# Building PVC Greenhouse



## ziggyross

This is the greenhouse I am going to build. Any ideas how to improve would be great.


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## BackWoodsDrifter

Hmmm thinkin ifin yuals builds it they will come and grows . Yual look to be walkin trails well pilgrem much luck with your journy! Yual be excited bets!

BWD


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## ziggyross

BackWoodsDrifter said:
			
		

> Hmmm thinkin ifin yuals builds it they will come and grows . Yual look to be walkin trails well pilgrem much luck with your journy! Yual be excited bets!
> 
> BWD



Thank you and yes I am very excited.


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## ozzydiodude

I marked the picture where to add pipes for extra support for high winds resistance and better structure strength. The quick klamp)way to expencive to me) is just to give you a idea of how to hook the 2 hose clamps to each other and the pipes. The stainless steel hose clamps will work fine


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## Lemon Jack

Ive really been wanting to build one to grow veggies in outdoors.. Im really interested in seeing how it turns out, and the costs involved .  

I don't know much about them but it would be nice to not have my tomatos beaten to death by storms .


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## The Hemp Goddess

The thing that I see that I don't know how they get around is the slip tees for the doors and windows.  Since they are going on an arched piece of PVC, the door supports are going to be perpendicular to the pipe they are put onto.  The supports for the doors and windows will not be parallel and perpendicular to the ground, but rather perpendicular to the arch and the supports will not be parallel.  Do you understand?  It is hard for me to describe this and I don't have time right now to do a drawing.

I would also be concerned about not gluing the frame together.  I think that I might be for cutting the pipe into smaller sections and gluing regular tees rather than using slip tees.  Other than easier teardown, I do not see any advantages to them and some drawbacks (expense being only one of them).  In fact, I wouldn't use tees across the top to connect the arches--I would use crosses (4 way connectors) rather than offsetting the center roof support as you must do with tees.    

Where did the plans come from? I'm thinking of a small greenhouse for starting flowers and veggies.


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## Dunge

I found that the problem is not the structure itself, but little things like how are you going to keep it from blowing away.
I purchased a 10 X 20 "car port" for under $200. Good steel frame that snaps together in minutes. Be sure each leg has metal feet. I then nailed each leg in place with re-bar capped with a cable clamp as a hold down. Then comes the cable extending from anchors placed about ten feet out from each end. The cable runs from anchor one, up to the first peak, down the length of the structure, and down to the second anchor. Tighten it up and secure the cable against moving relative to the frame, and you have a skeleton.
I then put a single piece of greenhouse plastic over the entire thing. secured the sides down with lath and self tapping screws. I left the ends free to be adjusted by ropes and clip ties for ventilation. Nothing that looks like a door, but rather more like tent flaps at the ends.
This worked well last summer, and has survived winter winds and snow loads with regular servicing by using a push broom to avalanche snow by working from inside, pushing genteelly up on each section.
(The black plastic is on the North wall as part of a light deprivation / flowering inner shelter)


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## Dunge

I love this thing.
Not pretty like those $10,000 metal and glass events, but this is what I needed.


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## ziggyross

ozzydiodude said:
			
		

> I marked the picture where to add pipes for extra support for high winds resistance and better structure strength. The quick klamp)way to expencive to me) is just to give you a idea of how to hook the 2 hose clamps to each other and the pipes. The stainless steel hose clamps will work fine


Very good idea ozzy. This would really help make it stonger.


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## ziggyross

Lemon it looks like this is going to run between $250 and $300 to build as shown. I will post picks when I get it done.

Hemp I'm not quite sure what you are talking about. I do plan on gluing when all said and done.

Dunge very cool man thats a ton of snow. I plan on digging a 2 ft trench at the base and filling it in. My dirt is almost a packed clay so it should help to hold it in place. I will also add some anchors of some type. I like the idea of the inner shelter.

Than you everyone for your suggestions.


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## pcduck

Have you are thought of a solar greenhouse?

Where you build a solid North wall and about 1/2 of the sides, then place your covering over the rest? They also place water barrels along the N. wall to help heat the place in late and early Winter.

I have kicked it around for a couple of years but still have not pulled the trigger. The link(change XX to tt) show what type of covering I was thinking of using.

h*XX*p://www.greenhousecatalog.com/category/greenhouse-covering


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## orangesunshine

:cool2:


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## PartyBro420

I used to have an outdoor greenhouse before I started growing mj, we used to keep 2 big 55gal drums of water for that same purpose, it can make it like a sauna almost if you have a hot hot day followed by a cold day, it works very well.


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## The Hemp Goddess

I was wondering whether I might be able to use the exhaust from my flowering room to help heat a small greenhouse space, like pcduck mentioned, and get a head start on the season.  I still have about as much snow as Dunge.  We are getting a lot of rain now, so I expect it to start melting fast, though.


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## ziggyross

pcduck said:
			
		

> Have you are thought of a solar greenhouse?
> 
> Where you build a solid North wall and about 1/2 of the sides, then place your covering over the rest? They also place water barrels along the N. wall to help heat the place in late and early Winter.
> 
> I have kicked it around for a couple of years but still have not pulled the trigger. The link(change XX to tt) show what type of covering I was thinking of using.
> 
> h*XX*p://www.greenhousecatalog.com/category/greenhouse-covering


PCDuck That is a good idea but unfortunately i'm working with a very tight budget.  That's why I am going the pvc route. My wife said I could spend $300 and I think I can bring this in just under budget.


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## ziggyross

PartyBro420 said:
			
		

> I used to have an outdoor greenhouse before I started growing mj, we used to keep 2 big 55gal drums of water for that same purpose, it can make it like a sauna almost if you have a hot hot day followed by a cold day, it works very well.



Party, I like the idea of the drums So is sauna like good for the plants. It can get pretty warm here in Virginia. I was thinking I may have to coll it in mid summer. Guess we shall see.


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## ziggyross

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> I was wondering whether I might be able to use the exhaust from my flowering room to help heat a small greenhouse space, like pcduck mentioned, and get a head start on the season.  I still have about as much snow as Dunge.  We are getting a lot of rain now, so I expect it to start melting fast, though.



Hemp that's a fantastic way imo. Not only heat it but it's also green in a way.


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## Dunge

The drums of water are closed and act as thermal buffers. Keeping humidity inside a greenhouse under control requires active ventilation in my experience.


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## The Hemp Goddess

Let me try again on the door framing.  I still see this as a real problem.  For the slip tees that make up the door frame to be perpendicular to the ground, the piece of pipe they are attached to must be parallel to the ground.  What is going to happen when you put a slip tee on a curved piece of pipe is the it is going to be perpendicular to the curve.  So on your first diagram on the rearmost section where it shows the slip tees "J".  Those vertical pieces of pipe will not go straight down as they show because they are connected to a curved piece of pipe.  Draw a half circle, draw lines perpendicular to the curve--these are not straight and they will not be parallel.  I am just not seeing this working for the door and window framing.  I also do not believe that these slip tees are meant to be glued--I believe that that will be a problem unless you drill and pin them, I believe they will allow the greenhouse to lean and sway.

No, a sauna is not a good environment for plants.


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## ozzydiodude

IMO you could use a tee the next size bigger than the pipe THG. Say a 2"x1 1/2" x2" tee for the slip tee that way there woulld be enough play to let the curved pipe pass thro the tee and still let the down pipe be plumb.


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## The Hemp Goddess

I really don't think it will.  I also don't think that you would want that kind of slop in the fittings--you need this thing to be stable.  I believe ALL the fittings should be glued.  But even using a 2" fitting, I do not believe you are not going to be able to skew the fitting enough to get a true vertical.  The leg of the tee would absolutely need to be the same size as the fitting as (IMO) it is critical that this piece be glued.  I work with PVC a lot and I just don't see this going together like they show.  I really recommend getting 1 piece of 1" and a couple of those slip fittings before proceeding to see if there is any way to get the door framing right.  You can lay it out on the ground flat, stake it, and see how it lays out.


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## 4u2sm0ke

mojo for the green house...I make hoope houses every summer...will be setting one up this weekend to get a jump start...I like to use 20 foot 1 inch pvc and 5/8 rebar...I tak the rebar at 6 feet lonng and drive in the ground 3 feet...and space them roughly 8 feet apart and 2 feet from each other...I then just put one end in the rebar and bend it over to other one across from it..cover with clear plastic...viola

cant wait to see your final build

take care and be safe:bolt::bong:


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## ziggyross

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> Let me try again on the door framing.  I still see this as a real problem.  For the slip tees that make up the door frame to be perpendicular to the ground, the piece of pipe they are attached to must be parallel to the ground.  What is going to happen when you put a slip tee on a curved piece of pipe is the it is going to be perpendicular to the curve.  So on your first diagram on the rearmost section where it shows the slip tees "J".  Those vertical pieces of pipe will not go straight down as they show because they are connected to a curved piece of pipe.  Draw a half circle, draw lines perpendicular to the curve--these are not straight and they will not be parallel.  I am just not seeing this working for the door and window framing.  I also do not believe that these slip tees are meant to be glued--I believe that that will be a problem unless you drill and pin them, I believe they will allow the greenhouse to lean and sway.
> 
> No, a sauna is not a good environment for plants.



Hemp, okay I think I see what you are talking about on the door frame. I guess I will deal with that as I build. I may just leave the entire end open instead of a door. I will screw the slipT's for more support. Using screws instead of gluing will allow me ti dis-assemble it if needed. Oh and from one of your other comments I believe you said something about the staggered top bar. I wondered about that to and mentioned to the guy at the hardware I'm ordering my pipe from. He said that staggering it with the shorter pipes would give more roof support.

Thanks for the suggestions.


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## ziggyross

4u2sm0ke said:
			
		

> mojo for the green house...I make hoope houses every summer...will be setting one up this weekend to get a jump start...I like to use 20 foot 1 inch pvc and 5/8 rebar...I tak the rebar at 6 feet lonng and drive in the ground 3 feet...and space them roughly 8 feet apart and 2 feet from each other...I then just put one end in the rebar and bend it over to other one across from it..cover with clear plastic...viola
> 
> cant wait to see your final build
> 
> take care and be safe:bolt::bong:



4U2, where do you get 20' PVC pipe. The longest I have been able to locate is 10'


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## 4u2sm0ke

:ciao: *ziggy*


I get them from an irrigation/plumbing shop....its for irrigation....first day of srping today..may take advantage of this

take care and be safe:bolt::bong:


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## The Hemp Goddess

All plumbing supply houses have 20' lengths of PVC.  PVC comes in 2 different wall thickness--get the thicker walled pipe.  In addition, I disagree with the guy at the hardware store.  Shorter pieces of pipe connected with a cross instead of staggered with tees will be stronger IMO.


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## ziggyross

Ok first of all thank you everyone for your comments. Second after concidering cost to build and potential problems I have gone the purchase a pre-made green house route.


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## The Hemp Goddess

Looks nice ziggy--how big is it and how much is it?


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## 4u2sm0ke

yeah that looks sweeeeeet...can ya share the spechs with us?...like how much light is blocked and how is the ventilation...remember to put some water jugs in there for humidity

take care and be safe

and like *THG *said  the 20' pipe does come in thin wall and makes it easyier to bend over


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## ziggyross

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> Looks nice ziggy--how big is it and how much is it?



HG, It's 10 X 10 and 8ft at the peek  It ran me $270


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## ziggyross

4u2sm0ke said:
			
		

> yeah that looks sweeeeeet...can ya share the spechs with us?...like how much light is blocked and how is the ventilation...remember to put some water jugs in there for humidity
> 
> take care and be safe
> 
> and like *THG *said  the 20' pipe does come in thin wall and makes it easyier to bend over



Thanks 4U2, I have not put the cover on yet but it looks like you won't be able to tell what's inside. Will do on the water jugs. 10 X 10 8ft at the peek 6.5 ft along the side walls.


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## ziggyross

If anyone is interested in this greenhouse here is the link.

hxxp://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=202065765&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&MERCH=REC-_-product-1-_-202718682-_-202065765-_-N


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## pcduck

Thanks ziggy for the link, pretty interesting.


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## drfting07

:ciao: Ziggy! How are you my Virginia neighbor? 

4u2sm0ke has a great idea with those hoop houses he builds every year. Its 8x 6' pieces of re-bar hammered into the dirt 3' down, 2' apart and 4' across. This lays out a rectangle that is 4' by 8' Then just bend long sections of ~1" pieces of PVC and slide it over the re-bar to make a "hoop" Lay 4 or 6mil clear plastic over the top and stake it in place. You could even make covered entrances on the sides with more plastic to keep the temperature up at night, and open it during the day. If you needed something bigger, just use larger PVC and stake out the re-bar further apart/longer. A piece along the top that ties everything together will make it sturdier as well.

 Im sure with proper stability and thick plastic, you could build one that is big enough you could walk in, costs less than 200 bux to make, and can be repaired for pennies on the dollar.


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## 4u2sm0ke

thanks *drft*...I enjoy makeing these and cheap as heck...I still need to finish the plastic...as for a door..I take the front off..the rest hoop house styas sealed...I made these clips useing the same size pipe  justremove 1/4 works great....if the hoop house isnt to takll or long  npo need for suports across..anything over 10 x 10  I would use some straight pipe...if ya look at my Last years outdoor grow...I show mine...every year is diffrent on account of the gardens layout...but living here in Seattle..we have to think of a cover prior to starting ....come September it rains rains rains....hope this helps...and cant wait to see your Green house filled with DAnk


take care and be safe:bolt::bong:


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## ziggyross

drfting07 said:
			
		

> :ciao: Ziggy! How are you my Virginia neighbor?
> 
> 4u2sm0ke has a great idea with those hoop houses he builds every year. Its 8x 6' pieces of re-bar hammered into the dirt 3' down, 2' apart and 4' across. This lays out a rectangle that is 4' by 8' Then just bend long sections of ~1" pieces of PVC and slide it over the re-bar to make a "hoop" Lay 4 or 6mil clear plastic over the top and stake it in place. You could even make covered entrances on the sides with more plastic to keep the temperature up at night, and open it during the day. If you needed something bigger, just use larger PVC and stake out the re-bar further apart/longer. A piece along the top that ties everything together will make it sturdier as well.
> 
> Im sure with proper stability and thick plastic, you could build one that is big enough you could walk in, costs less than 200 bux to make, and can be repaired for pennies on the dollar.



Hey Drifter, Cool idea but I priced out what it would cost to build the small pvc one I had in mind and it came to about the same price as the pre-built one. It did have alot of extra's like T's and snap clips but PVC in my area is a little pricey. I went ahead and get the Pr-built one. I will post pictures soon just completed putting it up.


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## ziggyross

4U2, Wow those are cool. I can see where that would be really cheap to make. Do you make your own clamps or are those store bought? Maybe after a couple of years when my store bought house is falling apart I will try one of these.


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## MiracleDro

Looking good!
Check out this too. I would just use thicker pvc like 1 1/2 in
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw3Y...DvjVQa1PpcFO7himxuEGCaQWezM0xwVshVgn-6mkJRMU=
Check out all 4 parts


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## drfting07

no live links, replace the TT for XX


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## 4u2sm0ke

ziggyross said:
			
		

> 4U2, Wow those are cool. I can see where that would be really cheap to make. Do you make your own clamps or are those store bought? Maybe after a couple of years when my store bought house is falling apart I will try one of these.


 

I did make these...they have some at the store  but at 2.50 American bux each...just set table saw up at like 3/4inch  and BE CAREFUL:aok:


*MiracleDRo*.....*drfting*  is correct.....please break upo the address so its not live...I use 420


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## ziggyross

:icon_smile: Well it took a few day's working by myself but I finally got it put together. The quality seems pretty good but the directions sucked.


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## drfting07

Ill be interested in seeing if you get any attention with that greenhouse. What are you planning on using it for? Are you flowering in it? Or just vegging a bit, then transplanting later in a different location? I really hope this works out for you. Ide love to build something like this, as long as it brings no unwanted attention to my grow.


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## ziggyross

drft, planning on vegging to flower. I have thought about the attention. My thoughts are better for someone to wonder what I have in the grow house as opposed to growing in the open where they can see what I am growing. I know of several green houses in the area growing only veggies. I'm hoping that's all people think i'm growing. I know it's taking a chance but so is growing in the open.


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## 4u2sm0ke

Looks great *ziggy*...your dirt looksvery good too...please keep us updated  as you grow...cant wait to see it filled with ..untill then

take care and be safe


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## ziggyross

4u2sm0ke said:
			
		

> Looks great *ziggy*...your dirt looksvery good too...please keep us updated  as you grow...cant wait to see it filled with ..untill then
> 
> take care and be safe



4U2 Looks can be deceiving, that soil is hard packed clay and sand. The only reason it look's good is because it was recently tilled. I'm growing in pots this year.


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## 4u2sm0ke

sweet *ziggy*...what size pots you useing?


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## ziggyross

4u2sm0ke said:
			
		

> sweet *ziggy*...what size pots you useing?



Thanks

I have several 5 gal pot's but would like to move them to 10 gal buckets. Do you know if the 5 gal would be big enough?


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## nouvellechef

Looks cool. I would run 8gal airpots in there.


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## drfting07

Ziggy, hows that greenhouse coming along? Any girls in there yet?


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## zem

I am building a greenhouse too, I found a company that sells pipes that are made on order, the pipes fit into each others like a puzzle, mine however is much bigger it is 5'20"x50', its shape is like a chapel, the semi-tube is much cheaper almost 1/2 the cost. too bad that my greenhouse it is not intended for marijuana


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## ziggyross

drfting07 said:
			
		

> Ziggy, hows that greenhouse coming along? Any girls in there yet?



Drift coming along nicely I have 15 going so far. 3 from clones the rest from seed. So who knows at this point how many lady's. Time will tell. I'm just wondering if I should grow them in there the entire season or move them outside when it starts getting hot.


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## ziggyross

zem said:
			
		

> I am building a greenhouse too, I found a company that sells pipes that are made on order, the pipes fit into each others like a puzzle, mine however is much bigger it is 5'20"x50', its shape is like a chapel, the semi-tube is much cheaper almost 1/2 the cost. too bad that my greenhouse it is not intended for marijuana



Zem, cool do you have a link to this greenhouse?


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## 4u2sm0ke

nouvellechef said:
			
		

> Looks cool. I would run 8gal airpots in there.


 

yeah...8-10...but thinkyou will do fine with the 5 gallons:aok:


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## zem

ziggyross said:
			
		

> Zem, cool do you have a link to this greenhouse?


they don't do online sales, and I am not in the US, it is basically galvanized pipes that are pre-welded and drilled for installation with all their fittings, I think you would find them online, I will take pics soon


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## Menimeth

Hey Ziggy, hows that greenhouse doing now that it's june. Is it hot inside, or is there enough vent. to keep a good air flow? I am considering getting one for the winters here in Texas (we do not get many days where the temps are below freezing), and just wanted some more info on it.


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## ziggyross

Menimeth said:
			
		

> Hey Ziggy, hows that greenhouse doing now that it's june. Is it hot inside, or is there enough vent. to keep a good air flow? I am considering getting one for the winters here in Texas (we do not get many days where the temps are below freezing), and just wanted some more info on it.



Well temp's have already gotten over 100 in the green house. I am putting a fan in today. So far I have had to just move the plants outside on the hot days. I used to live in several areas of Texas Bay City, Houston, Round Rock, Fort Worth, so I know the weather there. Your temps would be well over 100 most of the year. I think you would almost need a AC unit in Texas. Good Luck


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## Menimeth

Thanks for the info, I think it will work very well for what I need if the temps are over 100 already.


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## ziggyross

Update on the green house. We had a thunder storm with 60 to 70 mph winds and rain by the buckets. The green house made it through with flying colors. Still standing and no rips. I am impressed. FYI be careful mowing around the green house I shot a stick through the side. Oooopps


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## williamraed

If you want to improve your greenhouse, then you should go to door garden online site because of, they will provide a free instruction about How to build a green house. I hope it helps. It is the most important site.


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## greenmentat

I'm building one of these PVP greenhouses and I want to do it using thsoe cement blocks with the metal fittings in them for the base.. like the kind that are used on a carport.. Does anyone know where I can find those?


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