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kokkin1

DIY Greenhouse I can dismantle

kokkin1
9 years ago

Hi to all, completely newbie here, and apologies if this has been asked before, but could not locate something similar to it. I live in a Greek island and temps are quite high all year(summer can get up to 110 F - 45 C). In winter, we get some rain, and the cold nights day last about 3 months but with no subzero temps. I do gardening all year long in a neigbhor's empty lot (tomatoes, potatoes, corn, beans etc) as a personal hobby. We enjoy tomatoes so much, my wife insists on planting them all year long. Given that the lot belongs to someone else, I can not build a permanent structure there, plus the high summer temps would ruin it in a couple of seasons, plus I need it only for 3-4 months per year.
Thus my question: can anyone of the resident experts direct me to a source for DIY blueprints for a greenhouse that I can build, setup and dismantle every season (in panels) so as to store in the garage and save space?

Thanking all in advance
Andreas

Comments (6)

  • CanadianLori
    9 years ago

    PVC pipe and plastic are a pretty easy set up/break down. I say that, but, I haven't done mine yet. I got distracted building a cold frame and other items!

  • hex2006
    9 years ago

    You didnt mention what size you needed but a Tetra 3 HZ is a simple but very sturdy structure. Pretty easy to homebrew from 30 pieces of timber. With standard 8ft lengths you`ll have a 17ft diameter floor and a10ft apex.
    A removable cover can be made from woven poly panels welded or sewn together. If you want to use rigid glazing, you`ll need to panelise the triangles so they bolt together at the edges and use additional X1 struts to further divide the triangles so you can cut the glazing panels from standard 8x4 sheets with little waste.
    Here`s a link to show what they look like, they did offer a hub kit for around $200, a bit expensive imho considering they`re made from a 52" length of 3" od standard sch. 40 pvc pipe.

    http://www.gardendome.com/tetra_3hz_x1/tetra_3v_x1.html

  • kokkin1
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you both. Unfortunately the Tetra mentioned above can not be delivered to where I live, so in all probability I will go with a steel frame that I can dismantle in panels for easy storage. Plus I am really good at handling and constructing steel / pipe frames so it is not going to cost me as much. I was mostly looking for blueprints of designs I could probably use with a little modification rather than designing my own.

    Thanks again

    Andreas

  • hex2006
    9 years ago

    The shipping would be very steep to Greece but its unnecessary as its nothing special, just timber and pvc hubs..
    Steel is ideal for a tetra, if you have access to round conduit pipe, a press (or a really big hammer) to squash the ends flat and a drill, you could have a frame made in a couple of hours.
    Here`s a small steel tetra frame i made for use a cloche.

    This post was edited by hex2006 on Tue, Apr 15, 14 at 8:09

  • kokkin1
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you very much. Actually I have access to everything steel-related from my father's job. I will create a schematic in a computer program and try to build it with him. For 2 rows of tomatoes 5 plants per row, can you advise on LxW that will be sufficient for the plants to grow, plus for me to walk in between and take care of them. I was thinking something like LxW= 5m by 3m.

    Thanks once again
    Andreas

  • hex2006
    9 years ago

    The 6 points of the tetra base hexagon scribe a circle so 5m x 3m is a bit difficult. If you go for a 2.5m radius and modify one point to make a rectangular opening that would be close to 5m x 3m.
    I dont think its worth the work unless space is tight as the height of the base triangles are approx 1.77m high which is a reasonable door height, Note that the 6 base triangles are vertical which makes them ideal for doors The apex height of a 2.5m radius tetra is approx 2.975m.
    Heres a pic of the mod for a large door opening

    This post was edited by hex2006 on Tue, Apr 15, 14 at 10:21