# need greenhouse floor advise



## bwester (Jun 11, 2007)

ok, its only 8" x 12" and is pea gravel and stepping stones. hard as hell to keep clean. Think I could pour a concrete floor and it not hurt the plants with fumes or anything? I just want something washable.


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## Heather (Jun 11, 2007)

I got some Prime Agra that needs washing....oke:


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## gonewild (Jun 12, 2007)

Concrete fumes will not hurt the plants.

If you can have a smooth and compacted surface, like by covering your gravel with sand then you can roll out asphalt rolled roofing. The kind that has a gritty mineral coating, I always called it tar paper but can't remember what the correct name is. It makes a very good and inexpensive greenhouse floor.


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## bwester (Jun 12, 2007)

i was pretty much just going to pour concrete over it all with a drain in the end


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## Roy (Jun 12, 2007)

I use a product called " weed control " matting. Its like a very tight woven shade cloth. It sits over bare earth. No weeds grow through it but it lets water penetrate keeping the soil moist and allowing the moisture to keep up the humidity. It comes ( here ) in 50mtr rolls about 2mts wide. I roll it out and cut it to length. To hold it down is as simple as a few " U " pins pushed through it into the ground. A sweep with a broom keeps it clean. No moss, no grass etc and its not slippery. If a similar product is sold there then the retailer might be able to cut the required amount for you from a roll.


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## gonewild (Jun 12, 2007)

bwester said:


> i was pretty much just going to pour concrete over it all with a drain in the end



Concrete is the best.
Use a big pipe for the drain (4") so you don't have to worry about it getting plugged up.


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## Bob in Albany N.Y. (Jun 12, 2007)

I have a concret floor with a drain. My drain is a little different then most. It is made to go the whole length of the green house. The drain is originally designed to run the whole length of a garage as you enter it. In other words it is very sturdy. Strong enough for a car to drive over while enter the garage. It run the whole length of the greenhouse and exit on one end threw a pipe into a dry well. Now, when I say dry well I don't mean this hugh stone pit like in the old days. It is like a plastic barel cut in half put in the earth. I can't recall the proper name at the moment but it is easy to install.

Just my two cents worth.


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## NYEric (Jun 12, 2007)

The problem is not the fumes it would be the cement powder!


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## bwester (Jun 12, 2007)

NYEric said:


> The problem is not the fumes it would be the cement powder!



well, it would be mixed outside before being poured


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## littlefrog (Jun 12, 2007)

No problems with concrete setting.

I'm putting down a layer of heavy duty landscape fabric over my gravel this summer (if I get to it). There is a layer of landscape fabric under the gravel too, but that is just how I put it down originally. The gravel is hard to keep clean, and grows weeds. I've seen a lot of greenhouses with fabric floor over gravel (or sand), and it is pretty easy to maintain.


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## Candace (Jun 12, 2007)

My floor is pea gravel over a weed barrier and I hate it too, Blake. It always looks horrible. Weeds have eventually broken through and leaves and stuff can't be swept up. So unless I feel extra motivated they sit there and look messy. I do have a drain under it that runs the length of the g.H. I've also wished I'd done it in concrete. It would be a nightmare for me to do it now, but if you could do it somewhat easier, I'd say go for it. I will be putting in a slab floor on my next one.


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## bwester (Jun 12, 2007)

trench for drainage is dug....... blake exhausted. no way I'm pulling those ballast tanks out, I'll just cement around them.
digging sucks!


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## Heather (Jun 12, 2007)

bwester said:


> trench for drainage is dug....... blake exhausted. no way I'm pulling those ballast tanks out, I'll just cement around them.
> digging sucks!



Um yes, and apparently it makes you incoherent as well (!! Hey, that's what you get for saying I suck!) 

What was all that babbling about color??? Perhaps you should have asked what the concrete might do to you!


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## gonewild (Jun 12, 2007)

Mixing cement is 100 times more work than digging. oke: 

I just saw a roll out rubber garage floor at Costco. It might work well for a floor over the pea gravel and be easy to lay down.


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## Candace (Jun 12, 2007)

What are ballast tanks?? Digging does suck. Especially in hardpan or clay or both like we've got here!


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## Bolero (Jun 13, 2007)

The only thing that bothers me about concrete is how you keep the humidity up? The medium you are using on the floor is probably helping with humidity but cement will be quite arid.

What does everyone else think? Or have I missed the point along the way?


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## NYEric (Jun 13, 2007)

Concrete is porous and is likewise hydrophylic. the more you pour water on it the better. Unfortunately water plus sun = algae.


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## bwester (Jun 13, 2007)

Candace said:


> What are ballast tanks?? Digging does suck. Especially in hardpan or clay or both like we've got here!



I have 5 50 gallon black sealed tanks on the southern wall filled with water. They stabilize the temp in the GH and cut my heating bill by 3/4 last year.


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## bwester (Jun 13, 2007)

Bolero said:


> The only thing that bothers me about concrete is how you keep the humidity up? The medium you are using on the floor is probably helping with humidity but cement will be quite arid.
> 
> What does everyone else think? Or have I missed the point along the way?



I have a swamp cooler and fogger, humidity is not a problem, plus, its south georgia


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## Candace (Jun 13, 2007)

Be sure to take before and after photos, please.


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## bwester (Jun 13, 2007)

I think there is no way around moving the tanks, plus we hit what appears to be a monsoon after a record drought...... right when I'm gonna pour concrete.


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## wallyworld (Jun 13, 2007)

I had thought about using the asphalt rolled roofing but what I am afraid of is that I live in Central Florida and I was wondering if it would make it even hotter in the shade room? One part of the shade room has vandas with 40% aluminet and the other side is for my paphs with another sheet of aluminet on it. I would like to find something that I can put down on the floor. Concrete is out due to zoning because it would be a permanent structure.


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## gonewild (Jun 13, 2007)

wallyworld said:


> I had thought about using the asphalt rolled roofing but what I am afraid of is that I live in Central Florida and I was wondering if it would make it even hotter in the shade room? One part of the shade room has vandas with 40% aluminet and the other side is for my paphs with another sheet of aluminet on it. I would like to find something that I can put down on the floor. Concrete is out due to zoning because it would be a permanent structure.



I don't think it would add any heat. The material I was talking about is coated with a mineral sand. Use a light color and it won't absorb any heat. It is really durable and will last for years.


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## Bolero (Jun 14, 2007)

bwester said:


> I have a swamp cooler and fogger, humidity is not a problem, plus, its south georgia



Ah ok, I was thinking about it from an Australian perspective. My apologies.


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