10 Free Greenhouse Plans

by Tammy | Mar 3, 2018 | Attached Greenhouses, Family Greenhouse, Greenhouse Plans, Polyfilm Greenhouse

10 Free Greenhouse Plans

Here in Louisiana we call it Lagniappe [lanˈyap]. It’s a little something extra……for free! Everyone loves free. I get asked all of the time how to build your own greenhouse. So, today I have gathered together 10 free greenhouse plans for you. Not everyone can afford or needs a glass greenhouse kit. Tom and I have reviewed the plans and have added our comments to each. These comments are based purely on our years of experience building greenhouses. We have not received any compensation of any kind from any of these plans. So, enjoy and get busy building a greenhouse this week. Please keep in mind that as far as we know no engineers were involved in these plans. In other words, we do not feel that any of these plans have been built with heavy snow and/or wind loads in mind. Also, as a general note: A lot of the plans mention using plastic sheeting that is not UV protected. Don’t expect any more than 1 years use out of non UV protected plastic. We always recommend using 6 mil, 4 year polyfilm to cover greenhouses. With the appropriate waivers in place, let’s get busy building!

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California Style Roof Greenhouse

California Roof Style Greenhouse Plans – We used to sell and install sunrooms. That is how we really got started with greenhouses. Anyway, we used to sell a sunroom that looked like this and it was called the California Roof Sunroom. These plans seem very thorough. They even tell you how to square up your base. It is a bit distracting to try and read the plans on their website due to all of the ads, etc. But, they do offer a downloadable set of plans (ad free) for $5. Might be nice to have these to take to the jobsite.

YellaWood Greenhouse Plans

YellaWood Greenhouse Plans – These plans are from the manufacturer. They do give you a lot of specifications about the building materials, but the plans are pretty much a line drawing with measurements. If you are an experienced builder, you probably would not have much trouble with this. If you are a beginner and need more detailed instruction, this might be one to pass on.

Barn Style Greenhouse Plans

Barn Greenhouse Plans – They state one weekend for this. I am a bit skeptical of that time frame. This greenhouse has a lot of miter cuts and will require what seems like a lot of fitting to me. But hey, who can resist the looks of a barn style greenhouse?

Raised Garden Bed with Removable Cold Frame

Raised Garden Bed with Removable Cold Frame – This is a super plan and will work nicely along side of a standard garden and greenhouse. They are stating a 10 – 15 degree increase in temperature inside the cold frame. This is a great project for someone with limited space, or someone who just wants to get a head start on the garden.

300 Square Foot Hoop House

300 Square Foot Hoop House – This is a well thought out design and plan. I do however have a couple of issues with his recommendations. First is to use landscape cloth as a shade cloth. Why wouldn’t you just use a shade cloth that is made for greenhouses? Also, this is a little bit large not to have a ventilation system. I think a couple of roof vents and a ventilation package would make this greenhouse a whole lot more useable in the warmer months.

Attached Greenhouse Plans

RunnerDuck Greenhouse Plans– I really like the looks of this greenhouse, although I am wondering what it would look like with a small overhang on the roof on all sides. He has stated that you can adapt this to make a freestanding greenhouse with these plans as well. I do like the dutch door feature and the fact that he used a roof vent with an automatic opener.

Bamboo Greenhouses Plans

Bamboo Greenhouse Plans – What a great way to use bamboo! I would suggest using batten tape also when securing your film to your frame. I am not really crazy about using a door that is secured with velcro. If you are in a high wind area I would think this would give you problems. Other than that a great simple plan.

GeoDome Greenhouse Plans

Geo Dome – This may not be for a beginner. Lots of angles to cut for the frame to fit together properly. But, who doesn’t love the look of a dome greenhouse? Sounds like they did a whole lot of research before designing this. If you have some skills and time I would consider this plan.

$50 Greenhouse Plans

$50 Greenhouse – Of course this is if you can recycle a whole bunch of materials. But, he states that even with new material you can build this for around $200. If you are in an area with high snow be sure to look at the picture of what happens when you get a couple of inches of wet snow. His greenhouse collapsed. So, I would definitely rule this one out for snowy areas.

10 x 16 Greenhouse Plans

10 x 16 Greenhouse – These are nice plans. I think he is very realistic when he gives a one week time frame on building this. I would suggest a ventilation system and roof vents with a greenhouse this size. He mentions covering it with polyethylene/foil sheets. I am not really even sure what this is. I would recommend using 6 mil, 4 year greenhouse polyfilm.

In closing, my first, and second greenhouses were both ones that we built ourselves with our own plans. They were both covered with clear plastic (non UV) film. We did not know where to get the UV protected film at that point. One year is the life expectancy of the non UV material. I wish at the time we would have known the difference, but we just kept recovering. Also, not to tell tales on myself, but at the time we were building these greenhouses there was no internet and no free plans. What a help that would have been! Most of these plans are from individuals who have taken their time and energy to supply these plans for us. We thank them for their help.

Greenhouse Glazing Materials

by Tammy | Jan 18, 2018 | Double Polyfilm Greenhouse, Greenhouse Glazing, Polycarbonate Sheets, Polyfilm Greenhouse

Greenhouse Glazing Materials, Warranty vs Life Expectancy

I get asked a lot about how long certain greenhouse coverings will last. The thing is, the limit of the warranty does not equal the life expectancy of the material. I will address the following materials – 6 mil, 4 year polyfilm, reinforced polyfilm and polycarbonate sheets. I will be mentioning the UV protection. That is what keeps the materials from getting brittle, cracking, or turning yellow. The warranty will typically cover how long the manufacturer expects the UV protection to last, or it may refer to how much the UV protection may change in a certain period of time.

Greenhouse polyfilm is typically listed by the thickness and the length of the time that the UV protection is warranted for. 6 mil, 4 year polyfilm is 6 mil thick and has a UV protection that is warranted for 4 years. But, that does not necessarily mean that it will last the entire 4 years. The material will not get brittle, etc, but if it is damaged (due to a falling limb, hail, etc) there is a possibility that the cover will be lost. There is patching tape for the film coverings, but if you are not at the greenhouse when the damage occurs it may be too late to stop it. This will be the least expensive of the greenhouse glazing choices and is excellent for small hobby or commercial greenhouses. Although most of the commercial greenhouses will use a double layer of this film with a blower that blows air between the 2 layers. This will definitely increase the insulation factor for this material. I have had some growers report back to me that they feel the film is less likely to be damaged when using this double layer. They feel that the air between the layers “stretches” the film, making it tighter and less susceptible to damage from falling items.

The reinforced polyfilm is 2 layers of film laminated together with a rip stop feature in between the sheets. This has a one year warranty on the UV protection. But, we have had reports back from people who have gotten up to a 12 year lifetime from this material. The rip stop feature is what makes this possible. If the film does get a tear it cannot go any further than the cords of the rip stop. That will keep the area of the rip limited, and it is easily repairable once it is found.

Polycarbonate sheets are a rigid material. Many manufacturers offer a 10 year warranty that the light transmission will not vary more than 10%. The change in the light transmission is what causes the sheets to get brittle, yellow and crack. There are, however, some manufacturers out there now offering a comparable 20 year warranty. Please be sure to check with the company supplying you the sheets to see which warranty is offered. Polycarbonate is a tough material and typically has a 10 year warranty against hail damage. So, tearing or damage to the sheets is not near as big an issue as the polyfilm. In fact I have been dealing with polycarbonate sheets for over 20 years now and have never been involved in a warranty claim. I have had many people in the industry report back that they have seen polycarbonate sheets (with the 10 year warranty) last up to the 20 year mark. I personally have seen the 10 year warranty material remain usable at 15 years.

Hopefully this overview of the warranties and greenhouse glazing materials will give you the information you need to make the best decision for your greenhouse.