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12'x30'DIYPVCGreenhouseFor$360LadyLee'sHome

12x30DIYPVCGreenhouseFor$360
February3,2015byLee19Comments

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Whatpartofgardeningdoyoulikemost?
Mostpeoplewillprobablysayharvestingistheirfavoritepartofgardening,butmyfavorite
partofgrowingplantsisseeingtheseedssprout.Iplanttheseedsinthegroundand
comebackevery20minutestocheckiftheysprouted.Iknowtheyarenotgoingtosprout
20minutesafterIplantedthem,butIjusthavetocheck.
Notereadon,butbeware,thisiswhathappenedtothisgreenhouseafewshortweeks
later.Ifyouliveinanarethatgetssnowinthewinter,IwillnotrecommendyouusePVC.

Solastyear,afterImadethedecisiontostartfarmingourland,Ihadtocomeupwitha
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planofhowtogettotheFarmersMarketasearlyaspossiblewithaniceverityof
vegetablestosell.
Imetwithmycountycooperativeextensionagentonourland,whichwasjustacleared
fieldbackthen,andasweweretalkinghesuggestedthatIwillpurchaseseedlingfroma
farminVA.Thisdidntappealtomesomuch.Ididntwantsomeoneelsetostartthe
plantsforme.Iwanttoseetheseedlingssprout.

ButIdonthave$4000foracommercialgreenhouse.SoIstartedlookingaroundand
watchedmanyYouTubevideosofpeoplewhobuilttheirgreenhouses.
Wewerelookingforsomethingthatwecandoourselvesinacoupleofdays,something
thatwillbebigenoughforasmallfarm,andthatwillcostustheleastamountofmoney.
WedecidedtogowithaPVCgreenhouse.Weknowthisisnotagreenhousethatwillstay
standingformanyyears,butifitlastthreeyearsuntilthefarmtakeoffwellbegrateful.
This12x30greenhousecostusalittleover$300becausewehadsomelumberanda
doorlayingaroundthatwecoulduse.Ifyouhaveabsolutelynothingtorecycle,itshould
costyouabout$360.66+yourlocalsalestax.
Hereisthelistofmaterials(pricesaccurateasof1/27/2015):
23CharlottePipe3/4inx10ft480PSISchedule40PVCPipe@$2.54=$54.42
15LASCO3/4inDia90DegreePVCSch40CrossTee@2.37=$35.55
6LASCO3/4inDiaPVCSch40Tee@$0.47=$2.82
4Gampak4Pack3/4inRigidStrap@$0.87=$3.47
Oatey8flozPVCCement@$5.18
2doorsbettertobuystormdoors.Ifyougetanindoorkindofdoor,makesureyou
eitherpaintitorcoveritwithplastic.Weusedleftoversfromoutgreenhousefilmtodo
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that.Dontbuynewdoors!ThereareagazilliondoorsonCraigslist,andyoucaneasily
findaverycheapdoororevenafreeone.Icalculatedthemat$20each=$40.
42x6x16treatedlumber(forthelongsidesoftheframe)@$10.97=$43.88
22x6x12treatedlumber(forthe2shortersidesoftheframe)@$8.57=$17.14
122x4x8treatedlumber(fordoorframesandframestosupporttheplywoodatthe
ends)@2.97=$35.64
142feetrebars@$1.84=$25.76
4sheetsofplywood@$7.45=$29.80
6milGreenhousefilm$67.EverywherethatIlookedonline,greenhousefilmcost
about$113foraclear6mil20x50.IwasabouttoorderwhenIdecidedtocheckmy
localfarmstore(SouthernStates).Theydidnthaveitinthestorebutwereabletoorder
a6mil20x100cleargreenhousefilmformefor$67!Imightgoaheadandaddanother
layeroffilminthenearfuture,butsofarwecoveredthegreenhousejustonce.Call
aroundbeforeyouorderonline.Thefilmmustbeatleast6mil(bettertogowiththicker
ifyouareinareaswithheavysnow),and20feetwide.Buyatleast60ofthefilm.
Materialstotal=$360.66
Pleasenote,welovebuildingthingsourselves,buttruthbetold,wearenotverygoodat
makingthempretty.Theywillalwaysbea100%functional,butpretty?Notsomuch.As
wewerenearingtheendoftheproject,Iaskedmyhusbandhowcomewedonttryto
makethingspretty.Hegavemethelook,theonethatsaysIvebeenworkingonthis
thingfortwodaysandyoudaretocomplain?,andsentmetotheothersidetoworkon
attachingthegreenhousefilm.

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Whenhewasdone,hejoinedme,allsmiling,andannouncedthathemadethe
greenhousepretty,justforme.Iwasshockedtofindnolessthanabrightgreen,awful,
heartgraffitiontheotherendofthegreenhouse!IhadtolookaroundtomakesureImnot
inoneofPhiladelphiassubwaystations.Heendedupmakingflowersontheotherend.
WhatIamtryingtosayis
1.Dontleaveyourhusbandalonewithacanofpaint.
2.Dontaskquestionsyoumightregretlater.
3.Dontleaveacanofpaintalonewithyourhusband.
4.Withalittlework,youcanmakethisgreenhousemuchprettierthanwedid.
Ohwell,sillinessiswhatkeepsusgoingaroundhere

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Westartedbymeasuringthelengthsandthediagonalsoftherectangle.Theshorter
lengthsare12each,andthelongeronesare30each.Thediagonalsmustbeequal.
Thenwebuilttheframefrom2x6x16sandsomereclaimedwoodwehadlayingaround.If
youhavetopurchaseeverything,youllusethe2x6x16lumberforthelonglengths(2for
eachside,shorteneachoneby1foot),and2x6x12lumberfortheshortlengths.

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Next,wesecuredtheframebyhammeringafewpiecesofleftoverlumberintotheground
andscrewingtheframetothem.

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Wepositionedtherebarsevery5downthetwolonglengthsoftheframe.Nowtheframe
isreadyforthePVC.

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TopreparethePVC,wecutallthe10sectionsinhalf

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Sowewereleftwith465PVCpieces.

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Eachlineinthepictureaboverepresentsa5PVCpipe.Westartedbyassembling
sections1,2,3,and4.

UseOateyPVCCementtocoattheendofeachpipeandtheinsideofthejoints.Then,
youjustpushthepipeintothe+orTjointsandletitdryforatleast30minutes.(Note,itis
bettertodothisafewhoursbeforeyouinstallthehoopstomakesurethecementit
completelydry).

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Weendedupwiththreesectionsthatlookliketheoneinthepictureabove(1,2,3)and
oneendsection(4).
Makesureyoumakethosesectionsonaflatsurface,sotheopeningoftheTand+joints
allpointinthesamedirection.

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Toinstallthehoops,yousimplyslidethepipesovertherebars.

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Hereisthefirsthoopgoingup.

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Afteryouputsections1,2,3,and4up,youconnectthemwiththeremaining5PVCpipe
(theonesmarkedingreeninthediagramabove).

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Noticeonethingheresinceeachofthe+jointsaddsaboutaninch,weendedupwiththe
lasthooppushedoutoftheframe.Tofixthis,weshortenedthepipesectionsthathavea
starabovetheminthediagramabove.

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Next,wesecuredthepipestotheframewiththerigidstraps.

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Theendswerethemostamountofwork.Webuiltaframeforthedoorandaframetohold
theplywood.

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Ontheframegoestheplywood

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Weendedupaddingmoresupportsinceitgetsrealheavywithalltheplywood.Looking
backweshouldhavedugtwoholesforthe2x4sthatmakethedoorframeandburythem
inthegroundlikeyouwilldowithfenceposts.

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Lastly,wecoveredthewholethingwith6milgreenhousefilm(sinceweuseduntreated
plywoodandindoordoorswecoveredthemaswell.Trytouseastormdoorifyoucanfind
one.Youcanalsopainttheplywoodanddoorinsteadofcoveringthemwithplastic).We
securedthefilmtotheframewithastaplergunandthenaddedleftoverpiecesofwood
aroundtheoutside.Wescrewedthosetotheframesothefilmisbetweenthosepieces
andtheframe.

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Itgetsveryveryhotinthere.Itisveryimportantthatyouhavetwodoorsoratleastadoor
andawindow.Youwillhavetoopenbothendsonawarmdayifyoudontwanttocook
yourplants.Theplantsalsowillbenefitfromairflow.
IthinkIwillcoverthegroundwithathicklayerofmulch,soIdontendupwithajungle
insidethegreenhouse.Wewillalsobuildtablesandapottingstationinside.

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