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Post by cff on Dec 6, 2007 23:13:35 GMT -5
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Post by Jim on Dec 8, 2007 8:24:10 GMT -5
I need more property. I'm asking santa for a farm for christmas.....but serious my 2/3 of an acre isn't enough especially when stuff like this project looks so doable.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Dec 8, 2007 8:51:09 GMT -5
I hope Santa brings you a more workable piece of property. But be careful asking for a farm...they are a lot of work  |
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Post by Jim on Dec 8, 2007 16:59:54 GMT -5
I was thinking mini-farm.... Like a few acres. My wife and I always joke about it. She would like to raised mini animals of all kinds. I just want to eat them...lol.
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Post by Alan on Dec 11, 2007 16:41:46 GMT -5
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Post by sandbar on Dec 17, 2007 20:57:26 GMT -5
I've read that direct contact with PVC will prematurely degrade the poly.
Anybody experienced that?
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Post by cff on Dec 17, 2007 21:05:17 GMT -5
I read that someplace too, I think they suggest duct tape on all the surfaces that touch the plastic.
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Post by sandbar on Dec 17, 2007 22:38:04 GMT -5
CFF, I remember hearing that, also.
Have you ever used PVC pipe in a long-term house?
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Post by Alan on Dec 17, 2007 23:16:20 GMT -5
Yes, PVC will degrade the plastic due to the heat and the chemicals given off by the PVC. However, direct exposure to a metal frame also does basically the same thing, my plastic has only been on the 20 X 40 for two seasons but you can definitely tell where the metal "rubs" and touches the plastic, regardless of what you do to prevent the plastic from fatiguing, it is after all plastic and will develop weak spots.
One suggestion I can and will make is to put the plastic on on a cold day and pull it tight, I know most people put it on on warm days to keep an eye on slack, but trust me, that stuff can draw up so tight on a cold day it can actually pull your end wall in wards regardless of how much re-enforcement there is in the end walls, if you put it on while it is cold and leave just a bit of slack you can help keep the stress points from forming as quickly and prematurely degrading your plastic, just don't put it on while it's windy or you could become a human kite, I've been picked up off of a ladder 12 feet in the air with just a little gust of wind.
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Post by cff on Dec 17, 2007 23:51:38 GMT -5
No SB I haven't. I keep wanting to put in a commercial type greenhouse but my time can get so limited due to my work schedule, my dad is 72 and doesn't need another job. My son 17 is fixing to head off the collage so both my farming partners are hit and miss at times ............. lol Maybe someday CFF, I remember hearing that, also. Have you ever used PVC pipe in a long-term house? |
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Post by Blueflint on Dec 20, 2007 9:28:42 GMT -5
Does it matter which PVC is used on these? Either the white pvc sch 40 water line or the grey pvc sch 40 electrical conduit? I was at Home Depot the other day pricing things and noticed the grey states it can be bent 90 degrees right on the pipe itself, the white does not say anything along these lines. Seems everyone I have talked to has used the white. Grey is belled at one end, white is not and requires couplers. Comments?
On the Farmtek/Growers supply EZ Build Cold Frames...the tube is only 19 gauge which is pretty thin...about the thickness of your car door, only a little thicker than a tent pole. These are easy to assemble and you can opt for the plastic which is convient. I worried about how they would hold up to high winds, etc so we are building ours from scratch plus we needed something wider than the available 12'.
BTW, a cheap plastic option...cheaper than greenhouse plastic that is...Home Depot has rolls of 6 mil 20' wide by 100' rolls of clear for $65-70. This will cover a 12' wide greenhouse (depending on heigth) with enough length for double coverings or single cover on several units.
Blueflint
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Post by Alan on Dec 20, 2007 12:02:08 GMT -5
Definetly don't use the gray stuff if you are going to make one out of PVC pipe, it does not hold up to the sun and will warp and bend into all kinds of funny S-curves. I don't know the name of the stuff that people around here usually use but I do know that it is solarized to handle the high heat and direct and indirect UV.
The only problem with the plastic from Home Depot or any other hardware store is it is not UV rated and degrades very, very, quickly, usually within six months it starts to split and break down. The greenhouse film that is so expensive is UV rated and depending on the type has a 4 or 8 year warranty. Please be careful using the non UV rated stuff because you will walk outside one day and have a freakout as you see your plastic develop massive tears and rips.
I agree the metal for the ez-build ez-grow tunnels is pretty thin but no wider than what they are are you should never have a problem with snow collapse, the straight sides also help with that. If you get the stakes good and driven into the ground and then add a 2X8 baseboard around the bottom with bolts through the board and through the stakes and frame you shouldn't have much of a problem with wind.
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Post by fourseasongrower on Jan 2, 2008 12:34:53 GMT -5
My hoop houses are made with conduit. It's flexible, easy to use and has held up for three years so far.
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Post by ohiorganic on Jan 4, 2008 5:25:05 GMT -5
All our hoop houses are also made with conduit and the oldest one is around 10 years old and looks like it has another decade at least. Conduit is far superior to PVC in many ways. Cheaper in the long run, much, much, much greener material (does not involve chlorine or vinyl, too horrible polluters), recyclable, much more long lived (decades as compared to 3 to 5 years) and the metal does not break down the plastic chemically like PVC. Oh yeah, conduit is structurally a lot stronger than plastic.
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Post by Alan on Jan 4, 2008 21:39:11 GMT -5
I was pretty impressed by the hoop houses ohio organic has made and posted pics of on his blog, looks like a good sturdy and yet portable idea to me. If I didn't want mine stationary and was getting ready to put up a new one I would probably look into that method.
-Alan
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