Step-by-step instructions on how to build greenhouses: sizes, photos. Polycarbonate sheet size for greenhouses

Its greenhouse on the site allows you to successfully grow greens, vegetables, mushrooms and even flowers. The cultivated crops are ecologically clean and safe, which can not be said about goods from the store or from the market. With the proper organization of the process, the first harvest can be collected already in the first spring weeks.

Why do we need a greenhouse?

The greenhouse will reliably protect seedlings from frosts, cold winds and hail. Artificial warm and humid microclimate allows to prolong the period of productivity. Moreover, the greenhouse gives the horticulturist an opportunity to grow exotic heat-loving plants, which the usual climate does not fit. And greenhouses of large sizes are successfully used in farming.

Disadvantages of purchased models

Depending on the dimensions and selected materials, the cost of finished greenhouses varies greatly and can reach impressive amounts. Their erection with the help of third-party specialists will also cost extra money. Meanwhile, the independent installation of the greenhouse does not present special difficulties, even for a novice amateur horticulturist, and the savings can reach up to 20%. At the same time, there are no restrictions on the overall dimensions and shape of the structure. When buying a finished structure, there are usually only the sizes of a standard greenhouse, which is not suitable for everyone. Some self-assembled structures are not inferior to factory ones, and in many ways surpass them, because they are more thought out.

Coating material

When starting the construction of a greenhouse, the first step is to determine the location of the structure, as well as to choose the materials for the coating. Most often used:

• polyethylene film;
• glass;
• Polycarbonate.

Glass and film have long ago come to the foreground in the arrangement of greenhouses. Low cost allows you to buy any film sizes for greenhouses, but this is only an apparent advantage. The film is removed for the winter. In this connection, every season it has to be bought and re-tapped. Seldom when it is possible to accurately remove, and then re-tension the film without damage. Moreover, it quickly becomes turbid and polluted, and it is difficult to wash it.

Glass is inconvenient in mounting, it is easy to beat and requires additional sealing. A large hail is dangerous to the glass.

The polycarbonate coating has the best performance.

Advantages of polycarbonate

Polycarbonate - a modern material suitable for a greenhouse, the size of which can vary from very small to large farm.

Its advantages:

• a light weight;
• A high degree of transparency, not inferior to glass;
• Transmission of the UV spectrum;
• Significant strength (withstands hail blows);
• Thermal conductivity is better than that of glass;
• Allows to make arch constructions;
• Fireproof, since it does not support combustion;
• Easy to clean from the hose.

Polycarbonate sheets consist of cells in the form of a honeycomb, so that the light incident on their edges is reflected in different directions, which contributes to more uniform illumination. In addition, the cellular structure gives additional strength to the sheet, which protects against hail or windblown rubble. When buying, after the desired size of the polycarbonate sheet for the greenhouses is measured and cut, it is convenient to roll it into a roll for further transportation.

And although the price of polycarbonate is somewhat more expensive than other types of coatings, the lack of shortcomings and a number of advantages provided him with popularity among farmers and truckers.

Acquiring polycarbonate, you should pay attention to its thickness, the optimal value is 6-8 mm. Polycarbonate sheets have two standards: 2.1 × 6 m and 2.1 × 12 m. Also, in the quality sheet, the inner layer will be covered with a protection against moisture.

Greenhouse construction

After the location and materials are determined, the size of the greenhouse is specified. It is advisable to prepare a mini-project with a drawing, which will indicate all the dimensions, ways of fastening, the construction of the roof. The roof can be of various shapes:

• Flat;
• Sledge;
• Gable;
• Polygonal;
• Arched.

Optimum - in the form of an arch. Due to the fact that the polycarbonate is easily bent, it is easy to give it a bent shape. As glass is increasingly used as a coating, there is no need to arrange complex forms of the roof. When polycarbonate is used, there is no need to densely seal the numerous seams that are inevitable in the case of the use of glasses. The large dimensions of the polycarbonate sheet contribute to a small number of joints. Nevertheless, they should necessarily be closed, as otherwise heat will escape from the greenhouse and the greenhouse effect will be lost.

It is recommended that the size of the greenhouse be selected in such a way as to fit a whole number of polycarbonate sheets. Otherwise, a lot of material will be spent on pruning, and this is wasted money spent. If the sheet still needs to be cut, then this is done easily with a mounting knife.

Foundation

The construction of the greenhouse should begin with the arrangement of the foundation. Depending on the type of soil and the purpose of the greenhouse, one of the following types of grounds is selected:

• monolithic;
• Tape;
• Point.

The strongest are the monolithic or ribbon types of the foundation, which have high strength and reliability. However, polycarbonate greenhouses are quite lightweight structures, and if winter use is not planned, then an inexpensive point foundation can be completely handled. In addition, the fastening of the frame to such a foundation is much simpler.

Wooden frame

The next stage is the erection of the frame. When the hothouse frame is assembled , the length and height dimensions are determined by the foundation, the optimum height is about 2.5 m.

But, before proceeding with the installation work, it is necessary to determine the material for the frame. The most popular wooden beams for the reason that they can be found for free. Among other advantages of the wooden frame is the ease of installation and environmental friendliness, as wood is a natural material. But there are also disadvantages: it should be remembered that the tree constantly needs care. Otherwise, under conditions of constant dampness, the slats will rot. Each season of operation of the greenhouse, the wooden frame needs to be painted again or varnished.

Metal carcass

These shortcomings have led to the fact that in recent years more and more popular material for the frame is metal. In this case, a profile or pipes are used. The second, although they are more expensive, but significantly exceed the profile for strength characteristics. However, if you do not plan to use the greenhouse in winter, when a thick layer of snow is possible, you can limit yourself to the profile.

The structure of arcs differs in high strength. They can be purchased ready or use benders. There are also cheap plastic bent pipes of different sizes, but buying them is not recommended. Such structures are designed for a maximum of one season, after which such pipes bend and crack.

Depending on the size of the arched greenhouses, a different number of arcs will be required. The frequency of their location is selected individually, depending on their thickness and polycarbonate weight.

The disadvantage of the metal is corrosion, so it is mandatory primer and subsequent painting of all surfaces of the steel frame. If you use zinc, then there is no need for regular staining.

To the greenhouse is not broken by a strong gust of wind, it is necessary to provide additional weighting of the frame, as well as strengthen the places of fastening the frame to the foundation.

Mounting the coating

The polycarbonate sheets are attached to the arcs using metal staples. The size of the polycarbonate sheet for greenhouses and the frequency with which arcs follow, determine the number of staples, and the more they are there, the stronger the structure will be. It is forbidden to drill through holes in polycarbonate, since the integrity of the surface is disturbed, cracks appear that can eventually destroy the coating.

Since polycarbonate is allowed to bend exclusively in the transverse direction, then to obtain the arch it is necessary to fasten the sheets across the structure of the greenhouse.

If you have not previously encountered roofing with polycarbonate, then it is recommended to choose the material from the most famous manufacturers. The ends of the structure should be sealed with a special tape, which can protect the material from water and dirt.

Heating of the greenhouse in winter

If the winter use of the greenhouse is planned, then at the construction stage it is necessary to think in advance of the ways of heating it so that it is economically justified. With a competent approach, the efficiency of heating will be high, which means that the energy costs will be covered by income from the sale of the winter harvest at prices traditionally high for this time of the year.

Among the various ways of winter heating greenhouses can be identified infrared heating because of its high efficiency. Radiant energy is advantageous because it is heating not air, but plants and soil, which, in turn, giving off heat, already warm the air. This allows you to significantly reduce the heat loss of the greenhouse, and therefore, reduce the cost of heating.

Another advantage of infrared heaters is an instant start and no need for long pre-heating with a gradual increase in temperature. Even from the first minutes of operation, the radiators begin to heat at full power. When installing heaters should be placed at the top, directing the working surface towards the floor. In this case, the heat quickly warms the soil and, consequently, the roots of the seedling too.

Depending on the size of the greenhouse, heaters of different capacities will be required. The larger the volume of the greenhouse, the more heat energy is needed to heat it.

Beds

Getting a greenhouse and starting planting seedlings, many farmers are faced with the question of how to properly arrange the beds. The large distance between the beds will not allow the rational use of space, but excessive crowding will not allow plants to grow and bear fruit because of mutual darkening and interlacing of roots, which threatens to lose the crop. Planning the size of the beds in the greenhouse and the distance between them, you must calculate everything in advance.

The beds can be classified into two types: ground and those on shelves. The former are more widespread.

It is important to properly orient the beds: most of the sunlight will give the west-east direction.

Depending on the size of the greenhouse, you can decorate two or three beds. In this case, it is not recommended to exceed the maximum allowable width of the bed of 120 cm. Otherwise, the probability of its trampling when caring for plants is increased. Ground beds are recommended to be made high, for which you can use straw, a wooden frame or a brick.

For a greenhouse, the dimensions of which are more than two meters vertical, it is convenient to use the system of shelf beds. At the same time, the location of the shelves should be selected taking into account their growth, otherwise care for the plants will be too troublesome.

Conclusion

A competently designed and well-assembled greenhouse will please for a long period of operation. A well-thought-out heating system will allow you to harvest all year round. If you follow the advice given in the article, building a greenhouse with your own hands will not be a difficult task. Moreover, a useful experience will be acquired. In the event that there are difficulties with the self-assembly of the greenhouse, photos, sizes and instructions can be found in the special literature.