Coconut Head: I agree with Jay, it won't work and here's the reason why. You would have all the stress on a small point on the poly. If it is really that strongly attached by magnets, and I believe that part, the poly would tear and pull over the magnet just like it would if nailed on with flat head nails or screws. Poly isn't that strong in a small area. The stress needs to be spread out over the entire length of an attachment. That's why all attachment systems feature full contact. A strip of wood nailed down not just a few nail heads spread out. All other attachment systems feature full contact. Wood firing strips aren't really that good because the wood warps and full contact is lost. Then the poly tears and pulls out from the loose spots. Mine features full contact poly locks. If the poly is attached too tight it causes too much stress on small points where the inserted pieces of poly lock meet and the poly develops holes at those stress points. Your system to have any hope would require magnetic strips, not small magnets at points.

Thanks, that with the PVC hoops on the inside of 2x's looks like you have to pull the plasic over a couple of inches. I haven't found really detailed plans but DH did notch out the 4x4s so that he could drive the 2ft top rail ground posts in with only 1.5" of wood on the outside, so same I guess. Mother Earth News has similar design - I like the saddles in the ends of the door frame vertical members. But he hit rock! No ground posts put in today, it's not solid ledge but very rocky sandy soil that was leveled with bulldozer last fall. I think he's going to try breaking a path with 1/2" steel rod for each ground post (and maybe clearing the old dirt out of them would help?) but we were trying to think of an alternate way to anchor this? My uncle suggested digging a trench down the middle (where I have about 20 yards of composted manure piled now!) and burying cinder blocks with steel cables anchoring the sides but I don't know if I can do that (b/c of manure), how many are needed for 14x64 tunnel, and if there's a problem with tomato roots growing down year after year - will they break up the concrete? Twice as much work, but could take a backhoe and trench along both sides and bury the cinder blocks, but again how many? Advantage to this is we can just clamp the posts to the walls and I can plant now, trench and anchor before we put plastic up later this summer. The hoops were never screwed into the ground posts, previous owner just had them setting inside with nails under to set height (hoops resting on nails). We could get some sheet metal screws and put them through the holes and secure the hoops, but he said may be better not to secure them? Thinking if wind takes the plastic, OK, let it shred (or take 20 hoops with it), less dangerous than taking the whole structure with baseboard (I don't know where end walls would go - depends on which they were strapped more securely to)? That goes against everything I've read about the construction - you WANT these structures anchored down.

First, welcome and congrats for moving down there. I'm not aware of elk going for veggies in hoops - where I lived in WA state we had elk everywhere and several folks had hoops, all ungulate-free. You have to put mesh/chicken wire/builder's cloth or something in the ground to keep critters out (ask the locals what they use). As far as venting, you'll have to play with it and your budget, but solid ends with operable openings - either by auto vent openers or electric fans - will likely be what you end up with. You'll have to play with the spacing of some crops, as the humidity inside will help you determine closeness. Raised beds are warmer for longer, but dry out faster, so your well capacity will drive your decision on that. You may want to look at the cost of two layers of film (inner layer thinner and clear), as that air gap will go a long way toward extending your season; many inflate the air space with a squirrel blower for more insulation. One other thing to look at in the film is both the IR reflectance and the condensation resistance of the inner film. Drips on little guy seedlings quickly make them unhappy and quit. If you can get light dispersion to minimize shadows, even better (but more cost). I highly recommend doing a search in the Greenhouse forum for this guy and finding his website, as he is an active participant and teaches workshops in high tunnel building in KS, can't guarantee he'll help but worth a shot for his insight on PVC connections and failures. Good luck, Dan

Still hanging on, First your questions. Dave- It is 6 mil Klerks K-50 plastic greenhouse film. Yes both doors open on the ends and the sidewalls come up the full four feet. Mulio- Where do you live? Are you from Kansas? We didn't have 91 mph gusts here, but 60+ was reported close by. Timmy1- Yes I did do a soil test for the hoop building soil and for all my garden areas. I follow them and the recommendations very closely. I always have good results. YES I am still here, yes my hoop building survived. I have been gone since Sunday at noon. We took our daughter to Kansas City for some medical tests on Monday. While we were gone,we had wind. Sustained winds from 30 to 40+ Gusts to 50-60+ mph, I was told. There are small building blown down. trees blown down, power lines down, Hoop building battered but STANDING TALL! As I said before, we live on a hill. No wind block, no trees, Just wind and a view of the country around us. It is not uncommon to be able to see 20-30 miles on a clear day. I have learned to build things strong. I knew if I wanted to grow in a hoop building, they had to be strong. They did sustain some damage, I won't lie, one would expect this with 40-60 mph winds! I am just glad that I was not here to see it. I would have yelled the whole time! 3 pipes broke and poked/ripped 2 bigger holes. About 3-6 inches long. Nothing a little tape and patch won't fix. Along the sidewalls, I did suffer a few marble size pokes, more tape and the plastic is stretched, I will tighten it up on a nice warm CALM day. Several of my guide/brace wires broke. Pulled one of the center support posts almost out of the ground and loosened up all the posts. I reset the pulled up one and hope the rest will tighten back up with time. The end walls have a slight lean to the north. They were perfectly level at one time! I was able to replace the broken pipes, reattached all the fittings, tightened up the ropes that go over the top, fix the broken wires, added some bolts and pulled the ends back tight. All in all, I am very impressed with how well they stood up to this wind. I have seen high wind for a few minutes, but not 40+ sustained winds for hours at a time. I will post a few pics, when I have time. Thanks for thinking about me, did anyone else get damage? Jay