Posted: 3/21/2025 12:09:35 PM EDT
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Pretty much settling on a home build greenhouse instead of a kit. Watching one of the "Homestead Rescue" shows, the girl helps someone with a greenhouse and puts on what looks like a chloroplast material like that used in small signs. However it was translucent. I liked that it was more solid and sturdier than just roll plastic. Anyone ever use this material? What is it called? Other good options that aren't rolled plastic that has to be replaced every year or two? TIA |
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No experience in this space, but would something like marine vinyl work? It is thick and very durable. My dad built panels with 2x2s and used marine vinyl to enclose his back deck and front porch in the winter. It holds up very well after multiple seasons. You can do the doors with it as well Example https://www.marinevinylfabric.com/products/clear-marine-vinyl?variant=41108241776724&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Google%20Feed&utm_content=Clear%20Vinyl%20Rolls%2FSheet%3A%208%2C%2010%2C%2016%2C%2020%2C%2030%2C%2040%2C%2060%2C%2080%20Gauge¤cy=USD&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwnPS-BhBxEiwAZjMF0u0Wpx2klmm34D3gDIGP3dKR8AbjbyvQcCXD58wbcpacLhnPE516zxoCLhoQAvD_BwE |
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Originally Posted By 57plymouth: My greenhouse is made out of that corrugated plastic. After one year in the sun it is extremely brittle. I plan to cover over it with plexiglass to make it more sturdy. S. GA here, this is my concern also. I used the cheaper (all I could find at the time) plastic corrugated tin looking stuff for the roof of a small greenhouse 12 or more years ago. Experienced about the same, perhaps two years on the roof material. Sun in the Southeast here is absolute murder. |
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I believe this is or is similar to that chloroplast looking material I saw on "Homestead Rescue"- Greenhouse material Thoughts on this? |
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Originally Posted By Lowdown3: I believe this is or is similar to that chloroplast looking material I saw on "Homestead Rescue"- Greenhouse material Thoughts on this? We have two greenhouses covered with similar twin wall polycarbonate. One is over 20 years old and it is still in good condition. Some have a coating on the outside to protect it from the sun. I think some is even tinted to reduce light transmission. If you are growing in late spring through early fall you will need a good ventilation system to keep it from getting too hot. Also both of our greenhouses have shade cloth to reduce the amount of sunlight and to help keep it cool in the summer. Also, both of our greenhouses have evaporative cooling systems since my wife grows orchids and it would be much too hot in the summer otherwise. |
“Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.”
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Originally Posted By TN-MadDog: We have two greenhouses covered with similar twin wall polycarbonate. One is over 20 years old and it is still in good condition. Some have a coating on the outside to protect it from the sun. I think some is even tinted to reduce light transmission. If you are growing in late spring through early fall you will need a good ventilation system to keep it from getting too hot. Also both of our greenhouses have shade cloth to reduce the amount of sunlight and to help keep it cool in the summer. Also, both of our greenhouses have evaporative cooling systems since my wife grows orchids and it would be much too hot in the summer otherwise. Good stuff, thank you. Waaay too hot in the summer for us to get a lot of use out of a greenhouse here, which is probably why I haven't really put much into doing one for the 26 years we have been here. Primarily October-March'ish will be our main use times for this. Definitely will put in a couple of solar fans, probably the gable vent solar fans. Have had a few of them working well on our house for 15+ years. They also have a temp sensor so they don't start up till it's 70 degrees. |
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Originally Posted By Lowdown3: I believe this is or is similar to that chloroplast looking material I saw on "Homestead Rescue"- Greenhouse material Thoughts on this? That's the stuff mine is made out of. It is very light and very cheap. After one year, it is as structurally sound as potato chips. I bought my greenhouse off amazon, and it was under $500. I really am not complaining because I knew it would not be good quality. I will just screw clear plastic over the structure and keep going. I really only use the greenhouse for 2 months in the spring and fall. |
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I'm trying to finish my first at-home greenhouse, and I'm going to order the greenhouse fabric with uv coating. Supposed to last four years. That's as much as I got out of the plastic for the big commercial greenhouses I used to manage, so for the price at $20 per year I'm good with it. We'll see how it actually holds up. I"m trying to do roll-up sides like a high tunnel for hot days, but having trouble figuring how to fasten those bottom parts tightly for days when the temps are really cold. I don't see any plans for that. For the build, I'm using cattle panels on top of two-foot "walls" (walls is a stretch for this structure.) I chose this construction method for ease and because it's affordable. We'll see. It ain't done yet. |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
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I used 2x12 corrugated poly carbonate it was guaranteed for 20 years, 22 years later it is getting brittle, its uv protected on one side. I would do a layer of polypro sheet under it if I did it again to reduce condensation, (an ir barrier would be better, but I am not aware of a product).. the dual layer channel stuff is not much better, poly carbonate is invisible to ir so double layer will condense as much as single. |
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Originally Posted By piciphant: I used 2x12 corrugated poly carbonate it was guaranteed for 20 years, 22 years later it is getting brittle, its uv protected on one side. I would do a layer of polypro sheet under it if I did it again to reduce condensation, (an ir barrier would be better, but I am not aware of a product).. the dual layer channel stuff is not much better, poly carbonate is invisible to ir so double layer will condense as much as single. We have 8mm twin wall polycarbonate on both of our greenhouses. One is 23 years old and one is about 5 years old and we don’t have any issues with condensation. Im sure that there is a considerable price difference between the two though. |
“Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.”
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Thoughts in this thread on the polycarbonate panels seem to be mixed, with some saying their's didn't last, others saying decades. Is it possibly different due to thickness? Looking for a decent source of that clear plastic corrugated roofing, likely the thicker stuff that holds up better. Going to go 12x24 total size. Will do 4x4s 10' two foot in ground 4' OC, band at top inside and outside with 2x6 12' PT and in the middle and bottom at least. |
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| I used the clear polycarbonate panels on mine. I bought the clear, and ended up using two different strengths of shade cloths to keep temperatures down to a suitable level. Even with a 12" exhaust fan the temperatures were getting too high without the cloth. |
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salvaged old windows out of house demos? I've got some plate glass doors approximately the size of full sheet plywood I'm saving for that purpose. But you could do it with plain old windows, I'm sure. |
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Originally Posted By 50-140: I used the clear polycarbonate panels on mine. I bought the clear, and ended up using two different strengths of shade cloths to keep temperatures down to a suitable level. Even with a 12" exhaust fan the temperatures were getting too high without the cloth. Dang! Too hot even in Idaho?? I'm screwed..... |
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Originally Posted By 1Andy2: salvaged old windows out of house demos? I've got some plate glass doors approximately the size of full sheet plywood I'm saving for that purpose. But you could do it with plain old windows, I'm sure. My BIL works construction and has a place not far from our range. Early last year I noticed he's got a couple dozen REALLY big windows stacked in his barn. Replaced windows for someone and they gave him these. I said "can I get a few of these for a greenhouse?" Yeah whenever you want them come and get them. He used a few randomly. Couple months later, Hurricane Helene flattened his barn. Since our heavy equipment is normally at our range property, we went to help him first (very close). I was running the excavator getting this 100 foot oak off his barn in pieces he was cutting. He jumped or slipped off the trunk of the tree and landed in..... wait for it- some of the windows he had stacked up there. Huge slice in his leg. Day 1 of the hurricane. All the windows were unfortunately trashed along with the barn. Got some survival medicine practice though :) Never pass up an opportunity!!!! |
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We bought our more recent greenhouse from the Atlas Greenhouse company that is located in south GA. I don’t know if they sell twin wall polycarbonate separately but they might be willing to tell you who their source is. They sell quality products and what ever twin wall they are sourcing should last a long time. |
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Originally Posted By HELOBRAVO: Our hoop house covers are 6mil. Very tough. Last many years. Same here. That shit is tough. We have 2 78’ x 30’ hoop houses. |
"A mass production economy can neither be created nor sustained
without a leveled population, one conditioned to mass habits, mass tastes, mass enthusiasms,
predictable mass behaviors." John Gatto
without a leveled population, one conditioned to mass habits, mass tastes, mass enthusiasms,
predictable mass behaviors." John Gatto
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Originally Posted By TN-MadDog: We bought our more recent greenhouse from the Atlas Greenhouse company that is located in south GA. I don’t know if they sell twin wall polycarbonate separately but they might be willing to tell you who their source is. They sell quality products and what ever twin wall they are sourcing should last a long time. Familiar with them, thank you. I bought some polycarbonate 4x8 panels, just a pack of 8 to get in and see if they are workable, should be here this week. |
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Regarding ventilation- the greenhouse (under construction) faces South to North on the long axis (24') and is 12' wide. As the minimum ventilation I'm going to add = a gable vent solar powered fan on each gable end. Question is- should one fan face IN and the opposite fan face OUT. I.e, trying to move air through. Or should they both face out? There will also be two doors to open and honestly in our climate this is at best a October through March usage item, way too hot after that. |
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Originally Posted By Lowdown3: Regarding ventilation- the greenhouse (under construction) faces South to North on the long axis (24') and is 12' wide. As the minimum ventilation I'm going to add = a gable vent solar powered fan on each gable end. Question is- should one fan face IN and the opposite fan face OUT. I.e, trying to move air through. Or should they both face out? There will also be two doors to open and honestly in our climate this is at best an October through March usage item, way too hot after that. I install them so that you get a flow through the greenhouse. One facing in and one facing out. If the fans will generate enough flow you might be better off having both on one end facing out and some sort of louvers on the other end. If you open the doors when the fans are running it will decrease the air flow through the greenhouse especially if the doors are near the fans. The fans will just pull air from the door openings instead of from the far end of the greenhouse. |
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One in one out is how I've seen it done. In the big commercial houses there's some kind of cooling system on the "in" fan. Like a pad & fan system that runs water across cardboard. Fans pull the air across the cooling system and into the space. Exhaust fans pull it out. |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
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Do something like Russ Finch does, but in reverse. Bury a lot of lines deep in the ground for cooling the air coming into the greenhouse (also works for heating the air in the winter). You may have to shade some of the glass during the summer, but you can probably do that with some of the tarps or make a roll-away roof for shade during the summer.  Nebraska retiree uses earths's heat to grow oranges in snow |