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From doug@conch.aa.msen.com Tue Jul 30 19:53:38 1996
To: Aaron Hicks <ahicks@nmt.edu>
Subject: Re: Doug!
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Aaron --
Here is today's, I need to find the previous one.
cheers
--=doug=--
>From doug@msen.com Tue Jul 30 21:48:26 EDT 1996
Article: 9561 of rec.gardens.orchids
Path: pravda.aa.msen.com!conch.aa.msen.com!not-for-mail
From: doug@msen.com (Doug Houseman)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens.orchids
Subject: Building a Greenhouse for orchids - lessons learned #2
Date: 30 Jul 1996 16:57:16 -0400
Organization: Msen, Inc. -- Ann Arbor, MI.
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Message-ID: <4tlsvc$mc8@conch.aa.msen.com>
References: <4t5dtb$fcs@conch.aa.msen.com> <ecormie-2407961339330001@dyn1-005.cc.umanitoba.ca> <4teqau$b6f@sjx-ixn5.ix.netcom.com> <4tgn02$ih5@news3.digex.net>
NNTP-Posting-Host: conch.aa.msen.com
Part one talked about my poor site prep. Part 2 talks about putting up the
structure of an inflatable greenhouse.
It was late October before the house that was ordered the first week in
August showed up. The weather was cool but not dangerous.
I started (luckily) by putting up both of the end hoops. They each were
placed in the ground on 8 inch square blocks of 2inch wood. Since the
house was moving in the summer, I chose not to use pressure treated
lumber. Once I had the end hoops up and as level as the ground would let
me make it, I installed the center purlon (the pipe that runs from one end
to the other down the top of the center). It sagged badly, but it gave me
a reasonable line to set the other hoops to. I also installed the base
boards (pressure treated 2 x 12 x 8 feet long). I cut the first base board
so that it was 2 feet long, making my splice between the hoops (4 foot
centers). I used a level at first, but abandoned it, the ground just was
not level enough.
I dug half the holes before putting up the base board and the other half
after, I should have done them all at once. I also did not go deep enough
most of the time and had to go back and redo a number of holes, as it is
the top of the frame moves up and down over 8 inches from one end of the
house to the other, like a snake.
The end braces were a pain. The single sheet of instructions (1 drawing)
that came with the house showed them being installed outside the frame, I
endded up putting them inside and drilling new holes for them. (I drilled
a lot of new holes in this house). At each point where I had a bolt I put
tape over the top of the bolt to smooth things out. At first I used duct
tape, but I switched to fiberglass and resin and I am glad that I did. The
duct tape has all come undone in the sun. The fiberglass is just a bit
yellow. (I made the switch because it was raining one day and the duct
tape would not stick). I also covered all the unused holes with the same
tape.
The hoops come in 4 parts, ground stacks (x2) and hoop halves (x2). They
were assembled on the ground and dragged whole into place. I replaced the
stock bolt between the ground stake and the hoop half with one that was 2
inches longer and put it thru the base board - this solved a sagging
problem for me. I endded up after the first wind storm adding a new second
bolt to the base boards.
It took me (by myself) about 5 hours to get the basic frame up. I then
added two additional purlons. They required a lot of drilling, because it
turned out that I had hoops from 3 different places. Each hoop had a
different hole pattern. This added a couple more hours on a 48 degree
evening with a 20 mile an hour wind. (I loved the hot bath afterword!).
All in all I had the hoops up and stiff in about 9 solid hours of work.
I then looked at the "kit" for the ends. It was 3 inch square steel stock
in 24 foot lengths. I could not get a good pattern figured out on making
an end from it, so I went to the lumber yard and bought 2x4's. On the door
end I started by framing and hanging the door from the hoop. I shimmed it
from the bottom and drove 2 20 inch 2x4 stakes into the ground to hold the
door in place. I then put the track in place to hold the lexan and built
frame out from the door on each side. With a 16 foot sheet of lexan and a
crayon, I held and marked the curve of the hoop for each piece. By doing
it this way and leaving it long, I used 3 16foot x 4 foot sheets to make 2
end walls and a middle wall. (get help to hold this stuff if it is
windy!). I ran a 2x4 on the ground and then a second on top of that for
my base and put the lexan track on it to hold the 2 together. I used a 1/4
inch drill and 1/8 inch bit to make holes in the track and drywall screws
to hold the whole thing together. I had a 20 inch fan coming that I had to
leave a space for (it turned out to be 25 inches square and I had to redo
the whole end). I ran bolts thru the hoop and into the 2x4s on the edges
to get the end wall to stay up and one at each corner of the door frame
into the hoop (10 inch long bolts!) to get the middle to be solid. So far
this has held up in 55 mph winds!
The other wall was more fun, 2 acme vents were in the mail and had to be
planned for. It turns out they go in from the inside, so plan on using
some sort of flashing to cover the 2x4s around them on the outside. I used
a roll of aluminum flashing and cut it to fit. This wall started by
removing the bolt from the center of the end hoop and running a 10 inch
bolt to replace it. I drilled the 2x4 from the top and the side and put
the nut on the bolt thru the side hole. I then built a 2x4 base and edges.
Once that was done I built a sill that ran all the way across the house to
hold the vents. I framed the holes for them and then finished out the end.
I found out the hard way that you need to put up track on 2 sides for
lexan, insert the lexan and then put the other two tracks on. Trying to
slide lexan into three or more tracks at a time is a real pain.
I built the inside wall the same way, but I used a sheet of poly to cover
the back side of it to give me an air gap.
Getting the plastic on was a trip. It comes doubled and rolled, it should
just go on. However, the 4 foot gaps make that almost impossible. So,
after 3 tries with a couple of helpers, I had a group of friends over and
we rolled the plastic (poly) over two long pipes (50 feet) and then put
the whole thing on the top of the house. We then pulled the plastic down
to the ground using the pipes and started fastening it.
I used wire lock, a channel that attaches to the structure and then has a
wire bent like a square wave that locks in it. The first try was too
tight, so we loosed the wire and put some slack in the poly. I later
learned that most of the slack should have gone in the outer layer and the
inner should have been a bit tighter (I have pockets that are more than a
foot deep between a couple of hoops - they fill with water).
If I had it to do again I would
1) secure one end all the way around
2) use tape to hold the bottom panel in place on one side and then on the
other getting it reasonably tight.
3) Use a high volume fan to lift the top sheet away from the bottom one.
4) pull the top sheet until I had about 12 inches of gap between the two
and
5) secure the far end
6) secure one side
7) recheck the gap and secure the final side.
I used a lot of patch tape to fix punctures from the wire lock and it is
expensive, I am not sure that 1x2's and screws would not have been better.
I could have secured each layer separately.
I would never do another house without at least 2 rolls of poly patch
around.
Finally I cut the hole for the inflation fan and inflated the house. I did
not make a small hole at the center and work out, no I had to make the
hole the right size to begin with. I ended up reinforcing it with two
layers of poly patch, since each little nick wanted to be a rip.
4 days after getting the pieces I had a house that was weather tight - I
had to put plastic over the vent and fan holes, but it was weather tight.
I now had to wait for the heater, vents and other stuff to arrive.
In the mean time, There as a frost warning for the next night, I had to
get benches up and get some sort of heat in the house.
next time
cheers
--=doug=--
--
Ban Di-hydrogen-monoxide!
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