Planning and building a greenhouse
Planning
I decided to construct the greenhouse with aluminum and acrylic, with the hope that it will last for a long time and require little maintenance. The production of these materials is not as sustainable as I would wish, but I got carried off with the design, and after a year of planning, began the construction on February 2022.
Foundation
All posts are connected to concreted anchors, half off them in massive concrete planters. The same planters will be used to construct the lower part of the back of the greenhouse. I would rather do without concrete, and I did discover an interesting alternative: screw-foundations. These are huge metal screws, seemingly absolutely recyclable as such, that require, however, a special machine to screw them into the ground in accurate angle. I have learned of their existence too late, at which point that it would have required changing the entire design of the greenhouse.
Structure
The structure is made mostly out of U profiles (3-4 mm), providing relative stability lengthwise. A second, lighter, two-part profile is then attached to the structural profile from outside. These external profiles are specifically made to hold the acrylic (or any other glazing material), and are originally intended for carports, verandas and the like.
Metal sheets
The back of the greenhouse will be buried in mounds of soil: inside, supported by the concrete planting rings, and outside, by an artificial soil slope. The metal sheets comprise a light division between inside and outside, and except for a couple of centimeters, will be underground.
Thermal mass
The back of the greenhouse will be buried in mounds of soil: inside, supported by the concrete planting rings, and outside, by an artificial soil slope.
Glazing
The walls, windows and doors are made of acrylic multi-wall. I haven’t succeeded in finding out a solution to enable installation by one person. The work is tedious and requires two persons, one from outside and one from inside.
Doors
As with the windows, I couldn’t find anything that fitted my other requirements nor anything at a reasonable price, so I had to design the doors myself. Constructing them was difficult and tedious, and this might also be problematic if they need to be repaired.
Harvesting rainwater
Three connected water-tanks are installed inside the greenhouse, and rainwater is collected from the gutter. Due to some limitations, I have managed to collect only about 70% of the water. The rest runs out to the garden.
Finished work
Research and planning: Jan. 2021 - Jan. 2022
Construction: Jan. 2022 - Aug. 2022