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Some Fun (PhotosHeavy) Getting About Finished!

18 years ago

I'm not much of a contributor but have been around GardenWeb a long time. Way back when and that seems like a long time but has been only 1.5 years, I asked all of you for help about prophouses but, I got a big surprise and instead of a hoophouse for my grafting, this is what I got instead:

'The Elite Attached' from Farmtek. Specs are: 16 feet long, 5'3" front wall ridge height and 8'3" back wall height (forgive my terms); 6' wide. It'll be complete after the weekend, after Monday. Some more:

(2) pivot halogens for nighttime work.

(8) electrical outlets

propane ventless heater

water

All other items are 'professional' meaning they were made for greenhouses:

thermostat controlled exhaust fan and vent shutter

I guess that's it. Kind Regards, Dax

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New House too. That was built from March till November.

Floor is concrete and textured with a broom so it won't be slippery and has a drain in the middle with sloped floors. Back wall has "Pimple Board." Plastic with dimples. I'm in winter heaven baby!

Last thoughts: eletrical will all be in conduit. i was sent the wrong shutter but am getting the right one tomorrow. My lightswitch is inside the sliding glass doors in my basement so I don't fumble around. Now I guess that's it. Thanks for looking! he he he later on!

I can see inside from my basement too while I shoot pool! My mom was smart enough for putting a window right in the middle. OOOOOOH YAAAAAH! I'm a happy kid. lol

Comments (17)

  • 18 years ago

    That is great. I can just think of how much you are going to enjoy that one. All the electrical is nice.
    I just finished joining 2 10X12 HFGH together back to back. Put in a lot of electrical in mine also.
    One of these days I will learn how to post photos.
    Hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine.

  • 18 years ago

    Awesome!!!

    Now, although the pictures of the north side of the house were great, what are you building on the south side?

    :)

  • 18 years ago

    A snowman, mountain bike course, and snowboarding jumps! ha ha ha!

    No Chris probably understands the house is facing south!
    Crummy jerk! ;---(

    Dax

  • 18 years ago

    Great job DAX. That will be nice all full of your stuff. I was wondering one thing. After reading a bunch of posts about ventilation. What about placing some vents closer to the floor so you will be pulling in cooler air from outside. You are so close to being done. It wouldnt take much to place some in there. Birdwidow had a great idea about two opposite circulating ceiling fans too. You have such a nice gh. Just wanted to give some input on your very wonderful baby. I am jealous....... Barb

  • 18 years ago

    Nice work!
    Just curious, how much sunlight do you get by putting the GH under the patio?

    dcarch

  • 18 years ago

    Thank you Barb. I am extremely happy with this product. I forgot to mention I have a big old circulation fan that hangs somewhere (I don't know where though). Supposedly and I do believe the Rep at Farmtek, I won't need but the one shutter on the same circuit as my exhaust fan. I tell ya, when that fan is running and the shutter opposite it is opened, it's like a hurricane of wind screaming through there. There's some document called "Must Read" in my instructions manual and it will tell me where I'm supposed to hang it but for now that's no big deal (The thing comes with chains in order to hang it). It's possible it's to hang above the shutter, like I say, I need to do a little reading.

    The entire front is my grafting area and I'll simply drape a sheet of poly from the ceiling to the floor and it'll keep up the humidity for the grafts. Like this:
    {{gwi:311773}}
    Very simple yet effective.

    Plastic benches, the ones about knee high with a layer of flash insulation on top of them and then heat mats and then my plants on top of the mats is the rest. Almost no work involved. The layer of insulation under the heat mats keeps the heat from heading to the floor and focuses the heat on my potted understocks/grafts/ sown seeds.

    dcarch, you'd be surprised but I get as much light as a greenhouse in the wide open. the back wall from about 1/2 way up is shaded but the rest of the greenhouse get's light all the time at least until at least 3 pm. As the winter progresses, the sun will lower even more and as a result, I'll get even more light. This is perfect for me because I only use it between Jan-late April or May. It's a win win situation with this deck because as the spring season arrives, the sun will go higher in the sky, thus eliminating my need for shade cloth. (I'll still have to check this theory but today it makes perfect sense).

    Thanks a lot for the comments and questions. I don't see a flaw in the situation. Planning, that's key!

    Dax

  • 18 years ago

    Looking at your pictures, If your GH is structurally attached to the house, there is no need for the cross bracings (not that you need to remove them now)

    dcarch

  • 18 years ago

    Ya just had to find a flaw! hahahahaha

    Ohhhh so be it. You a structural engineer? lol It's an "attached."

    DAX

  • 18 years ago

    Dax,
    I took a look at your homepage. You have quite a collection of plants. I was wondering can you start a blue spruce from seed and is it hard to do. Do they take along time to grow to any size. How long would I have to keep them in the gh before they could be planted outside. I also have the same question regarding japanese maples. I have two different seeds I would like to start. How long do they need to be placed in gh before they can be planted outdoors. I know I am pushing their zone. I am planning on using my microclimates in my property. Did you plant all them plants holy cow that is awesome.............How many did you grow from seed????

  • 18 years ago

    " Ya just had to find a flaw! hahahahaha
    Ohhhh so be it. You a structural engineer? lol It's an "attached."

    So you want to be a wise a**? I am not done finding flaw yet! :-) :-) :-)

    1. While you are smart to pitch the floor, but you forgot a drain to outside.
    2. It will be a very importing thing to put a lightning rod on your roof. Your house is in the open and can get hit.
    3. It will be a very good idea to double check how you attach the roof to the rest of the house. It's questionable if enough anchorage has been provided agaist wind lift.

    dcarch

  • 18 years ago

    Unbelievable. Naturally, the drain goes out about 10 feet into my small yard! lol (a pipe) was buried prior. Also that little circle drain piece you see can be removed and put back into place for the sake of easiness, cleaning, or if my pipe gets full of debris I'm able to clean it.

    My house is grounded to the foundation. The water pipes, the electrical, it's all grounded to the foundation. You might remember back in the 40's and 50's when lightening rods were put on houses, you could guarantee the lightening will find it's way to a house. Sure, if a tornado comes through probably my house, my neighbors and everyone elses will have their house smashed or the roof lifted off.

    "So you want to be a wise a**? I am not done finding flaw yet! :-) :-) :-)"

    There's your answers.

    DAX

    Barb, my property is a blank canvas. Those photos are from little trips taken to conifer arboreta.

    Barb pushing zones is acceptable always and a 1-year Colorado Spruce can be planted the first year (think of how cold it gets in the wild). Same for any other tree seedling (you can expect losses, that's supposed to happen)but as far as Japanese Maples are being asked about, I grow them to larger sizes as they are touchy here. Your best bet would be to choose a hardier species such as sieboldianum or pseudosieboldianum you can't tell the difference from the green-leaf palmatums. They're beautiful.

    Someone started a new thread because of my photos. Here's the link:

    I wonder what's next. lol

    Here is a link that might be useful: Ping: conifers-Dax

  • 18 years ago

    Dax, my friend, I am anxious to see that GH full of stuff. What did you do with your old HFGH?

  • 18 years ago

    All kidding aside, this is one of the best examples of construction I have seen.

    I am commenting on the floor drain because the drain does not appear to be at the low point. (from the photos)

    Regarding lightning rod: You cannot depend on plumbing because some times pipes are plastic. You do not want the electrical grounding system to dissipate the lightning power because it can induce stray field throughout the entire house system and destroy a lot of your electronic items. TVs, computers, etc.

    Regarding wind, surprisingly, it takes very little money to significantly increase wind resistance. You can find a lot of information here, depending on your wind area. http://www.awc.org/Publications/download.html#Shearwalls

    If you donÂt mind, I will mention two more things from the photos I saw:

    1. Spacing between balustrades poles must be less than 4" in most locations to meet code.
    2. Eave vents are required to roof trusts/attic space in many locations. In zone 5, it may be a good idea to have to prevent moisture condensation damage to roof system.

    dcarch

  • 18 years ago

    Ping dscarch Photos for you - Dax

    Thanks StressLady, my old Harbor Freight is for the next lucky person who I'm sure will be excited to have a greenhouse along with their new home. I'll show photos as I prepare for propagation in Jan - Mar.

    Pretty cool Aye? Couldn't be happier. Your thoughts and words have always been appreciated!

    Dax

    Here is a link that might be useful: Ping dcarch Photos for you - Dax

  • 18 years ago

    LOL @ Dax....stresslady

  • 18 years ago

    I think it all looks great! I've had a lot of respect for the way you tackled your previous HFGH and got it dialed in to do what you needed. The new GH looks wonderful (but too empty). I like the split door too, guess that will give you some ventilation options?

    How exciting to have a beautiful new house at the same time (I can only imagine the work that has gone into it.) Love your choice of natural materials. Looking forward to future posts as you get that greenhouse filled up!

    BTW I only saw one cactus in your photos, surely you'll be adding more. ;-)
    Sheri

  • 18 years ago

    Thank you Sheri. You remember the cactus, cool!

    Later,

    Dax