How to Build an Inexpensive Hoop-Style Greenhouse
One of the most valuable assets in my garden is my greenhouse. It has allowed me to grow plants that I normally would not be able to grow, produce crops that the season is not usually long enough to produce, and protect my plants from frosts, hail, or other severe weather that normally would have destroyed my garden.
But I don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on a greenhouse. I just priced out an 8’x12’ greenhouse for $3,500. I would love to have a large, professional greenhouse, but that simply isn’t financially feasible for me. So, instead I’ve found a way to make a large greenhouse that is functional, easy to build, and inexpensive. This article will explain to you exactly how to build a 12’x32’ hoop-style greenhouse for under $400.
Required Materials List
Note: All wood should be green, treated wood to resist rot. (Or you can spend more money and buy a rot resistant type of lumber such as cedar.)
- (4) 2×6 – 16’
- (2) 2×6 – 12’
- (14) 2×4 – 12’
- (19) ¾” x 20’white pvc pipe
- (9) 10mm x 10’ rebar
- (1) 20’x50’ roll of 6mm plastic
- (1) Bundle of 50 4’ wood lathe (or optional staples)
- Zip ties
- Nails or screws
- Metal banding
- Door hinges and handles
Step 1 – Laying Out the Frame
Using the 2x6s, lay out and put together your 12’x32’ frame. (You can join the two 16’ pieces with a 2’ piece of 2×4.)
Ensure that the frame is square by measuring diagonally across it. You can temporarily keep the frame in place by pounding a 30” piece of rebar in each corner. (You can pull these out to use them in the next step.)
Step 2 – Adding the Hoops
Cut each 10’ piece of rebar into four 30” pieces of rebar. This will give you thirty-four pieces. Pound the rebar into the ground about 15” deep on the outside of your frame at two foot intervals. This will leave 15” sticking up out of the ground.
Now slide both ends of your pvc pipe over the rebar to make a hoop across the width of your greenhouse.
Attach the pvc pipe to the 2x6s by screwing short pieces of metal banding around the pipe.
Step 3 – Building the Ends
Cut the following pieces out of your 12’ 2x4s:
- (2) 11’8¾”
- (4) 1’6″
- (4) 4’7″
- (4) 5’7″
- (8) 1’11¼”
- (2) 4′¼”
For each end, assemble the wall according to the following diagram.
Place this wall within the 2×6 frame and nail/screw in place.
Cut (4) 28” 2×4 pieces. Cut one end at a 45º angle. Use these pieces to brace the wall.
Once all of the hoops and the two ends are in place, connect two pvc pipes together and cut them to measure 32′ long. This will be the rib that will go along the top of your hoops. You can attach this rib with plastic zip ties.
Step 4 – Covering the Greenhouse with Plastic
If you are going to use wood lathe, cut 32 pieces of 20” lathe. These will secure the plastic to the sides of the 2×6 frame in between each hoop. Or optionally, you can use staples, though they may have a tendency to pull through the plastic.
Drape the plastic over the length of the greenhouse. Be sure to have enough overlap at the ends to cover the end walls. Pull the plastic snug and attach to the 2x6s at one end using the wood lathe or staples. Go to the other end, pull snug, and attach in a similar manner. Do this at the center, and then along the rest of the length of the greenhouse.
Note: If you can do this in warm weather, there will be less sagging later. Make it as snug as you can without causing damage to the plastic.
To attach the plastic to the ends, pull the plastic straight down, and attach with lathe. Then pull the plastic out to the sides. This will give you extra plastic along the outside edge. Fold the plastic back towards the center and attach. For the end with the door, cut out the plastic leaving a few inches of over hang to wrap inside and attach.
Step 5 – Adding the Door
Before you cut your pieces, check the actual measurements for the space you have. Your wall may sit a little different than mine. It’s always better to go a little small or your door may not fit. But if the measurements are the same, cut the following pieces out of your 12’ 2x4s:
- (2) 4’11″
- (2) 3’9″
Nail these together to make your door frame. Lay a 2×4 diagonally across the frame and nail in place. Trim off anything that hangs over the frame of the door. This will be on the inside of your door. Too much wood hanging over will jam your door. Attach the hinges to the door frame.
Cover the outside of the door with remaining plastic or you can use plywood if you would rather. You can attach the plastic with the wood lathe or staples. There should be about 4” of overhang of plastic on all sides.
Attach the door handles to the door. Mount the door to the frame.
And there you go! You can have a beautiful 12’x32’ hoop-style greenhouse that can be built in a weekend and all for less than $400.
——
Update: July 11th, 2008
To see just how well this greenhouse works, see my July Greenhouse Update.
Update August 5, 2009
For an new and improved version, see An Inexpensive, Hail Proof, PVC Pipe Greenhouse.
Update November 29, 2010
Improved design. Changed material list from half inch PVC to three-quarter inch PVC.
That’s one fine looking greenhouse. it’s not quite that sturdy but I guess that will do in most areas where the weather is not severe. Thanks for the share!
Love your plans for a greenhouse. I am building a small 6 ft square greenhouse with a 6 inch slope to the roof out of 1 inch pvc pipes. I have rolls of this really heavy gage tinted vinyl that is used to be adhered to windows for insulation from the sun that I plan to sew together into sheets to cover my greenhouse. This vinyl is designed to keep a house cool in summer and warm in the winter. I live in Central Florida where we only have occasional deep overnight freezes for maybe 5 to 6 hours during the winter. I want to start vegetable seedlings early in it. Is there an inexpensive way for me to heat it given the small area and type of covering that I plan to use? I’m on a fixed income and don’t have a lot of money to play with. If I were to use high wattage lamp, would that be sufficient in that small space?
Misty: I would think that a heat lamp in those conditions should be plenty to keep it above freezing.
my school is proposing to build a green house. would this be a good and inexspensive way to go about things
-Dani
porter high school, Porter TX
Dani: I think this would be a great, inexpensive greenhouse for your school! Go for it!
My husband built me a greenhouse (lucky me!!) It is approximately 12×10
He cut piping into one inch to clip the plastic together. At the end there is two 6ml pieces of plastic connected to the 1/2 inch PCV. It is very windy today and the clips are slipping.
Also, he attached two boards to the plastic at the bottom of the sides but the wind is getting in. .
He did not secure the PCV pipes with rebar. They are just put in the ground about 1 foot.
We are in Nova Scotia so it is quite windy.
Suggestions would be appreciated.
Update…
We had a major wind and rain storm last night. The ends survived the storm but the top blew off dispite the boards secured to the bottom and the clips blew into the air..
My husband screwed on the clips but he thinks that they might put a hole in the plastic under strain of snow or rain.
Any suggestions…
Cindi: You really need to something solid to nail/screw/somehow attach the plastic to. I have a wooden base and wooden ends so that I can nail my plastic directly to that. And with that, when you are attaching your plastic, don’t just put the nail directly through the plastic – the nail head will rip right through. You need more surface area – I’ve used thin strips of wood or plastic to nail through (See step #4 of the above article.)
Why do you need the wood base for the greehouse?
could something else be used? what is its importance/
Harry: I use the wood base for two things: #1. It gives me something to attach the plastic to at the bottom. #2. I use it to support my wooden ends. (for bracing)
Thanks
if anyones on here today all the best to yous for 2012
alf
This is exactly what we where looking for, thanks.
Just started my hoop house today pictures to follow
Thanks so much for taking the time to post pictures along a detailed description on how to build the greenhouse. We are in the process of building a greenhouse and using your plans. I have a question about the door. It’s a little hard to see in the picture, but did you place the door directly inside the door frame? Or did you make it where the door sits on the outside of the frame? Thanks!
Nex: Yes, the frame is within the door frame.
wow…I have been thinking to build one but don’t know what to do. This is a great guide! Thanks! One question, I live in Nova Scotia. It can be windy and snowy. Do you have experience how much snow or wind this structure can stand? Again thanks so much!
Ning: Wind doesn’t seem to be a problem as long as you have your poly attached well. Heavy, wet snow can be an issue. With this structure, I’ve had the roof bowing very low – although nothing broke. But you probably would need to either support the middle to prevent cave-ins, or be very faithful in cleaning off any heavy snow.
This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for being so unselfish and helpful to other.
May God bless you.
ES
Ok cool. So I will add a few posts in the middle. Yes wet snow is indeed bad. It crashed my blueberry net and posts last winter when I was too lazy to remove the roof off thinking the net was so thin and won’t catch the snow…just want to say thanks again and I will tackle it this summer…man…cannot wait.
I like your design, but is there an option to toxic pressure treated lumber for the base other than cedar? I’ve used borate treated posts before, but I’ve heard it doesn’t work well in outdoor applications or in contact with soil.
Brad: Sure! You can even use normal spruce lumber – I should think the wood will last at least as long as the plastic. (And its much cheaper than treated or cedar – so you can afford to replace it more often!) Or as a more expensive option, there is the composite wood they use for decking – that should work too.
I built a greenhouse to your specs last fall. Our weather here in Western North Carolina is not quite as bad as farther north. I changed the plans to a smaller size (12′ x 24″)to use the available cleared space in my yard but used the same number of rebars and pvc pipes as for the larger size for additional strength for our high mountain winds. I added 24′ pieces horizontally on each side half way between the wood and the roof line for additional stability. These pieces are attached to the vertical pvc pipes with wire ties and makes a great place to hang flower baskets. I added a 24′ piece of 3/4″ pvc on top of the vertical pvc for a roof line ridge to help shake off the snow. The two African spur tortoises love wandering around inside on nice days! And when it’s very cold at night, a small heater keeps the inside just warm enough. This spring I’ll build a smaller one for the chickens. Thanks for the great plans!
do you use this in the winter or just extend your growing season buy a few extra months, and if so, do you add any additional heat? Bye the way it looks really simple and neat, may try one this summer.
Personally, I just extend my season a bit. I might add a small electric heater for a few of the colder nights in late summer. We quite often get an early frost and then another few weeks of warm weather before the cold sets in.
Nice work guys! I built my first dome for our above ground swimming pool using rebar and piping. I remove the plastic cover every fall and its been heating our pool and keeping it clean for the past 6 years now!! Take care.
Just the guide I’m looking for!
My father wants to build one and we’ll use this plan!
I just have some questions,
We live in the Philippines where the climate is tropical,
when summer it is very hot and sometimes rainy, sometimes, the rains are strong and also the wind. Can this work for us?
Patrick – I see no reason why it wouldn’t work for you in your climate. I think the key would be to make sure your plastic covering is strong enough and kept tight. (Sagging plastic will quickly cause problems.)
My husband and I bought 6 mil clear plastic for our greenhouse. When we opened it the plastic seemed more white than clear, it is see through and light does penetrate but not as much as I had pictured in my mind. I wonder could it be because it’s just higher mil plastic. We did get it from home depot and not from a gardening supply company.