Deck Greenhouse

[dokutaaguriin]

Last year I had the great idea to make better use of my sunny south facing deck. I wold try and grow my peppers, eggplants and tomatoes in planters. I would stick 3 or 4 bamboo poles around the edge of the pot and wrap greenhouse plastic around it to protect the plants from the cold winds, hail etc. It wasn't pretty but it was functional. After finishing my basement, I figured my newly found framing skills would transfer to building my own greenhouse. This greenhouse is now reserved for peppers and eggplants. My other two greenhouses are filled with tomatoes.
The greenhouse started off as a 4' x 6' but my wife let me extend it to 4' x 8'. I used cedar for all the wood and the base, and twin wall polycarbonate.

Original 4' x 6' sidewall


Increased by 2 feet for a longer sidewall:


Attaching the sidewall to the base:


Feel the power (drill):


Framing the front entrance:


Framing the back:


Polycarb attached to roof and sidewalls:


Door framed with polycarb attached:


Purloins added to string up my plants:



I have more pictures on my website if you are interested:
http://caseysurbanfarm.ca/Caseys_Urb...use_Build.html

Jeff

[Worth1]

Looks great Jeff nice job.


Worth

[Cole_Robbie]

I agree, very nice. Now your neighbors are going to be jealous.

[KarenO]

very nice! Must get very hot in there, how do you ventilate it?
KarenO

[peppero]

Nice work Jeff as well as great pix. You are going to enjoy the results of your efforts very much.

jon

[mdvpc]

Jeff-Looks great! Thanks for posting photos.

[Rairdog]

Very nice! Plants have great color. What mix/ferts do you use for the peppers?

[dokutaaguriin]

Originally Posted by KarenO

very nice! Must get very hot in there, how do you ventilate it?
KarenO

Hi Karen,
I just leave the door open during the day and it seems to work quite well. The deck boards have some space between them so there is a bit of air movement that way.

Rairdog Very nice! Plants have great color. What mix/ferts do you use for the peppers?
The peppers and eggplants are grown in Earthtainers so I use an organic tomato fertilizer that Raybo recommends for it- 3 cups. I also add in some kelp meal to the mix.

Jeff

[ddsack]

Wait, don't you already have like two larger greenhouses in your backyard? LOL! Not that there can ever be too many! Your plants look great!

Lovely framing work. I wish I could have taken some carpentry courses when I was younger. I enjoy designing various projects on paper, but my actual building skill level is laughable.

[dokutaaguriin]

HI Dee,
Yes, you are correct as I do have two other greenhouses. (12 x 16 and 4 x 10). May be I should put one greenhouse over the entire property......one can dream BIG!

[ddsack]

One question -- what kind of saw and blade did you use to cut the polycarbonate with? Did you have any shattering problems?

[dokutaaguriin]

Hi Dee,
I used a fine toothed blade on my jigsaw.

Jeff

[ddsack]

Thanks for the info!

[luigiwu]

What temps are you able to maintain in there? looks nice!

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by ddsack

One question -- what kind of saw and blade did you use to cut the polycarbonate with? Did you have any shattering problems?

Dee I let Jeff answer your question first out of respect and manners.
Now I will add to his answer by giving some more information.
You can cut this stuff with a jig or saber saw, a table saw or a motor driven hand saw.
The Skill saw/motor driven hand saw is normally a 7-14 diameter blade and you would use a blade made for this with 60 teeth all around the blade the blade will saw 60 on it.
The table saw will have a 10 or 12 inch blade and it will say 80 or 120 on the blade respectively.
The little hand power saw have a 4 inch blade and they will have around 36 teeth per inch.
The saber or jig saw blades will have around 14 teeth per inch.
The trick is to not stay in one spot too long as the material will heat up and melt.
Another thing I do for a fast clean cut with a hand saw is to use a straight edge.
Measure from inside of the blade to the edge of the plate the saw runs on.
lets say it is 3 inches, and you want to cut a piece 24 inches long.
you would subtract 3 from 24 and you would get 21 inches.
Measure and mark the material 21 inches on both sides and this is where you would set and secure the straight edge.
Run the saw along the straight edge and you will have a piece 24 inches long.
If you want to get fancy and cut curves you can use a pre-cut jig and a router.
If you need to bend the material you can use a pre-made form put some felt over it and use a heat gun to slowly and evenly heat the polycarbonate sheet.

Worth