Home build greenhouse.

Hex this is a question for you as the greenhouse king - or for anyone else. First it is nice to see you back - you seem to have been away for a while. Mind you I have been so busy I have not been very regular myself.

I remember that you made your own greenhouse. I was so impressed with the hexagonal design, that I never got around to asking what material you made it out of. The reason I ask is that I have just ordered myself a greenhouse, for a very difficult triangular site. I seriously thought about making my own, but rejected the idea, as I could only imagine making it out of wood, and cheap wood at that - I couldn't afford cedar. I then concluded that it would probably cost a lot more to purchase the materials than the cost of a complete greenhouse. So what did you make it out of? and is there any information around on building your own?

 

Hi Peter,
I`m more of the mad scientist type, maybe why i tend to attract a lot of flak from the traditionalists
The hexagon was perhaps related the big picnic table project? which is going strong but needs a fresh coat of ronseal. Hard to believe its over 2 years old.. the time just flies by.

The greenhouse project is something which gets a bit more done to it "as and when" .. its more of a hobby than a project these days.
Us mad scientist types are never satisfied and just keep adding those extra little "features" which move the goalposts a bit further away.
As you know, its a unique design so i`ve had a few challenges to deal with along the way but its still interesting and fun. Its made of timber, aluminium and steel, it sits on a insulated concrete ring foundation about 15ft in diameter. Still a fair bit to do before i can break the preverbial bottle of champagne on it.

A triangular area lends itself to a hexagon but depends on how big that triangle is.
30 pieces of timber could build you a 16ft hexagonal greenhouse (~160 sqft floor) that you`d be hard pushed to demolish. Depends on how "different" you want to be

 

Hex, you won't get any flack from me. As you probably appreciate I am into the science aspect myself. In particular I like to understand how plants work and why they do what they do. For me, understanding the underlying principles is so much easier than trying to remember individual facts for thousands of different plants.

I am full of admiration for your hexagonal design. But I am so restricted by a site that is 8', by 5' at one end and by 7' or 8' at the other, that I don't have any space to be creative. I did think of making a greenhouse to exactly fit the space. Using cedar wood was not even entertained. But then I couldn't face spending all that effort of a softwood greenhouse that would start rotting the day it was finished. In the end I have ordered a leanto greenhouse that is only 4'4" wide by 8'5" long. It is not exactly perfection, but then its better than having nothing.

I know what you mean about adding extra little features. I have spent the last few days raising the roof on my summerhouse to make it tall enough for the leanto to lean against it.

 

Hi Peter
I don`t mind taking flak, everyone has their own way of doing things, i just find it more interesting my way
Softwood is ok as long as its well protected at the ground. The worst that can happen is you`ll have to replace it every so many years but timber is and should always be cheap enough..its a renewable resource.
You really are very restricted for space, the 8x4 seems as good as you can do and on the brightside you can build it in a day and fill it up with plants. All those extra "features" should be cheaper with the smaller size too.
As usual mine is still a work in progress :D

 

That really is most impressive Hex. But just the glass, or whatever, to fill that looks expensive. Can you really cut glass to that shape.

I have aquired a whole load more plants, some of which are irreplaceable (ie not commercially available), so my main need has been for speed. But your "you can build it in a day" is a bit optimistic! I forgot to add that the greenhouse site was also the site of a large (five foot across) tree stump, as well as smaller ones. It took about three weeks with an ax to cut them all out, going down a couple of feet. I need foundations and I also want to sink the greenhouse a bit to get extra height. I have already raised the summerhouse roof for the same reason.

 

Hi Peter
Sinking the greenhouse is a good idea, make sure you know where the water table is though or you might be needing your wellies

There`s no glass involved, it wouldn`t be easy to cut to fit this design. The cover system is pretty much identical to the Eden project in cornwall ie, inflated pillows.
My budget is somewhat less than the £50 million Eden had to work with.. but its getting there slow but sure

 

Hi Hex.

That's a truely awesome structure and has got me thinking that I should do my own like that. How are all the pieces joined? (any close up pictures would be appreciated)

Ant.

 

Hi Anthony
This dome is a long term project with quite a few of design hurdles along the way..literally one step forward and two back :D

You`d be better off with a standard icosa geodesic..they are much easier and more importantly cheaper to build A standard timber geodesic greenhouse, 14ft diameter x 8ft high might cost you around £400 in materials.

This one uses a spaceframe similar to the Eden project only much smaller scale. It has about 200 struts and 10 different lengths which have be calculated literally to the millimetre, otherwise it wont fit together.

The main struts are bolted to 3" aluminium hubs using M8 wood-to-metal dowels, which have a helical screw on one end and an M8 machine thread on the other. They are just about the only part you can buy "off-the-shelf" everything else you have to make yourself

 

what are "inflated pillows" ?

 

pillows that are inflated

 

And this week's cryptic clue is -:D

 

Hi Dave
"similar to the Eden project only much smaller scale" was a reasonable clue

 

How practical is it for a diy'er to make an "inflated pillow" or a variant

 

Its not too difficult although it gets expensive for the various bits.
You just need to make the pillows as airtight as possible and then keep them inflated at the correct pressure. Sounds easy enough