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shopping Greenhouse shopping

OZZZ

OZZZ

Ive been pretty convinced Im going to want/need a greenhouse with my short growing season so the other day while picking up some soil ammendments I saw the store had a 10'x12' greenhouse for like $230.
 
It of course had a plastic type material rather then polycarbonate panels.. but it had a rather sturdy frame and I figued it would do me well for a season until I got around to buying a "real" greenhouse and deciding where to put it.
Long story short I set it up, put my plants in it and a few hours later they seemed very, very happy. Perked up a bit and handled more sun then they were able to before (Im sure due to the UV protection.). Anyway I go to work the next day and come home and the greenhouse is GONE.
 
Nope, I did not secure it. I didnt think there was a need to for a single day or two. Our weather had winds less then 10 mph forecasted and was nice and sunny with no clouds in the sky. I have NO IDEA how the hell it got over there. Literally it traveled 50' and cleared a 6' privacy fence landing in my neighbors yard. All the plants were sitting right where I placed them, undisturbed as though it literally lifted straight off the ground...flew 50' horizontally clearing a 6' fence lol. The thing had to have weighed 400lbs put together at minimum ... it was heavy!
 
Anyway, Im now of the opinion Im going to suck it up and get a real, permenant greenhouse. Ive been shopping around and damn ... they are pricey!
 
Im pretty sure Ill be wanting a 10x14. Maybe thats an overkill and the smaller ones are much, much cheaper but if Im wanting to keep adult pepper plants going in the greenhouse Ill need some room as they get rather large.
 
 
Anyway .. the cheapest I have been able to find something like that was around $3000.
 
Until I found this ...
 
 
 
http://coldframesandgreenhouses.com/greenhouse_kit_10x14.html
 
Its literally 1/3 cheaper then any others Ive found anywhere, and looks to be made of about the same materials.
 
Cheaper isnt better though and Im well aware of that.. but I cant see any obvious reasons why this wouldnt be a decent greenhouse.
 
What do you guys think?
 
Really the only thing I could think would be that I could use panels that are thicker then 4mm since my winters get down into single digits occasionally dipping below for a week or two in the coldest part of the year. Im not really set on trying to grow year round.. but overwintering in the greenhouse and extending the season is a main concern.
 
Regardless ...for $1000 it looks like a decent deal. Anyone see any obvious downfalls?
 
What size greenhouse do you guys have? If I could get by with an 8'x12' it would be a lot cheaper but Im not sure Ild have enough room to work in the middle with a full sized superhot on each side of me.
 
If you are handy or a DIY type guy, you could build yourself a really nice one for cheaper than what you could ever purchase one for. 
 
Your cheapest route is a hoophouse or poly tunnel style.  If you get really cold winters you would probably need to do a double layer poly film hoop house that is inflated.  This acts as the insulation during the winter and keeps the heat in. 
To build actual greenhouse like you posted above would be much more expensive.  The poly carbonate panels are very expensive.
 
I live in florida so I dont have to worry too much about the cold.  Here is a 12ft wide x 24 ft long hoophouse I built for around $600.  Note you would need to make doors on the ends to close it etc during the winter. http://thehotpepper.com/topic/38926-the-holyhotpepper-shack/   Try pricing a 12ft x 24ft hoophouse or greenhouse online and you will see how crazy expensive they are.
 
A plus side to a hoophouse is you can vent it during the summer and pretty much open the whole thing up like mine.
 
Best is to peruse scrap and demolition "repurposing" materials.
Wife built a nice little one out of discarded windows and a few 2x4's
About $100 all in.
Lazy me bought a 10x6x7 like yours for $89 on amazon shipped, but I snugged it down and bricked around the edges, as well as used a couple of those dog run ground screws and some poly rope to run around the whole works and ground tie it.
55 mps wind and still standing.
 
im not sure why you wouldnt secure it down but it caused a funny story.  even if your budget is up to 3000 i would build something myself. the hoophouse is the way to go.   
 
 
 
holyhotpeppers said:
If you are handy or a DIY type guy, you could build yourself a really nice one for cheaper than what you could ever purchase one for. 
 
Your cheapest route is a hoophouse or poly tunnel style.  If you get really cold winters you would probably need to do a double layer poly film hoop house that is inflated.  This acts as the insulation during the winter and keeps the heat in. 
To build actual greenhouse like you posted above would be much more expensive.  The poly carbonate panels are very expensive.
 
I live in florida so I dont have to worry too much about the cold.  Here is a 12ft wide x 24 ft long hoophouse I built for around $600.  Note you would need to make doors on the ends to close it etc during the winter. http://thehotpepper.com/topic/38926-the-holyhotpepper-shack/   Try pricing a 12ft x 24ft hoophouse or greenhouse online and you will see how crazy expensive they are.
 
A plus side to a hoophouse is you can vent it during the summer and pretty much open the whole thing up like mine.
Click to expand...
i looked threw the whole link,love the hoophouse!!  let me state im not a florida native have only been here 2 years and im not a weather expert. nor do i think i know everything,lol. but  if you ever get nervous about the wind,or there is a hurricane going on you needc to go ahead and cut your plastic on top and open the sides. when you have hurricane winds they stomp like a foot! so if 75v mile foot comes crashing down on top of the hoophouse it will crush it. having the plastic cut and open all around will allow the wind to hit the ground and go out. saving your frame.
 
sicman said:
im not sure why you wouldnt secure it down but it caused a funny story.  even if your budget is up to 3000 i would build something myself. the hoophouse is the way to go.   
 
 
 
i looked threw the whole link,love the hoophouse!!  let me state im not a florida native have only been here 2 years and im not a weather expert. nor do i think i know everything,lol. but  if you ever get nervous about the wind,or there is a hurricane going on you needc to go ahead and cut your plastic on top and open the sides. when you have hurricane winds they stomp like a foot! so if 75v mile foot comes crashing down on top of the hoophouse it will crush it. having the plastic cut and open all around will allow the wind to hit the ground and go out. saving your frame.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah I know.  I'm not too worried about it.   Might just have to test it out this hurricane season (knocks on wood).
 
I didn't permanently secure it because I had planned on leaving it in a temporary location for a day or two until I figured out where I wanted it. Plus... it was heavy as he'll assembled and we had nothing but clear skies forecasted for the next two days. We aren't talking about a flimsy walmart model...the frame was made from 2" steel pipe.

I still have no idea how it happened. Not only that but I did have 4x4's laying on each side and a single cinder block on the back fabric....although I admit it wasn't in any way fully secure I thought it would be fine.

Guess not!!! Lol...

I really liked it though...so I think I'm going to get another one. It was very sturdy and for $200 for a 10x12 ild be hard pressed to build one of better quality for much less to make it worth it. That and I don't think I'm ready to drop $3k just yet on a permanent one.

Theres a pic of the fly away In my glog here:

http://thehotpepper.com/topic/39005-ozzzs-2013-glog/#entry823794


How should I secure it? I was thinking putting it on a 4"x4" frame and running some kind of large stakes through the 4x4's into the ground a good foot or so??


On another note .... look at this bad boy. Maaaaan ... its slick. Just dont think Im quite to that point yet but Ild love to have one!
 
http://www.bettergreenhouses.com/monticello-greenhouses-8x16.php
 
Just an idea if you want to be original
 
auxon_dome.JPG
 
If I had the space I would eventually add something like that 10x14 greenhouse. My wife is very particular about how things look and a cobbled together greenhouse just wouldn't cut it. And $1000 is pretty darn cheap for that size.
 
You hit the nail on the head....that monticello in my last link looks sharp! A wooden/plastic hoophouse wouldn't cut it here either.

Its gotta look nice. The nice thing about those polycarbonate ones is they look good and would actually add to the yards look.

My yards a disaster right now cuz its newly purchased but rennovations are soon to begin so I could probably get away with a cheap greenhouse this year but once the landscaping is done its going to have to look nice
 
24x36
 
since that pic ive  zip tied the entire inside with shade cloth on the rafters. i still have a few other things i want to do with it also. 
 
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