Dave - For attaching coverings, we've used the batten tape that you staple thru to hold on the plastic (works fine, but get hold of a power stapler, as that many staples the old fashioned way will cramp the hands), lath with screws, and the C-channel with the wiggle wire (aka poly-lock). I love the poly lock & will never go back to the other. On the other hand, 1000' of the batten tape is $40 and the other is a few $$ a foot. We run small GH business, so are replacing covering on one building or another every couple years. Time savings is huge with the poly lock products. You mentioned the tubing heating - yes, it will heat some & over a long time that can probably weaken the plastic -- but most poly's are UV stabilized for only 4 years max & you'll be replacing before you need to worry about it. We haven't covered our frames before applying plastic & no problems to date with that. Beware of contact with pvc type products, however (especially those that are UV resistant) as they will react with your poly & wear it out sooner. As for making your own frame, I recommend being aware of the thickness of the tubing wall & the spacing of your bows. Most of the units you purchase should be higher thickness than the conduit you purchase at local hardware store. We have 4 commercial grade GH's that have taken nearly 2' of snow load on top in bad conditions, but one hoophouse we built from conduit for overwintering perennials went down in a heap during an overnight MN snowstorm. Sometimes the extra $$ is convenience & sometimes it's worth the avoided ulcer. Since most home insurers don't cover your GH structures, you're self insuring your entire investment.....both $$ and time :) Above all, have fun.....they can be an amazing cure for the wintertime blues!!!!!

I have 2 wood frame greenhouses. The smallest one is 14' x 18' and the larger one is 23' x 26'. I also have two 16' x 96' hoop houses. The roof and lower sides are covered with corrigated fiberglass. They both have storm windows covering the entire center of the sidewalls. I use an attic type fan with a thermostat and louvers to ventilate. I usually wrap the outside in 6 mil plastic during the winter and the fan turns on automatically if the temp gets to high. They are heated with 30,000 BTU ventless propane heaters. We recently moved to a new location and I definately will be using the double wall polycarbonate to cover the roof and sidewalls on the new greenhouses. I still plan to have windows that open. I have seen advertisements for a double wall polycarbonate which comes in rolls that can be used on hoop houses etc. I plan to check this product out for covering the tops of the hoophouses. There are images of all of the buildings on my web site (Link Below)under the Greenhouse menu. The larger one has a design flaw - the roof is to flat and condensation drips from the roof about half way down instead of flowing to the sidewall gutter. Here is a link that might be useful: The Flower Lady's Garden

The endwalls come up the bottom 2.5 feet and can travel over the inside crops or go over the new crop, as in carrots. Here is a video of moving it. My brother in law is on the other side and they slide right down the track with minimal effort (minimal for me). I have now gotten to point that I move them myself. I just pull it up myself. I just yank one side 2 to 3 feet and then walk over and do the same thing to the other side and just walk it up or down the rails. It takes me about 30 minutes to unbolt, move one space and rebolt it in its new home. It takes about 20 minutes if I have two people. Some people show how they can move their high tunnel, much bigger with just 2 people. Those systems are extremely high priced and in my mind aren't worth the expense. Why spend $1,000's of dollars in tracks and wheels to move it "Easier" 3 or 4 times a year. About the plastic and PVC interaction, I haven't seen it. I have replaced my plastic after 4 years due to seam failures, not plastic/PVC interactions. I have never painted them either. I am thinking I will get 8 to 10 years out of it, or more. However, my first tunnel, I did a minor replacement of the soft 2 by 4's after 4 years. The funny thing is the 2 by 4 hip boards were in worse shape than the baseboards. Both were untreated pine. Jay Here is a link that might be useful: Moving our movable high tunnel

I'm a newbie and just purchased a couple of acres. I was originally thinking of doing a garden area and then having a large walk-in hoop house off to the side. However, space is a little tight (my garden plot just kept growing as I added new veggies to the plan!) and it occured to me that I could possibly combine the garden/hoophouse space. I'm thinking I could do a wood frame around the garden space and then do removable pvc/wood frames and plastic sheeting - put them on in the fall and take off/store in the spring. Do any of you more experienced gardeners have thoughts on the logistics/potential problems with this idea? Saving the space would be nice, but not if it will cause potential problems down the line. A couple of my concerns: -logistics of taking on/off the frames and plastic - would it interfere with getting cool weather crops out early/ late in the season? (ie, putting up the hoops making the cool weather crops too warm) - overworking the soil (thought I might divide out the hoop space into 3 sections where I left one bare and put compost on it in the off season, one that gets a cover crop, and one that gets planted?) - any other problems or potential issues that I'm not thinking of? Thank you for any advice!