That's a great tip Mike! Do you have any tips on finding the plastic sheeting to go over a hoop house? I've got all my pvc.. but have yet to find any (cheap) but decent plastic sheeting.

Thanks!
~Wendy

I wish I did. I cant find anyone local who carries UV plastic. I used the construction stuff last year on my wood frame greenhouse and it lasted just long enough to overwinter my tropicals. It did need a few patch jobs mid winter. I havent order any online yet but I have found that Farmtek seems to have the cheapest for 6mil.

For UV plastic, you can find remnant pieces on the Farmtek website. They have all sorts of sizes available. The shipping is still a bit expensive, but overall it's a good way to go.

Thanks for the tips on the snap clips! We used the aluminum ones but they hold almost too tight - very hard to get them off once they are on, and they tend to rip the plastic.

Thanks for the tip on the remnant pieces Ill have to check it out. I found that making my own clamps is a bit time consuming. Mainly because I havent found a good way to make a perfect straight cut in a long length of conduit so Im making them 4 or 5 inches at a time. The cut side needs to be filed smooth or it will cut the plastic. If one doesnt need a ton of them this is a good method.

http://www.gothicarchgreenhouses.com/poly_film.htm. This is another place that seems to be pretty reasonable on film plus they also offer it with IR for increased heat absorption. I bought mine from Growers Supply on Ebay but I think Gothic is cheaper and maybe better. Growerssupply.com might have the best price on aluminum clamps to. I'll either get those or the ones that go over the pvc ones for better grip. High winds are a killer here in Oklahoma.

chuck

i built a small tunnel over my palm and used my homemade clamps. I put the duck tape under them to stop them from tearing the plastic. The clamp is 1" and the hoop pipe is 3/4".

{{gwi:303955}}

The duct tape underneath is an excellent idea. When I disassembled my tunnel this fall, every snap clamp left a small tear. Tape underneath seems like it would prevent that.

Thanks for sharing!

I've used PVC clamps over pipe of roll-up sides and they kept popping off. Now each clamp has a tech screw through the center into the pipe and everything stays attached. It will make a hole in the film also but I leave it on until replacing the film.

Wherever I remove film a few times the wire-lock system is hard to beat. The base can be permanantly screwed to any surface and the zigzag wire will hold under any condition. You can even apply a second film layer and second zigzag wire to the same base. In one structure I have 2-6 mil films and a solar pool cover film all locked in the same base. The base is aluminum and the wire is stainless so the useful life is as long as you have a structure.

What is the best pvc to use? Schedule 40, normal white, or electrical conduit?