Greenhouse flooring...

15 years ago

I am in the process of building a 25x15 BCGreenhouse. Great quality! I built a knee wall and have left 4" of space foor flooring. I am thinking 2" of sand/gravel and then pavers across the entire floor? I am going to be using hydroponic systems and want to be sure everything is nice and level. Any recommendations on paver material? Do I need to be concerned about drainage between the pavers? I suppose I could put in a drain or something. I would love to see some pictures of brick/paver flooring. I would like to find an inexpensive concrete paver in a light color. I do not want the floor to retain heat. Thanks for any feedback!

Featured Answer

kudzu9

15 years ago

I did this in my greenhouse. First about a 3" layer of 5/8 minus gravel: leveled, wetted, and then compacted with the end of a 4X4 timber. Then a 2" layer of sand leveled out with a 2X4; then 1-1/2" thick clay pavers laid on the sand and pounded down with a rubber mallet; lastly, more fine sand swept across the floor several times to fill in the cracks and lock in the pavers. I've had this for 2 years and it works great. Water spills immediately go through the cracks between pavers and into the sand.

If you have only 4" of space for your floor, you may not be able to put in very much gravel, and may just go with the sand and the pavers. I don't think you will need more drainage unless you plan to really be dumping a lot of water on the floor.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:289353}}

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Comments (8)

bogaat
Original Author
15 years ago
Here is a progress pic from last weekend. We have the frame finished and are about to start on the glass.

Here is a link that might be useful: Progress
buyorsell888
15 years ago
Just don't use rounded gravel. You want gravel with sharp edges that packs down. Pea gravel rolls and is horrible to walk on. I am so sorry I used it in my greenhouse.
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Hi Dax Foam in a can would be a very expensive option. I guess you have a damp proof membrane below the slab? its amazing how many attached slabs compromise the house dampproof course :) Insulating the slab isn`t too difficult. Use closed cell rigid foam boards 1"-2" thick, no need to go thicker than 2".. the law of diminishing returns becomes a factor. You can install the rigid insulation board vertically ~2ft deep or horozontally (aka "wing" insulation), at least 2ft wide with a gentle slope away from the slab. Don`t forget about drainage. Don`t worry too much about insulating underneath the slab (unless using underfloor heating) Heat always moves to cold, cold doesn`t move. The deeper the soil below the slab..the warmer it is. The temperature differential eventually reduces to zero and all downward heat movement stops. On the other hand, at the edges of an uninsulated concrete slab you find pretty huge temperature differentials driving the heatloss for the full length of the perimeter, which is about 44ft for an HF 12x10. Hi Sheri, If the slab length extends well beyond the greenhouse length in one direction, theres not much you can do in that direction unless you can create a gap..not easy to do :) Insulate the perimeter of the extra 2ft width and around the slab in proximity of the gh where you can, in this case maybe only 3 sides. It won`t be cost effective to insulate the entire slab perimeter if the gh is located at one end.. the exposed top surface of the concrete will be responsible for most of the heatloss. Horizontal insulation over the concrete is an option, but again probably not worth the expense. Doing what is practically possible without going overboard is usually the best plan, insulation investment vs return :)
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I have a concrete floor in my greenhouse and it has worked out well for me. This spring we installed three furnace booster fans (they are 6 inch fans that generate a very light breeze). They rest in the rafters for easy in/out. They are aimed down to the floor to bring the heat from the peak of the greenhouse down to the floor. Doing so eliminated the various temperature zones from floor to ceiling and another bonus was that my seedlings are growing stronger stems with the gentle breeze. I'm not sure how big your greenhouse is. I have these three 6 inch fans running in a 10 X 18 foot greenhouse. So it is not very large. But maybe it will offer an idea for you. Good luck!
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Couple comments to the OP No rule says you have to put the GH up the same size you took down. You might want to consider putting up only half, or a fractional size (1/3?) Until you have a better handle on how this project needs to go down within your budget. You can make informed decisions then about what you can afford to do now, and what maybe has to wait. Safety first, but concrete is not the only answer. You may not have to heat, so electric may not be necessary. In my opinion, the most important things you gotta be concerned with: 1 wind - you must secure your structure against wind. Maybe you get to have the owners cement walls - take tons of pics, enough so you understand how they did it and so you could explain to someone else how they did it. You do not need a foundation. If you really want ti involve cement, dig some 3f holes, put a bucket of gravel in the bottom, tamp well, put your gh support in the hole and fill w/1 bag cement-soil mix. 2 - make sure you have a way to vent the structure. Even in cool weather this structure can overheat. Vents can be simple - a door on each end - or you can use automatic (temperature based) vent mechanisms. 3 - wind. Secure your covering as tight as you can and tighter. Once your covering starts to flap it's only a matter of time until it weakens. You can do this - look for simple way to do things ( if you have to secure posts, you can tamp raw earth into the holes. Any medium to heavy soil will hold it in place w/o cement - that's just one example). Congrats on recycling someone elses structure and good luck to you. Oh, and 4 - read Eliot Colemen 4 season harvest for some cold gh/hh management & info 5 - have fun and don't get discouraged. Keep asking ??s.
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krayers
15 years ago
We put in a base of sand with an embedded drain pipe & then 3 to 4 inches of pea gravel. In the pea gravel, we put 12" pavers from walmart, but left a couple of inches of gravel between them. They are only down center of the greenhouse where we walk. Under the shelving, we just left the gravel. The pavers are flush with the gravel, which holds them firmly in place. We are very happy with how it turned out. The pea gravel is not sharp to walk on, & the central pavers eliminate the shifting gravel problem.

Kim
jeff-n-jessa
15 years ago
I also used pea gravel, and it's worked out fine. It's not as deep as I would have liked, but my back was tired :)
calliope
15 years ago
If you want the characteristics of pea gravel, but don't want the 'roll', you can cover it with the black landscape fabric. It allows water to drain through, prevents weeds from growing, and keeps a soft, but firm footing.
tsmith2579
15 years ago
I have clay below my floor. I leveled it and put down a brick floor. I filled the cracks with sand. It is very stable, doesn't rock or roll, drains well and is extremely durable. I used salvaged bricks which I got for free. The ground in SC and AL stays relatively warm in the winter and it gives up its heat through the bricks into the greenhouse. There are a number of cool nights during the winter season when I "heat" by blowing a fan across the floor to disperse the heat from the ground and floor.
rjinga
15 years ago
I'm planning to do exactly what tssmith is doing, with bricks I collected from various construction sites FREE. I even got 2 loads of sand for free, from a lady who moved her pool and gave the clean sand away that was beneath it...this is going to be my fall project when it's not so hot out there and I can get in and work for longer periods of time.

Greenhouse flooring...

kudzu9

Comments (8)

bogaat
Original Author

buyorsell888

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Greenhouse flooring...

kudzu9

Comments (8)

bogaatOriginal Author

buyorsell888

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krayers

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bogaat
Original Author