Recently, in suburban summer cottages, you can often see such a design as a compact and convenient prefabricated greenhouse made of polypropylene pipes. The huge popularity of such structures among amateur gardeners is due primarily to ease of use, reliability and low price. Such a lightweight construction will cost no more than 2 thousand rubles, and it will last quite a long time. For comparison: the cheapest ready-made prefabricated factory greenhouse costs dealers at least 15,000 rubles.
How to build a greenhouse out of polypropylene pipes: preparing materials
You can assemble a classic PVC arched greenhouse with your own hands in just a couple of days. Materials for its manufacture will need the following:
- PVC pipes intended for hot water supply thick-walled (not less than 4.2 mm). It is better to take a thicker version (with an inner diameter of at least 16.6 mm).
- Reinforcing rods 75 cm long and 10-12 mm in diameter.
- Edged board 150 * 30 mm.
- Thin rails for attaching the film to the beam.
- Steel wire.
- Reinforced greenhouse film or cellular polycarbonate.
- Bar 50 * 50 mm.
- Nails and screws.
You will also need to buy a couple of pipes larger than the diameter of the pipes prepared for the frame. They will be needed for the manufacture of plastic latches for film and door hinges.
A greenhouse is assembled from polypropylene pipes using the following tools:
- Hammer and drill.
- Garden drill or sledgehammer.
- A sharp paint knife.
Choosing a plot for the greenhouse
Of course, this structure should be mounted in a sunny place, well ventilated enough. You should not put a greenhouse where in winter too much snow accumulates. If the load is too large, the film may not withstand and tear. It is not necessary to observe this condition only when the structure is planned to be disassembled for the winter. The plot for the greenhouse should be as flat as possible. The earth on it should be tamped a little.
Base assembly
So, let's begin to understand how a greenhouse is assembled from a polypropylene pipe with its own hands. Before starting the installation of its frame, you should carefully mark out the selected area. The corners of the wooden frame from the board should be absolutely straight. You can mark the soil, for example, by the method of the Egyptian triangle or “two curves”.
The lower wooden frame is assembled using self-tapping screws or nails. After installation in each of its corners from the inside, stick along the reinforcing bar. This will avoid distortions during the assembly of the frame.
After the harness is ready, you can begin to install the most important element of the base - reinforcing fastening rods. The pits beneath them are easiest to make with a garden drill, as they should be deep enough (at least half a meter). You can also try to hammer the rods with a standard sledgehammer or hammer. However, in this case it is more difficult to achieve absolute verticality.
The rods should protrude about 25 cm above the soil surface. They should be located on both long sides of the future greenhouse in increments of 50 cm.
Frame assembly
After the base is ready, proceed to install the "ribs" of the greenhouse. To do this, pipes are simply put on the rods on both sides. The result is pretty strong arches. At the next stage, the frame of the greenhouse made of polypropylene pipes should be strengthened with transverse stiffeners. They are also made from PVC pipes. The crossbars can be fixed both on the wire and on plastic tees. In the latter case, fittings are worn on arched ribs in advance. They can be soldered to the pipes, but it is better to use screws for fastening. In this case, the greenhouse will turn out to be collapsible.
The number of transverse stiffeners depends on the size of the structure. However, even for a bulk greenhouse, rarely more than two or three are used on each side. The only obligatory element of such a PVC construction is the upper central transverse plastic “ridge”. Without this element, the film will sag after the first rain.
What does a greenhouse look like from polypropylene pipes? Drawings and photos of such structures can be seen in the article.
End faces
These elements are assembled from a bar, previously carefully treated with antiseptic antiseptic compositions. The film is attached to the beam using self-tapping screws through the rails. If desired, the tree can be replaced with the same PVC pipes. In this case, the segments of the required length are simply installed on the ends vertically along the edges of the future door. To the first arch they can also be fixed on tees. The bottom fixation is made on reinforcing bars.
To the resulting plastic "jambs" will need to attach the door assembled from the segments. To do this, short pieces of PVC pipe of larger diameter are soldered to one of the vertical racks above and below. A door is mounted on them.
Tape
Sheathed homemade greenhouse made of polypropylene pipes is usually reinforced with polyethylene. Do not use ordinary film for this purpose. Such a lining will not last especially long. It costs not much more, but will last much longer.
Cutting the cladding is best done right in the greenhouse. In this way, inaccuracies can be avoided. The length of the strips should be slightly larger than the length of the edges of the "arches". The fact is that the film at the final stage is usually tucked under the strapping. You can also fix it to the tree through the slats. To the arched "ribs" it is fixed on special plastic clips. The latter are made from short pipe sections of larger diameter. These tubes are simply cut, breaking along the length of one side with a narrow strip. The result is a comfortable elastic clamp.
After the film is firmly fixed, the assembly of the PVC greenhouse can be considered complete.
Other designs
Of course, greenhouses made of polypropylene pipes can have not only a classic arched shape. It is very simple to build, for example, a house structure from this material. The assembly procedure consists of the following steps:
- The strapping from the board and the fixing rods are mounted in the same way as in the first case.
- Further on the fittings are installed vertical posts from pipes.
- Then mounted plastic "rafters" of the same lengths.
- Connect them to the ridge element by means of tees of the corresponding form. With racks "rafters" connect fittings. At the top, each form should be strengthened with a horizontal cross member from a segment of the turbo.
- At the next stage, the transverse stiffeners are mounted (also on tees pre-worn on vertical racks).
Using polycarbonate
Greenhouses made of polypropylene pipes are sheathed not only with a film. It is perfectly acceptable to replace it with polycarbonate. It is also quite flexible and lightweight. It will last longer than the film, but will cost more. It should be attached to the pipes on roofing screws with thermowells. Unlike the reinforced film, polycarbonate is able to expand and contract when the air temperature changes. Therefore, when using hard mounts, such casing will quickly become worthless. The diameter of the holes for ordinary screws in the sheets should be slightly larger than their rods. At the same time, a gap of approximately 1 mm should be left between the fastener head and the sheathing sheet.
Polycarbonate - the material, of course, is very reliable and durable. However, more often they are still lined with greenhouses on a frame from a profile or corner. For plastic, they usually still use a budget film.
How to care for a PVC greenhouse
As already mentioned, it is better to make a plastic construction collapsible - on self-tapping screws. In this case, in the fall, after harvesting, it can be simply put away in the garage or hozblok. If the greenhouse remains to winter in the garden, it will have to periodically sweep away snow. Otherwise, the film may not withstand and tear. Polycarbonate tolerates much greater loads. But you still have to remove the layer of snow from it. Otherwise, the lining during the thaw will be covered with a thin crust of ice. Polycarbonate is absolutely unstable to scratches.
In spring, the walls of the greenhouse with any kind of cladding will need to be thoroughly washed with soapy water using a soft cloth.
As you can see, making a greenhouse from pipes with your own hands is a very simple procedure. It takes a little time to assemble such a design. This light construction costs a penny. So to build a neat PVC greenhouse in the garden is quite within the power of everyone.