Do-it-yourself polycarbonate greenhouse: dimensions, drawings, photos and videos

Polycarbonate greenhouses in the distribution network are widely represented – for every taste and size. But many people prefer to do it themselves. Because a do-it-yourself polycarbonate greenhouse is many times stronger and more reliable. At the same time, the costs are less or the same.

How to choose a design

If you decide to build a polycarbonate greenhouse with your own hands, it is advisable to choose a design that allows you to use the main advantage of this material – its ability to bend. These are two types with curved roofs with arched supports.

In one design, the arcs extend from the ground itself. If they are curved in the form of a radius, a lot of area is lost along the edges, since it is very inconvenient to work there due to the small height.

Another design solves this problem – with a composite frame welded from several pieces. Straight racks emerge from the ground / from the base, which rise to a height of at least one and a half meters. An arc is welded to them. With this device, the roof is rounded, the walls are straight. Even along the walls you can work without problems, straightening up to your full height.

But the rounded roof of the greenhouse has several disadvantages. The first – it is more difficult in it than in a straight line to make vents for ventilation. You can solve the problem if you make transoms in the walls, and not in the roof. The second minus of a rounded roof in a polycarbonate greenhouse is that snow comes off it worse than from flat inclined surfaces. If you live in a region with snowy winters, you will either have to make reinforced farms, or make a pitched roof – with one or two slopes.

There is a third solution – to make the rounded part of the roof from two arcs welded at an angle, which forms a kind of ridge. With this structure, the snow melts well and the skate can be protected with a wide strip of metal. This will improve the snow removal and protect the joint from leaks.

Do-it-yourself polycarbonate greenhouse: frame material

The choice of materials for the frame is not very large. Profiled (rectangular) pipes, a metal corner and a wooden beam are suitable. Also use galvanized profiles for drywall.

Wood

The beam is used for small greenhouses, and the design is chosen with a single-pitched or double-pitched roof, since it is difficult and time-consuming to bend wood arcs. The cross section of the beam depends on the size of the greenhouse and the snow / wind loads in the region. The most popular size is 50 * 50 mm. Such supports are placed in the Middle Strip. For greater reliability, corner posts can be made from a bar of 100 * 100 mm.

Moreover, to save money, you can not buy a bar, but make a composite one – from boards. Take two boards 50 mm wide and 25 mm thick, three boards 15 mm thick. Fold, knock down on both sides with nails. The resulting racks are stronger, better tolerate loads, less prone to torsion, since the wood fibers are directed in different directions.

If a do-it-yourself polycarbonate greenhouse is being built on a wooden frame, all boards / beams must be treated / impregnated with antiseptics, and those that are intended for the street. Treat the ends that are buried in the ground with compounds for direct contact with the ground. Without such treatment, wood, firstly, will quickly collapse, and secondly, it can become a source of plant diseases.

When connecting racks to the strapping (bottom bar), for greater rigidity and reliability, use steel reinforced mounting angles. They are available at hardware stores. To increase the bearing capacity of the roof, additional jumpers are installed.

You can read more about gable roofs here, about shed roofs – here.

Profiled pipes and steel angle

Most of the polycarbonate greenhouse frames are made of profiled pipes. If you have a welding machine, the skills to work with it, it’s easy to do everything yourself – it’s easier to cook a square or rectangle than round pipes. Another plus is that with the help of a pipe bender it is easy to make arcs yourself.

The cross section again depends on the size and environmental conditions. Most often they are made from a rectangular pipe 20 * 40 mm. But options are also possible. For that material, another parameter such as wall thickness is also important. It is desirable that the metal was 2-3 mm. Such a frame endures significant loads.

A steel corner is also a good option, but bending it is a difficult task, therefore greenhouses are assembled in the form of a house – with gable or shed roofs. The dimensions of the shelves are 20-30 mm, the thickness of the metal is from 2 mm.

Galvanized profiles

Do-it-yourself polycarbonate greenhouse with a profile frame is the most unreliable option. It is good in areas with little snowy winters, and even without strong winds. The advantage of this option is that welding is not needed. And the minus is not the biggest bearing capacity.

The technology is used standard – as for the construction of walls and partitions made of drywall. The only difference is that the frame is sheathed on one side and polycarbonate is attached. It is advisable to make the racks double – splicing two supporting profiles, turning them “back to back” and twisting them with self-tapping screws. For greater rigidity of the frame, make slopes, connecting adjacent racks with inclined jumpers. It is desirable to make the roof pitched, and not rounded, to strengthen the trusses.

Foundation

If you are wondering whether or not you need a foundation for a polycarbonate greenhouse, there is only one answer – you need it. And reliable. They fly very well. Therefore, the foundation should “anchor” the building well.

Belt type

This foundation is for buildings that are planned for more than one year. The most expensive, but also the most solid option. If you plan to use the greenhouse all year round, the foundation is made deep – to a depth just below the freezing of the soil. For seasonal use, concrete-brick or just from a bar is suitable.

Concrete-brick (concrete-beam)

Most often they make a concrete-brick version. It is optimal in terms of costs, complexity and duration. Work is carried out as follows:

• By the size of the greenhouse, they dig a trench. Its width is about 20 cm, the depth depends on the type of soil.
  • On heaving soils (clay, loam, black soil), a trench is dug 50-60 cm deep. The edges of the trench are reinforced with formwork – knocked together boards, plywood, OSB. 15 cm of crushed stone of large and small fractions are poured onto the leveled bottom, rammed. The same layer of sand is poured on top, leveled and rammed. This cushion will compensate for ground movements during frost heaving.
  • The depth of the foundation on soils that are not prone to heaving is 25-30 cm. The bottom of the dug trench is cleaned of stones, roots and other objects, leveled, compacted.
    

• A dense oilcloth or roofing felt is spread on the prepared bottom. This is necessary so that moisture from the solution is not absorbed into the soil. It is also desirable to cover the sides, but there formwork panels partially solve this problem. Without this layer, the concrete will not gain strength and will collapse.
• The solution is poured into the resulting ditch. The proportions are as follows: for 1 part of cement (M 400), 3 parts of sand and 5 parts of aggregate are taken. Aggregate – preferably crushed stone of small and medium fractions. Expanded clay should not be used – it absorbs moisture, can cause high humidity.
• The surface is leveled “under the level”. You can smooth it out with a wooden block.
  

• Mortgages are installed in the foundation, at the corners and with a distance of 1 meter – studs or pieces of reinforcement with a diameter of at least 12 mm. Studs are placed if it is necessary to attach timber to them, reinforcement – if brick is to be laid. They stick out above the level of the foundation by at least 15 cm.
• The poured foundation is covered with a film, stands for at least a week (at temperatures below 17 ° C, two weeks should pass). If the weather is hot, it is watered a couple of times a day. To preserve moisture in this case, under the film, it is better to cover it with a coarse cloth (burlap).
• If the bottom strapping is a beam, waterproofing is rolled over the concrete base. You can – roofing material in two layers, but now it is quickly collapsing, so it’s better to take Hydroizol or something similar. You can smear concrete with bituminous mastic a couple of times. The result will be more reliable.
• A row of strapping is laid:
  • If it is a timber 100 * 100, it is impregnated with a composition for direct contact with the ground. Holes are drilled in it for the installed studs, put on them, and the studs are tightened with bolts. To prevent the bolts from sticking out, recesses are made using a drill of a suitable size.
    

  • If the base is concrete-brick, one or two rows of bricks are laid. You can also use hollow, since the mass is small. The laying is carried out so that the mortgages fall into the seam between the bricks.
• Next comes the assembly of the frame.

There are options for this type of foundation. It is possible to install small-sized foundation concrete blocks in the prepared trench, fill the space between them with mortar. They must be installed so that their edge is below ground level. A layer of concrete is poured on top, leveled. Mortgages are fixed in the seams.

Empty bottles can be used as building material. They are laid in rows, poured with concrete. It turns out a very economical and warm foundation. Its bearing capacity is quite enough for a more serious building.

Timber foundation for a polycarbonate greenhouse

This option is suitable as a temporary solution – it can last two to three years. It depends on the humidity in the area, the quality of the wood and the processing. A beam is used with a large section – 100 * 100 or more (can be made composite, from several boards). It is treated with compounds for wood in contact with the ground. The order of work is as follows:

• Mark the site, dig a trench. Its dimensions should be 7-10 cm deeper and wider than the timber used.
• The bottom and walls are covered with rolled waterproofing material (it is better to use Hydroizol, it will last for a longer period).
• Lay the processed beam, connect it in the corners.
  

• Waterproofing is wrapped around the timber.
• With the help of corners driven in on both sides, the beam is fixed in place.
• The free space remaining between the waterproofing and the walls of the trench is covered with rubble, if the soil is heaving and with previously excavated earth, if not. The soil is well compacted.
• Next, a strapping beam is attached to this beam. Between them it is worth laying another layer of waterproofing.

This option is only suitable for dry areas with low groundwater. In this case, we can hope that the foundation will live for at least a few years.

Pile-grillage

Another type of foundation that will not protect against frost. But it is reliable and will serve for a long time. Read a full description of the pile-grillage foundation manufacturing technology here, and we will give a short list of works.

• Mark the perimeter of the greenhouse, dig a trench 20 centimeters wide and about the same depth.
• Holes are drilled in the corners with a diameter of 30-40 cm and a depth below the freezing depth of the soil (a drill is used). Then the same holes are drilled around the perimeter. The distance between them should be somewhere 2-2,5 meters.
• Sand is poured into the holes – about a bucket, approximately, then a roofing material rolled into cylinders is placed inside.
• They install three bars of reinforcement with a diameter of 10-12 mm, connected into a single structure. The bars should stick out above the ground – a harness will be attached to them later.
• Concrete is poured into the holes (for 1 part of cement M 400, 3 parts of sand, 5 parts of crushed stone). You have to make sure there are no gaps.
• A layer of sand is poured at the bottom of the trench, 5-5 cm thick, leveled and rammed.
  

• Waterproofing is spread on it (roofing material, Hydroizol).
• Formwork is assembled on the sides, fixed. It may be above ground level. If the soil is not loose, you can do without formwork by covering the walls with waterproofing. But in this case, the foundation will be flush with the ground, and it will also be uneven.
• Concrete of the same composition is poured into the formwork as for the pillars. The surface is leveled, covered with a film, they are waiting for the concrete to set.

Next, you can fasten the strapping, or you can build on a couple of rows of bricks and only after that install the frame. After that, we can say that the do-it-yourself polycarbonate greenhouse is almost ready. It remains to fix the polycarbonate.

Which polycarbonate to choose

How long a polycarbonate greenhouse, bought or built with your own hands, will last, how well it will “work”, depends on the parameters and quality of the polycarbonate. His choice must be taken responsibly – the amount is considerable.

Types of polycarbonate

There are three types of this material:

• Monolithic. It looks like glass, but it transmits light better, it is two to four times lighter, several times (and 100-200) stronger. Thickness – from 0,75 mm to 40 mm. The disadvantage is the high price. This material is used if there is a risk of damage – hail often occurs, the greenhouse stands in such a way that icicles can fall on it, snow can melt. There is a multilayer monolithic polycarbonate. Sheets can be up to 3-5 pieces, they can have different properties. For example, for greenhouses, a double layer is usually used – the first layer is characterized by increased strength, the second one does not transmit ultraviolet light.
  

• Corrugated (profiled). Appeared relatively recently. It is formed from a monolithic sheet, on which a relief is formed. There are types similar to corrugated board, slate. The thickness of this type of polycarbonate is 0,8-1,2 mm. With such a small thickness, it withstands hail impacts up to 20 mm in diameter, bends well, normally tolerates frosts down to -50 ° C.
  

• Cellular (cellular, structured). Consists of two (or more) polycarbonate sheets connected by jumpers. The shape, dimensions, thickness of the jumpers – all this affects the quality and performance. The thickness of cellular polycarbonate is 4, 6, 8, 10, 16, 20, 24 and 32 mm. For greenhouses, it is better to take no thinner than 10 mm, multilayer.

What type of polycarbonate is better to use for the construction of greenhouses? Depends on the mode of operation of the greenhouse. If it is heated, you need a cell phone. If this option is exclusively for the warm season, corrugated (or monolithic) is more suitable. Monolithic is also not bad, but corrugated has more rigidity. For greenhouses that are planned to be used from early spring or throughout the winter, cellular polycarbonate is installed. Due to its structure, it has more than its high thermal insulation characteristics – it retains heat better, although it transmits light worse (86% versus 95%).

Choosing cellular polycarbonate

It is not difficult to choose corrugated or monolithic – we are guided by the declared characteristics. It is only important that there is UV protection. There are no other pitfalls. But with a cell phone, there are many nuances. You need to pay attention to the following:

• The thickness of the outer layers and their number. Sheets should be of the same thickness without sagging and thinner places.
• The location of the jumpers and their thickness.
  

• The presence of a layer that protects against ultraviolet radiation.

The easiest way to check the quality of cellular polycarbonate is to try to squeeze it between your fingers. If it is not pressed through, even if you make considerable efforts, you can take it. If it squeezes easily, look for another one.

Mounting Features

According to the technology, polycarbonate is mounted using starting and connecting profiles. First, profiles are installed on the frame, a sheet of cellular polycarbonate is inserted into them, which is fixed to self-tapping screws with special press washers, which at the same time protect the attachment point from leaks. Profiles, in addition to holding the sheets in place, also protect the cuts from dust and dirt getting into the bottom. The system looks neat, works well, but all components cost decent money.

Aesthetics for a greenhouse is not the most necessary property, therefore, if you need to save money, they prefer to fix it in a simple way, without profiles and press washers. Here’s how they do it:

• The edges of each sheet are covered with silicone. They must be closed without fail, otherwise condensate will accumulate inside, in which mold and fungi will develop over time, polycarbonate will lose transparency. So it is necessary to seal the edges carefully, leaving no room for air and moisture to penetrate.
• Sheets are laid with an overlap of several centimeters, pressed from above with a strip of tin. Fasteners are installed in an “overlap”, through a tin strip.
  

• Under the caps of the self-tapping screws, you can put ordinary wide washers.
• The UV protection layer must face outward during installation. It is important. Otherwise it doesn’t work.

This is what concerns directly the fastening of cellular polycarbonate. There is one more point that became clear during the operation of polycarbonate greenhouses. Polycarbonate should not be placed close to the ground. It is desirable that it starts at least half a meter from the surface. Why? Because firstly, it gets dirty anyway and almost no light passes through it, so it does not affect the overall illumination. Secondly, it begins to deteriorate – blacken exfoliate. It is not clear what causes this reaction, but it occurs frequently. So when developing a do-it-yourself polycarbonate greenhouse layout, provide half-meter walls from another material – brick, building blocks. Doesn’t matter.