sunshine anywhere in the garden. I'm just wondering if anyone has any recommendations of plastic/where to get it, that would be suitable for this? Would I be better off going for solid/corrugated type of plastic or else cut off from a heavy duty rolled sheet and stapled to the frame?

Thanks

Lumen

Depends on what you mean by "clear". Do you want to see through it?

I've worked with twinwall polycarbonate sheet before (not for a greenhouse, mind). It's fantastic stuff: light, rigid, strong, easy to cut with a fine-toothed saw (against the channels) or stanley knife (with the channels).

The stuff I got was from B&Q, similar to this except thinner.

https://www.diy.com/departments/clear-multiwall-polycarbonate-roofing-sheet-2-5m-x-700mm-pack-of-5/1233938_BQ.prd

The thicker you go the hotter it will be inside.

Or you can use single wall polycarbonate if you want to see through it, but it'll be colder.

edit: here's some data for U-values and light transmission.

http://www.exceliteplas.com/twin-wall-and-triple-wall-polycarbonate-sheet/

GuitarTown

Thanks very much!!

Haidee_Hammond

Hey @GuitarTown, I am considering building something like that (but lean-on) and I was wondering if you did go through with it, if so your experience would be cool to hear about! What did you go with? Was it a good idea? Do you have any pics?

GuitarTown

Haidee_Hammond wrote: »

Hey @GuitarTown, I am considering building something like that (but lean-on) and I was wondering if you did go through with it, if so your experience would be cool to hear about! What did you go with? Was it a good idea? Do you have any pics?

Its been a great success, It's kind of like a cross between a poly tunnel and a greenhouse. It works perfectly for what I needed and everything in is has been growing really well in pots and in the ground. It looks like it is definitely a diy job but I'm very happy with how it turned out, and I would recommend giving it a go if you're not too concerned about it looking professional.



The plastic was gotten from mattress covers that were being thrown out (Thank you Mattress Mick), and I only needed to buy two of the pieces of wood, the rest I just had lying around, meaning the whole thing cost about 5 quid. So I staked the wood, and then attached them together at the top to make it nice a secure. It's screwed to the shed on one side and then the stakes. I just stapled the plastic onto it then.



The door was troublesome at the beginning. It is plastic stapled to one of the stakes and also stapled to a piece of wood (not staked in the ground) that I made a catch for. The wind was just getting in too much though, So I solved it with hanging a sheet of plastic on the inside with a weight at the bottom to hold it down. So there is a double door, one that opens like a door, and another that lifts up. That helped in a big way and it's perfect now.



The roof was also blowing up quite a bit before I fixed the door problem, so I stapled some chicken wire on the top to stop it blowing about. But once the door issue was resolved though that probably wasn't totally necessary. It is also at a slant so the rain water flows off it and doesn't build up too much.



I've attached a few picture below, during the build and finished.

Haidee_Hammond

Awesome, the door seems a tricky bit indeed! Thanks a lot for the details and the pics! I am trying to figure out what I need and what are the pros and the cons before I start the adventure XD