Advantages and disadvantages of plastic and profile greenhouses. Features of their installation and work technology. A pipe greenhouse is a structure whose frame is used for flexible transparent coatings. You will learn about the intricacies of making such a structure from our today's material.
Features of work on the installation of greenhouses from pipes
Any greenhouse, so indispensable for a true gardener, consists of two main parts - a frame and a transparent cover, which should freely let in sunlight. The frame for greenhouses is made of galvanized profiles, wood, plastic or metal rectangular pipes. Cellular polycarbonate, glass or special polyethylene film can serve as a covering for greenhouse frames. The choice of frame material depends on the design of the greenhouse and its planned coverage. Metal or plastic pipes are used for arched and hipped-roof structures for cellular polycarbonate or film. Galvanized profile frames are made for glass.
The greenhouse tube frame performs a number of important tasks, among which the main ones are:
- Creation of the shape of the structure;
- Fastening its cover;
- Ensuring the rigidity and stability of the greenhouse in wind, rain or snow load.
With all this, the frame should be lightweight, easy to manufacture and not interfere with the lighting of the greenhouse.
The purpose of pipe greenhouses, as well as their shape, may differ. It's one thing if you need fresh herbs in the spring, and completely different when you need to grow flowers or vegetables all year round. At the same time, the height of the plants can be very different, respectively, and the dimensions of the structures have to be varied based on the type of crop planned for growing.
The tubular frame can serve as the basis for greenhouses of different architectures:
- Arched structure … To many, it seems like the perfect option. The installation of such a greenhouse is simple to perform. Such a structure is mounted as a module, therefore, if necessary, there is always the possibility of building up the greenhouse frame. In this type of structure, it is possible to combine the cultivation of short and tall plant crops. An important factor is that arched greenhouses are resistant to wind loads; moreover, snow does not last long on sloping roofs.
- Single slope design … This greenhouse most often has a common wall with a private house. It is quite convenient, since ready-made communications can be used to heat it: it is enough to remove several radiators from the heating system into the greenhouse. The only limitation is that such a structure should not be located on the north side of the building.
- Gable hip construction … It has long been considered a classic. In width, these greenhouses are 5 m or more, and the length of individual models can reach 40 m. The dimensions largely depend on the heating system. When using stove heating, gable buildings with a length of more than 15 m are not made. If centralized heating is laid to heat such a structure, the dimensions of the hipped greenhouse can be many times larger.
Important! If greenhouses of any type have an elongated shape, it is recommended to locate them in a north-south direction. This orientation of the structures helps plants to obtain maximum sun exposure.
Advantages and disadvantages of pipe greenhouses
Do-it-yourself installation of greenhouses from pipes, depending on the type of these products, has its advantages and disadvantages. Let's take a look at them in detail:
- PVC pipe system … Many novice gardeners, chasing cheapness, are trying to make a greenhouse frame from PVC pipes. By itself, this material is not bad, it is reliable and durable. However, PVC pipes have a significant drawback - they are rigid and thin-walled, which applies to most of their models. Therefore, such products "do not like" forced bending and, being in a stressed state, can even crack during frost. Polyvinyl chloride is great for creating utilities, but this does not apply to greenhouse frames, especially for the construction of arched structures.
- Polypropylene pipe system … This version of the "skeleton" of the greenhouse is quite acceptable and clearly deserves attention. The strength of polypropylene is quite high. In addition, it has excellent elasticity. The walls of pipes made of this material are much thicker than those of PVC products. And most importantly, polypropylene can be bent without fear, making arched vaults of greenhouses. Plus, having little skills in communicating with a special soldering iron, you can make a reliable frame for the transom and the door of the building from such pipes.
- Profile pipe system … In terms of strength, rigidity and reliability, it surpasses the two previous options, since the material of manufacture is metal. Profile pipes in cross-section can have a very different configuration: square, oval, rectangle, etc. For the manufacture of greenhouses, a square profile with a section of 20x20 mm and a section of 20x40 mm in the form of a rectangle is usually used. Such pipes are indispensable when assembling hipped-roof structures, where all structural elements are straightforward. In the manufacture of hipped roof structures, the lack of profile pipes affects: they are difficult to bend, while maintaining the same radius of arches along the entire length of the greenhouse. For these purposes, it is necessary to have a special pipe bender, which is too expensive for a single use. A way out of this situation can be found at any metal warehouse where pipes are purchased. It is enough to find there a person who is responsible for this technique, leave the drawings to him and explain the essence of the matter. The service is inexpensive, but it can save you a lot of time and effort.
Technology for installing greenhouses from pipes
Before making a greenhouse from pipes, you need to prepare the main: material for the foundation, pipes, polycarbonate or transparent film, fasteners, a pipe soldering iron, a screwdriver, a knife, an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel, a building level, a plumb line or a square.
Material selection
Plastic pipes are made separately for hot and cold liquids. The difference is that the first version of the product has an additional reinforcing layer of foil or glass fiber. When using such pipes for their true purpose, this subtlety is very important. We do not have. Therefore, the greenhouse frame can be mounted from cold water pipes - they are cheaper. Such products are marked with a blue stripe. Plastic rigid PVC pipes can be used to make straight hipped greenhouses, while flexible polypropylene pipes are good for creating arched structures. Plastic frames are considered lightweight structures, therefore, in most cases, they are made under the film.
Profile pipes can be galvanized, painted or uncoated clean. They must be selected depending on the method of installation of the greenhouse. If welding is present, it is worth taking the usual ones, any coating along the weld will still burn out. In addition, the uncoated pipe is cheaper. If the price is not important and the assembly will be carried out with bolts, you can confidently take galvanized pipes - they have anti-corrosion protection. However, in this case, you only need to buy high-quality products. Zinc spraying from good Chinese companions can crack as the pipe bends, and the whole point of protecting the metal will be lost. As for the coloring of the metal, the price of such products is too high. Plus, they “don't like” being bent.
Making a greenhouse from plastic pipes
Consider the manufacture of a greenhouse with such a frame using an arched structure as an example.
The procedure will be as follows:
- The place for the greenhouse must be cleared of the vegetation layer, since it will be problematic to look for small construction debris in the grass, which inevitably falls to the ground during the construction process. Moreover, foreign bodies are absolutely not needed for growing seedlings. You can fill the beds in the greenhouse with soil after the installation is completed.
- Since a foundation is not needed for a light greenhouse made of plastic pipes, a wooden frame laid on the ground will serve as the basis for it. It can be put together from a board 20-40 mm thick or a bar of 25x25 mm, depending on the size of the structure. It is recommended to check the correctness of the frame assembly with its diagonals, they should be equal. It is easy to fix the finished base: along the inner corners of the lying frame, you need to drive pieces of reinforcement into the ground. The wooden structure should be pre-treated with an antiseptic and waterproofing material.
- After installing the base, you can install arcs made of polypropylene pipes 13 mm in diameter for the future greenhouse. First, it is necessary to cut the reinforcing rods 70-80 cm long and hammer them into the ground 40 cm along the long edge of the wooden base in increments of 60-65 cm. The diameter of the rods should be selected so that they fit tightly into the pipe. Then the pipe must be put on the reinforcing bar from one side of the frame and bend it. Without releasing, the other end of the pipe should be put on the corresponding rod on the other side of the base. As a result of repeating this procedure, you should get a series of parallel arches.
- Now, at the bottom, each arch must be attached with clamps to a wooden base. This fastener will securely fix the end of the arc.
- The end parts of the greenhouse made of polypropylene pipes must be assembled using the same method. They must be equipped with stiffeners, which are also fixed with clamps to the wooden base frame.
- The greenhouse door with the box is to be assembled on the ground. Suitable for work are wooden blocks 50x50 mm. As a result, you should get two rectangles so that one easily fits into the other. In the inner rectangle, that is, the door frame, you need to fill an oblique strip to ensure the rigidity of the product. The entire structure should be installed at the end of the greenhouse and secured in any way by hanging hinges.
- Now the finished frame with doors must be covered with transparent film. This work is best done in sunny weather, but not in hot weather. Otherwise, the material from thermal deformation will be stretched too tightly, and this can make it inevitable rupture at the bends and at the points of contact with the frame. The stretched film can be fixed with slats or simply put a number of bricks on its free ends, so that gusts of wind do not carry it in an unknown direction. After covering the greenhouse with foil, you need to install the door handle.
Such a structure can be installed in half a day.
The device of a greenhouse from a profile pipe
A greenhouse made of a shaped pipe is a capital structure capable of absorbing significant wind and snow loads. Therefore, it is necessary to make a foundation for it. When choosing a site for the foundation, first of all, you should take into account the areas with the greatest illumination during the day.
Greenhouse structures are not erected near trees and shrubs, which give a lot of shade. If the use of the greenhouse is planned in the winter, it will be rational to build it near a residential building. This will reduce heating costs due to the fact that the method of transporting the coolant to housing and the greenhouse will be common.
After the place for the building has been determined, it is necessary to prepare the drawings of the greenhouses from the pipe. They are easy to find in finished form on the Internet. The further course of work is carried out in the following sequence:
- First of all, you need to do the foundation. There are quite a few options for its manufacture, as well as suitable materials. But you can dwell on one of them, the simplest and most common - a shallow strip foundation made of concrete. To set it up, you need to mark the greenhouse on the ground according to the drawings, level the site, dig a trench 35-40 cm deep around its perimeter, lay an anchor in it for the future fastening of profile pipes and fill it with concrete. After 28 days, it will solidify, and construction can continue.
- When the base is ready, it is necessary to cut the parts of the greenhouse frame in accordance with the specification of materials of the drawing. Further work after this will consist only in the assembly of the structure.
- To start it, you need to weld a rectangular shaped pipe 40x20 mm in size to the embedded parts of the concrete base along the perimeter of the foundation. To avoid distortions of the frame, the assembly of the main structural units should be carried out on a level surface.
- After completing this procedure, it is necessary to weld racks to the metal frame, the verticality of which in the process of work should be controlled by the building level. Fixing the racks in the desired position should be done with metal braces from the corner, the bottom of which is to be welded to the tubular foundation frame. If the frame will be sheathed with sheets of cellular polycarbonate, the step of the racks should be selected in accordance with their width.
- The welded racks must be connected with pipes with a section of 40x20, placing them parallel to the pipes of the foundation frame.
- The end of the greenhouse made of pipes is a supporting structure. It is necessary to make openings for the door and vents in it. A 40x20 mm pipe should be used for the door opening, and a window must be made from a 20x20 mm pipe.
- The welded sections of the openings must be flush with the plane of the main frame. Such a connection will allow it to be evenly coated with polycarbonate.
- It is necessary to complete the installation of the greenhouse frame by installing a rafter system. Usually the triangles for it are connected on the ground, and then lifted and fixed on the frame frames. If the size of the greenhouse is small, the entire roof frame can be made at the bottom, and then installed on the main frame and welded. It is recommended to fasten the frames of doors and vents to the posts of openings using canopies.
- The finished frame can be covered with PE foil or sheathed with polycarbonate. The fastening of its sheets to the frame pipes should be carried out using self-tapping screws equipped with thermal washers. Fasten the sheets end-to-end in relation to each other, and then coat the remaining seams with silicone sealing compound.
- When the frame cladding is completed, the ridge of the greenhouse roof should be covered with a metal tile profile. Door and window frames must be sheathed with polycarbonate after all work is completed.
Advice! Due to the fact that arched greenhouses do not have a ridge, it is recommended to lay polycarbonate on these frames across the structure and fix it on arcs, repeating their shape. How to make a greenhouse from pipes - watch the video:
Having the elementary skill of working with household tools and welding, it will not be difficult to build a greenhouse from a profile pipe or plastic. And although it will take some time, the design will turn out to be quite reliable and durable.
