Greenhouses?

[Duck Slipper]

Actually posted on here some time ago that I thought S/T needs a specific category for Greenhouses. People with a GH would have experienced many questions coming up and be able to contribute...
I finally pulled the trigger on one. Actually made the down payment back in December...with delivery in June/July. Another manufacturer I was corresponding with was deliver in August, that was with a December order. Covid has been very good for their business.
Everyone’s experiences with their GH and the ice, snow and cold would be interesting. What kind of heat? How’s it holding up? Are you having to go sweep snow off your house?What kind of humidity are you running in the cold? How do you keep it up? We have about a foot of snow here in West Kentucky. Just some thoughts and musings...

 

[NYEric]

My house is green!

 

[Duck Slipper]

My house is green!

Mine also, I’m running out of room...BUT, from the photo evidence I’ve seen, I’m lagging behind quite a bit to catch up to NYEric!

 

[Tom-DE]

My house is green!

That is a good one!

 

[Tom-DE]

How big is the gh you are thinking of? Normally you don't need to worry about the snow on the gh roof. I never did when I lived in NJ. The snow just slid off the roof if too much... RH is easy to do in gh, most of the time, I just wet the floor if I want a tag more humidity.
I am thinking about a small/medium I/C greenhouse(if I want to pick up this orchid hobby again).

 

[Duck Slipper]

How big is the gh you are thinking of? Normally you don't need to worry about the snow on the gh roof. I never did when I lived in NJ. The snow just slid off the roof if too much... RH is easy to do in gh, most of the time, I just wet the floor if I want a tag more humidity.
I am thinking about a small/medium I/C greenhouse(if I want to pick up this orchid hobby again).

Already put a down payment on a 12x30, with a June/July delivery

 

[Tom-DE]

That is a good size gh. and you have found yourself a big project for the summer.

 

[Ray]

12 x 30 will take a few months to fill...

When I lived in Louisville (LaGrange), my GH was pressure treated 2x4's covered with a single layer of flat acrylic. Damn was that expensive to heat with 220V electricity.

When I moved to SC, I built a wood frame and covered it with an inflated, 2 layers of polyethylene. With the amount of sun there and a bunch of water-filled steel drums painted black, I hardly paid to heat at all.

When I was transferred to NJ, I copied the 14 x 14 Turner Greenhouse design, and also went with the 2 layers of film. We had natural gas, and I really didn't separate it from household heating, but I estimated the heating to be about $100/month over the winter.

When I moved to PA, I bought a Turner 14 x 18 structure. I covered it with 8mm twinwall polycarbonate. Unfortunately, there I had to use propane and that got really expensive - at the end, I paid $4500/year on a budget plan to cover winter heating costs.

 

[Ozpaph]

holy! $4500/year. Im grateful for the subtropics. Cooling seems much cheaper.

 

[Ray]

At least I could write it off to the business...

 

[awesomei]

My greenhouse is 12 X 20. I built it myself with 1/4 inch clear Twinwall panels over both sides of a 2x4 stud walls. My roof is 1/2 triple wall polycarbonate translucent. Already gotten too small!

 

[tomp]

Ray,
In your opinion/experience how did the inflatable roof compare with the rigid?

 

[Duck Slipper]

12 x 30 will take a few months to fill...

When I lived in Louisville (LaGrange), my GH was pressure treated 2x4's covered with a single layer of flat acrylic. Damn was that expensive to heat with 220V electricity.

When I moved to SC, I built a wood frame and covered it with an inflated, 2 layers of polyethylene. With the amount of sun there and a bunch of water-filled steel drums painted black, I hardly paid to heat at all.

When I was transferred to NJ, I copied the 14 x 14 Turner Greenhouse design, and also went with the 2 layers of film. We had natural gas, and I really didn't separate it from household heating, but I estimated the heating to be about $100/month over the winter.

When I moved to PA, I bought a Turner 14 x 18 structure. I covered it with 8mm twinwall polycarbonate. Unfortunately, there I had to use propane and that got really expensive - at the end, I paid $4500/year on a budget plan to cover winter heating costs.

I am from Louisville and Lagrange is close to where I lived. I was raised in the East end of Louisville in the Westport Rd area.
I actually looked at building a treated lumber frame polycarbonate house last year but polycarbonate was so hard to get and actual plans also. Myself and friends are basic carpenters and thought that would be easiest...not so much. Then looked at building one out of windows, old and new. That turned out to be, not inexpensive.
I have an unused 1000 gallon propane tank, so that will be my heat. I have natural gas at my home, but another meter is at a higher rate.
I have upgraded (recommended by others on here) to a 16mm triple wall poly. Probably going to use a Modine Effinity or Modine Hot Dawg heater but I’m not sure what size BTU, yet. Also, if a power outage Southern Burner used to make a very popular gas GH heater, but they went out of business. It required no electricity.
I have many questions and greatly appreciate any input.

 

[Duck Slipper]

My greenhouse is 12 X 20. I built it myself with 1/4 inch clear Twinwall panels over both sides of a 2x4 stud walls. My roof is 1/2 triple wall polycarbonate translucent. Already gotten too small!View attachment 25674

Awesomei,
What kind of heat are you using? Emergency heat?

 

[Ray]

Ray,
In your opinion/experience how did the inflatable roof compare with the rigid?

I presume you’re referring to insulation. The two poly layers, inflated with outside air, was quite good, but less sturdy in an environment with branches falling from trees, which I had in PA. The polycarbonate looked better in a neighborhood situation.

Multiwall polycarbonate is very good - the thicker and more walls, the better. If I was building a greenhouse today, I’d go that way.

I am from Louisville and Lagrange is close to where I lived. I was raised in the East end of Louisville in the Westport Rd area.
I actually looked at building a treated lumber frame polycarbonate house last year but polycarbonate was so hard to get and actual plans also. Myself and friends are basic carpenters and thought that would be easiest...not so much. Then looked at building one out of windows, old and new. That turned out to be, not inexpensive.
I have an unused 1000 gallon propane tank, so that will be my heat. I have natural gas at my home, but another meter is at a higher rate.
I have upgraded (recommended by others on here) to a 16mm triple wall poly. Probably going to use a Modine Effinity or Modine Hot Dawg heater but I’m not sure what size BTU, yet. Also, if a power outage Southern Burner used to make a very popular gas GH heater, but they went out of business. It required no electricity.
I have many questions and greatly appreciate any input.

Consider a Hot Dawg heater with separated combustion. Most heaters use air from the structure for combustion - air you paid to heat and humidify. With separated combustion, air is drawn in from the outside through a pipe inside the exhaust flue, so it is preheated for greater efficiency - AND the interior atmosphere stays more stable.

 

[ScientistKen]

I had a greenhouse back in the 90s that I built myself using treated 2x4's and 2x6's and corrugated fiberglass panels. North walls and bottom 4 ft of sides were insulated, which I recommend if you live in a cold climate. I ran heat ducts from my home furnace into drain pipe laterals (has big holes in the sides) that allowed mini air streams throughout greenhouse.

It had many microclimates and it seemed pretty easy to figure out which plants wanted to be moved and where to. I think a greenhouse helps you gain intuition based insights about the orchids you grow. Snow would sometimes collect up to 6" thick even with my 45 degree angle, but I could step outside and tap slightly with my finger tips and it would all slide off immediately. I stapled plastic to the under sides of my rafters to reduce heat loss. One issue I had was that the wooden rafters got really hot and seemed to be almost burnt over time. I stained them for appearance but I think paining white would be better.

 

[Duck Slipper]

My greenhouse is 12 X 20. I built it myself with 1/4 inch clear Twinwall panels over both sides of a 2x4 stud walls. My roof is 1/2 triple wall polycarbonate translucent. Already gotten too small!View attachment 25674

What size are your bench's? And tiered? Same on both sides? A 14’ house accommodates a center aisle bench, but the price increases quickly because of the engineering changes from 12’ to 14’...so I decided on 12’ width also.

 

[PhragNewbie021]

Very nice!

 

[Phragper]

greenhouses are great. just never never big enough. Mine is 18 x 24 covered in double layer of plastic ( inflated) and shade cloth. use electric ceramic heaters in the winter with fans to aid in circulation. Summer is harder because hot air is just circulating. But it is my haven and every minute spent in it is my joy and passion

 

[awesomei]

Awesomei,
What kind of heat are you using? Emergency heat?

Small electric heaters as needed. My GH seems well insulated, except in extreme cases or power failure. Then, I run a gasoline generator.