EMT Green House Design

12 years ago

I'm planning to build a greenhouse and I'm looking for affordable solutions. I tried pvc and concluded it's too weak(especially the fixtures). So i started exploring other option such as galvanized fence posts/railings. Then I remembered EMT pipe which is much cheaper.

My concern though is strength in high winds. I'm in SE MA and we had a pretty bad hurricane this year and several strong storms with severe winter storms to come.

I haven't exactly chosen the design but plan to use a car port/canopy design because the fixtures offer many possibilities. One thing I do know is I don't want to go too simple. The roof will be re-enforced structurally. Even the main posts(10') I would cut in half and add horizontal pipes to give more stability.

After watching a guy bend EMT pipe to make his greenhouse I'm a little worried a nor'easter might do the same thing if it's cemented in the ground. I realize covering could be removed however this summer we had some ferocious storms. I'd like to keep a cover on and get an early start next spring.

Worth it? Or go with fence posts(1 5/8 1 7/8)? Although it should be noted i'm not finding too many fittings for fencing. That's why i'm exploring EMT pipe...that and it's much cheaper.

Comments (3)

grower54
12 years ago
wm I live in the northwest and had the same wind related problems, mostly in the winter though. I ended up at stevesgreenhouses .com for my 10x30 greenhouse. It is made of 13/8" steel conduit and it has stood up to all our weather including a freak 3' snowstorm a couple of years ago. It was one of the best priced houses I found doing my research and it included the poly cover. The owner was very helpful.
williammorgan
Original Author
12 years ago
thanks for the response. In the mean time I've been hunting on google. After watching some guy bend the EMT with a pipe bender I became a little bit concerned.

One problem I had was terminology and what was available. I wound up finding some fixtures for 1 5/8 and 1 7/8 inch galvanized fence railing pipe. These canopy websites sell lots of cool fixtures to make all sorts of shapes.

We've had freak 3 foot snow before and some punishing wind. The EMT is probably strong enough but I never seen it outside here but seen plenty of fencing. I think I'm going to go with the fence railing. I think it's actually the same gauge as EMT but I think that's deceiving because EMT must be cheap for a reason. I think it has a nice thick coat of the shiny stuff.
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boston3381
12 years ago
hi Will,

i dont know how handy you are but you want to use 1 7/8 TOP RAIL fenceing for your framing not EMT.

TOP RAIL has a bell end where EMT dose not witch means you need to use electrical emt couplings.they will not hold up in the wind.

if you use 1 17/8 top rail your going to buils a A-frame green house not a hoop house. theres no easy way to bend 1 7/8 pipe into a hoop.

in saying that, you will need
1 7/8 top rail bell end "home depot $ 9.50 "
some 3/4 EMT + 3/4 "2 hole straps metal"
self tapping bolts like 5/16
dont know if you live near Fall River but they have a Habor Freight. for a $ 100.00 you will need 12 Ton Hydraulic Pipe Bender. sounds big but its not... " you will need to use the 2" die for the bending the 1 7/8 pipe
goto habor freight.com and look at the bender.

i will stop here to see if that is what your looking to do...
how big are you going to make your green house??