Build A Hoop Greenhouse
Hoop Greenhouses have grown very popular over the years, thanks to publicity and going green statements. Aside from being popular, a hoop greenhouse is considered a very important part of one\’s garden as it helps a plant lover to grow plants that cannot be grown out in the full sky view. Not only that, a hoop greenhouse ultimately helps to protect the plants from the bad weather.
It is important for plants to grow in their natural conditions especially during winter, when the outside situation is not good, inside greenhouses. The climate inside the greenhouses is warmer to simulate tropical condition for tropical plants to grow in, which is the ideal way to grow plants when the outside is bad. You will need at least two days to build your own hoop greenhouses. Here are the things and steps that you need to know.
You will need:
- 213 feet of 1 inch PVC pipe
- Measuring tape, marker
- Heat gun
- Funnel
- 10 end caps
- Utility knife
- 4 of 1 inch 3 way connectors
- PVC glue and primer
- 130 of ¾ inch of self-tapping screws
- 40 inches of 1 ¼ inch PVC pipe
- Masking tape
- PVC cutter or miter box and saw
- Scrap woods
- 3 inch wood screws
- Play sand
- 20×25 foot of 4 mil plastic sheeting
- 30 of 1 inch slip Ts
- 8 of 1 inch 90 degree elbows
- 130 of 1 ¼ x 4 inch of snap clamps
- 10 of 1 foot long of ground stakes
Steps:
- First, you have to measure, mark and cut the 1 inch PVC to five arches at 19 feet long, two sides pieces at 12 feet-3/8 inches long, a front and back piece at 11 feet 6 inches long, 3 feet each for four spines pieces, two door sides at 67 inches each, 10 door and window strut pieces at 27 inches each and four side struts at 6 feet long.
- Cut 1 ¼ inch pipe into 10 pieces of 4 inches long. Use a masking tape to write the section names on and stick them on the individual places.
- To form 11-foot 6 inches wide arches, bend the arch pieces carefully and make sure they are nearly semi-circular arcs. Perform the launcher arm bending process and leave the arches to cool.
- Slice the roll of the plastic into a 20-foot by 13-foot 4-inch roof sheet, two of the 12-foot ½ inch by 7-foot front and back pieces, a 6-foot 6-inch by 3-foot 4-inch square window piece. Stick the masking tape label on the corners of these parts for reference.
- Then, align and glue two of the 1 ¼ inch pieces to each other to make the hinges. Make eight pieces of these hinges. Make two pieces of latch by aligning and gluing each one snap clamp to a 1 ¼ inch piece.
- Next, slip the three T connectors onto each side piece with a 3 way connector on each end. At this stage, you don\’t have to glue anything yet. Onto the front and back pipes, slide two of the slip Ts. Use the three-way connectors to attach them to the side pieces with one connection point facing upward.
- Place the two slip Ts to each three of the arch pieces. Slot them into the slip Ts on the side bars, spacing them evenly apart from each other and the front. Place the three T connectors on the remaining arches for the front and rear arch.
- Slide them in place on the third connection of the three-way connectors. Use the 3-foot spines to connect the arches. Use the middle T connectors on the front and rear arch, and avoid doing any gluing process.
- To build the front and rear, use the door side pieces with three of the window struts and two T-connectors to build a figure eight. Slide two of the hinges onto one side of the door frame. Leaving the hinges loose, you can now glue the door frame together.
- Use four elbow pieces and four of the window struts to build a square. Slide two hinge pieces onto a strut. Glue the elbow brackets together.
- Build an H frame with two-side struts, two of T pieces and one-door strut. You don\’t have to glue anything yet. Repeat and built the second one. After that, slide the door hinges onto one H frame. Let it push the cross bar near the top.
- Attach this door assembly onto the front arch and front base T-connectors. Glue the door jamb together and put the hinges onto the jamb. To secure the door in place, glue the hinges at the top and the bottom of the frame to hold the door in place.
- For the last window strut, slide it through the window hinges, placing the T connectors on the ends. Slide this onto the other H frame and push the cross piece toward the top.
- Determine the height for your window\’s position then glue the frame together and the hinges onto the frame at the edges to hold the window in place. Place the window assembly into the rear arch.
- To wrap the greenhouses, place the snap clamps about 6 inches apart. Attach the front and rear plastic sheets to the front and rear arches. Clip the plastic sheet to the bottom and wrap it around the arch and clip. Cut out the window and door, clipping those down afterwards. Trim it if there is any excess.
- Wrap the door and the window sheet pieces around the door and window and clamp into place. Clamp the roof wrap onto the roof. Clip it to one side piece, flop it over the arches. Clamp it into piece and then to the frame. Trim any excess plastic. Finally, attach the greenhouse to the ground with the stakes.
Additional Reading:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5701223_build-hoop-greenhouse.html
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/e3000/582555110/
