Finished hoop style greenhouse

Greenhouse Part 2

After a couple days of rain the weather cleared and it was time to finish building the greenhouse. On the agenda for the day were finishing the door frame, building the door, covering the greenhouse with greenhouse film, and securing the greenhouse film. I got to work early and managed to get everything done with the help of my wife. See part 1 here.

Finishing the Greenhouse Front Wall

To finish up the front wall I added 2 diagonal supports from the vertical door beams to the corners of the hoop house. I added some strength to these with some scrap 2″ x 4″s. I also used some scrap wood to strengthen up the door frame. Finally I added a horizontal beam for the door and attached it to the ridge beam with a small piece of scrap 2″ x 4″. I had to make some adjustments with scrap wood in a couple spots of the greenhouse but it all turned out pretty well.

Covering the Greenhouse

The first step to cover the hoop house with UV resistant greenhouse film is to cover the PVC ribs with felt tape. This is because PVC and greenhouse film can interact causing the film to degrade more quickly. Its quick and easy to do.

With my wife’s help we put the film up on the front and back of the greenhouse first. We secured the film to the base and any vertical boards with staples. An electric staple gun really helped the process.

Once the front and back were covered and secured with staples it was time to cover the rest of the hoop house. We covered the greenhouse and stapled it to the ridge board. We had to fold it back and staple a bit as we went using a ladder. The next step was to pull the film as tight as we could and staple it to the bottom of the greenhouse frame. Finally we secured each corner by overlapping the side film with the front or back film and using PVC clips designed specifically for greenhouses. We may have pulled some of the greenhouse a little too tight as we ended up with some curves.

Greenhouse Door and Finishing

Finally I built a simple door and covered it with film using stapled. I attached barn style hinges and a handle. We also used a cylinder lock to help hold the door in place and keep the kids out. The door itself is an extremely tight fit but was simple enough to hang. Finally I added some 2″ x 1″ pieces between each hoop to further secure each side.  We cut the excess film off and called it a day.

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