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Greenhouses & Garden Structures

GH bench construction

10 years ago

Interested in various experiences with bench construction, not for supporting containers, but for filling with soil. I can use cedar lumber, but it will still rot in time, and will also hold lots of moisture that may grow molds, fungus etc. Has anyone used cement board with silicone sealed joints and holes drilled for drainage? I know a lot about building, but nought about GH's.

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Comments (9)

billala
10 years ago
When I was growing up in Indiana ('30s-'40s), my dad's commercial greenhouses (and all the greenhouses we ever visited) had pecky cypress benches. Porous, nothing infested it, cheap, and it lasted forever. Probably not available any more. Or expensive.
oldlady59
10 years ago
What's your thoughts on using a cut down 50 gal plastic barrel placed on a stand so it is at a easy access height? You could have it at about any depth you wish. Wouldn't rot, wouldn't be porous to harbor any molds, virus' or anything else. Maybe if you are a handyman can install some sort of plug and it could double as a big wash tub for washing flower pots.
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I can give you some help, although it's been so many years since I built mine, some of the small details aren't clear to me anymore. I'm looking at the newest version of the Harbor Freight manual, and the part 81 white plastic bushings are mentioned on page 17, in step number 5. Apparently the bushings were to be inserted over the part 78 Double Brace Bolts (part 78), before you used those bolts to finally attach the side diagonal struts (part 80.) Maybe you can locate the side diagonal struts on your greenhouse (part 80) and look at the bolts holding it in place, to see if it really matters if there's a bushing to space something a bit apart, on the long bolt part 78 bolt. I'm not sure how difficult it would be to back track, at this point, and maybe it's not all that important.
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Albert, I'm assuming you received my response to your e-mail about the twin wall, right? The square footage is easy - 126 sq ft roughly 9x14 The cost? I honestly can't tell you for sure. I could guess but it would only be an idea. The greenhouse was one of several projects happening in the back yard at the same time and it received attention in bits and pieces as the other projects proceeded. Things like the steel stakes, rebar, some of the cement blocks, the concrete, mortar etc was drawn from the same supplies as that for the retainer wall, etc. My pure guess would be at least $4000 dollars in materials, with redwood frame, 10mm twinwall, Sundance aluminum trim parts, block wall, steel, stucco. The brick in the floor came from a re-use of an old patio we removed years ago. Add labor and well...you can imagine. We (my dw and I) have wanted a gh for years and years. The decision to build one was driven more by "now is the time" and less by "what will it cost". No one should assume that I ever did a cost/benefit analysis on the concept, or like Nathan, had the clear objective to build in the most material and energy-wise manner. Notice that our house is a 1920's "cottage" look, small house. We would not have put up a "modern design" metal frame green house even if it had been given to us....that was just our personal taste. Something as basic as the decision to build a high knee wall came as much from "I liked the look" (plantbabies, note the similarity to the gh on the cover of one of those books I sent?) as the reality that the location was not ideal and a solid wall would block no significant winter sun anyway. So there ya have it.
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Ken: Your brother is right. I have a fully insulated floor both under and around the perimiter of my freestanding GH, that holds a constant 72 deg. temp in the worst deep, No. IL freezes with very little impact on our gas bill and I am convinced that all that base insulation made a difference. However, a fully insulated floor requires drains and unless you plan them, you might have to stick with perimiter insulation alone but with a triple wall, attached to a warm house, you have a heat advantage already. It would mean excavating around the outside perimeter, both down and a bit out to affect the reduction of heat loss you are seeking. You would need to dig a narrow but deep trench down to your frost line immediately outside the exterior, then lay another piece from the top of that foam "wall" to form a "flange" out about 2 ft., sloping it away from the perimiter, because it's pretty dense and waterproof and you want water to run away, not back down under your foundation. The material of choice for this type of application is 2" thick Type 150 insulating foam: the pink stuff. The Type 250 might be an even better choice. It's denser and the difference in cost for 4 X 8 sheets isn't all that great. For a structure your size, I'm guessing that you would need about 7 sheets, five for the deep walls and two more plus leftovers from the trenchs, to be cut in half lengthwise, for the 2 ft. wide flanges. Then, once the foam parts are all in place, use expanding foam like Great Stuff to fill any small gaps. BTW: That deep trench is an ideal excuse for renting a Ditch Witch.
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Comments (4)
I, too, used 1" PVC and fittings to make my benches (for a PVC greenhouse!). By using combinations of plumbing fittings and the more specialized ones for building projects, I was able to design for my small greenhouse in a way that (hopefully) uses the space well. My original plan was to use nursery flats as the "bench" top material (good air circulation, no corrosion, no rot, etc.) but am now leaning to getting the "egg crate" white plastic for fluorescent light fixtures (if it's not too expensive. Some of my flats look kind of unhappy with heavy pots on them, even with a middle brace running down the length of the bench and the 16-17" square means there is often wasted space when packing in the plants (the whole greenhouse is only 6' x 6', with one side taken up by three large container plants).
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sand_mueller
10 years ago
I use free shipping pallets for all my benches.
livelydirt
Original Author
10 years ago
Pallets would be great for supporting containers, but I want to essentially make rIsed beds. What do others use for this purpose? I recently thought of using Hemlock. Very rot resistant, but will still harbor molds etc.
hudson___wy
10 years ago
I used redwood - which appears to be holding up great ! Although I have a neighbor that recently used corrugated steel for his outside raised beds - wonder how that would work? I may have to line my redwood with fiberglass or steel on the soil side in 10-15 years or when it starts showing signs of rot? It would have been a lot easier if I had lined it before filling the beds with soil?

{{gwi:310576}}
billala
10 years ago
Hudson - Yeah, I used redwood for everything when I lived in the San Fernando Valley in the early '70s. It was the cheapest wood around, and downright beautiful. Then I moved back east and couldn't afford it any more. Besides, what little redwood we see east of the Mississippi is sapwood.
livelydirt
Original Author
10 years ago
Hi Hudson... looks way too neat ;-)

What depth of soil did you create?

I also think I have to use more of a potting mix than an open garden mix to prevent compaction. So far, Eliot Coleman's regular Soil Block mix seems to work pretty well as a potting mix. Only a small percentage of garden soil. Rest is compost, peat moss and perlite (or sand or vermiculite - something to keep the structure open)
sand_mueller
10 years ago
I also cut down pallets for raised bed supports anchored with a stake...they can be cut to a useful height easily enough...sure they rot eventually. I line mine with plastic to hold off the day. I have some in year four with no problems. I also dug out the walkway to start the bed raise. After three years of mulching the walkway subsoil I found myself making soil there.
hudson___wy
10 years ago
Hi LivelyDirt,
Our raised beds are about 26"s high - sitting on about 12"s of top soil - the center bed is 14"s. I made filling the beds a little easier by using my tractor before installing the polycarbonate. I filled the beds with top soil that I dug from the GH footings (about 12"s) then finished filling the raised beds with my own mix - similar to Eliot Coleman's - Vermiculite, peat moss, compost and top soil. With a small amount of Azomite, phosphate, Coir, greensand and cotton seed meal.

Our top soil drains very well and when I water the plants in the raised bed - water does not run out of the raised bed any where. We live near a creek - when we dug for the footings and basement of our home, there was about 12-15"s of top soil - then the soil was very rocky with a low water table and excellent drainage.

{{gwi:310578}}

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