Greenhouse, Episode #3

The conceptual core of this greenhouse design is an arched tunnel made from heavyweight metal grids, known as “cattle panels [fencing].”  In fact that is what the product is used for, to fence cows in or out, and it is robust enough to withstand the rubbing of cattle against it.  Even our little feed-and-seed hardware store in the middle of the least populous county east of the Mississippi has a stack of it out in the yard, and since the dimensions are 52″ x 16′ I was glad they could and did deliver it to the greenhouse site.

Unfortunately I failed to get a picture of my pile of eight panels, but here is one lying on the ground.  They are #6 gauge so plenty stout.

These panels are not heavy but they are unwieldy.  Think of trying to handle a full sheet of 1/4″ luan plywood in a windstorm.  Once I got the hang of handling these panels and setting them in place on top of the knee walls it went fairly quickly.  I first strung parallel lines on top of the wall sills, then drove in nails along those lines.  The nails were proud about an inch to “catch” the ends of the fence panels as I placed them where they belonged.  In an hour or so they were all in place.

I drove fence staples all along the bottom edges of the panels then joined the panel edges together with zip ties along the joints to yield a single 30-foot panel from the multiple individual four-foot panels.

This is going to be a marvelous addition to the homestead.

Most folks building this style of greenhouse simply drape it with plastic at this point, assuming (correctly) that the arched configuration could withstand all manner of problematic weather.  I know this to be true but it felt a little flimsy to me, so I decided to build structural ribs to enhance the robustness of the arch.

That’s what comes next.