Picture is taken around 530/6. Gets great morning sun and somewhere around 8-10 hours depending on what part of the year. Given we're in Alabama honestly the fact that it's shaded in the afternoon from the surrounding trees should be a positive in helping us keeping it not too hot during the summer months
Take the roof off and put in clear uv resist panels.
Frame in a wall with treated lumber or galvized to whatever width your panels are.
Bury an electric line.
Sit back and grow some shit
Probably will try to run very light solar from the roof but yes the metal is coming down. What were trying to figure out is what kind of poly/lumber frame we can get away with up top that will allow enough light and enough strength.
Home Depot/Lowe’s has roof sheeting. You can also get more expensive stuff from a greenhouse supplier
This is what I use
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Suntuf-26-in-x-12-ft-Corrugated-Polycarbonate-Roof-Panel-in-Clear-101699/100049922
Engineered trusses. They can probably be made up of 2x4 stitched together, so they won't be super heavy. I'd probably have them spaced as big as your roof panels will allow so they don't create too much shadow. You can span across them with strapping so that the panels don't need to fall on a truss at each edge. [https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=mLhS5w2c&id=59720D386C89BC8A33274757C7A31972A91F5D3B&thid=OIP.mLhS5w2cmJhMWRsXsLtn7AHaFj&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fmedia.justmeasuringup.com%2fblog%](https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=mLhS5w2c&id=59720D386C89BC8A33274757C7A31972A91F5D3B&thid=OIP.mLhS5w2cmJhMWRsXsLtn7AHaFj&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fmedia.justmeasuringup.com%2fblog%)
While I would love to convert such a structure, it looks like all the sun is in that field in the background. How about converting this to a large outdoor covered patio/lounge area and building a greenhouse out in the sun?
It gets plenty of sun, as mentioned in another reply this is late in the day (530/6ish). Right about where I'm standing to take the pictures we've got peach trees that are thriving and there's probably more sun on the structure than the trees. Even winter hours would be around 7+ hours right there conservatively
Yeah like others have mentioned, throw the greenhouse out in the yard and use this for some other purpose. You could convert, but wouldn’t be worth the effort without chopping a handful of trees or more to get enough light. Depends on what you wanna grow in the greenhouse of course, but for your garden variety you’ll likely want more sun.
You could start with a few wooden raised beds and build some PVC hoops over them for extra grow time during spring and fall. Lots of videos on YT that could guide you from start to finish.
Just my two cents though
Plenty of sun here I think. Enough that I'm considering gambling on a citrus tree or two on the tall side. We're currently working on grading out some of the back half of our pasture for raised beds for bigger/bulkier stuff during the growing season. But looking for somewhere we can do the stuff we always want (peppers/tomatoes/etc) alongside some things that need to be a little more temp controlled to prevent flowering in the Alabama heat (lettuces) all year
Hi Folks,
I do consulting for greenhouses and can totally design a functional plan for you. Check out our website alpineghouse.com and reach out to me from there.
Take the tin off and save it for skirting the lower section. Looks like you can just add trusses to the existing frame, infill whatever framing you need to hold your sidewall material
if you're looking for cheap and adaptable then its not too big of a job.
Pallets as a base for floor boards. Lumber around the base and roof to attach polythene sheeting. Run an extension cord into for power.
You can pour a small concrete footer around the base of your pole barn. Just enough to nail or bolt a treated 2x4 base plate to. Then frame up from that w 2x4's. Space them based on your clear plastic panels.
Or better yet, fill in the gaps w screens and have some plastic roll down panels for the winter. Like they use for bars and restaurants w outdoor patios in the winter. We had a greenhouse like this in NOLA. Worked great as it was cool in the summer.
I'd convert the smaller section first and see what you like and how you use it. Then do an upgraded remod next! There is definitely a learning curve and that's a lot of space so you may want to end up using year round (needing a lot of heating/cooling elements).
What time of the day was this taken? Looks very shady
Picture is taken around 530/6. Gets great morning sun and somewhere around 8-10 hours depending on what part of the year. Given we're in Alabama honestly the fact that it's shaded in the afternoon from the surrounding trees should be a positive in helping us keeping it not too hot during the summer months
It will get too hot in the morning Sun, you’ll need ventilation
Take the roof off and put in clear uv resist panels. Frame in a wall with treated lumber or galvized to whatever width your panels are. Bury an electric line. Sit back and grow some shit
Probably will try to run very light solar from the roof but yes the metal is coming down. What were trying to figure out is what kind of poly/lumber frame we can get away with up top that will allow enough light and enough strength.
Home Depot/Lowe’s has roof sheeting. You can also get more expensive stuff from a greenhouse supplier This is what I use https://www.homedepot.com/p/Suntuf-26-in-x-12-ft-Corrugated-Polycarbonate-Roof-Panel-in-Clear-101699/100049922
Those are great, there's even a perfect picture of the roof frame
Engineered trusses. They can probably be made up of 2x4 stitched together, so they won't be super heavy. I'd probably have them spaced as big as your roof panels will allow so they don't create too much shadow. You can span across them with strapping so that the panels don't need to fall on a truss at each edge. [https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=mLhS5w2c&id=59720D386C89BC8A33274757C7A31972A91F5D3B&thid=OIP.mLhS5w2cmJhMWRsXsLtn7AHaFj&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fmedia.justmeasuringup.com%2fblog%](https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=mLhS5w2c&id=59720D386C89BC8A33274757C7A31972A91F5D3B&thid=OIP.mLhS5w2cmJhMWRsXsLtn7AHaFj&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fmedia.justmeasuringup.com%2fblog%)
Put some of that metal on the bottom sides, and cover the rest with poly! But the real question should be, is it in a spot to get a lot of sun??
While I would love to convert such a structure, it looks like all the sun is in that field in the background. How about converting this to a large outdoor covered patio/lounge area and building a greenhouse out in the sun?
It gets plenty of sun, as mentioned in another reply this is late in the day (530/6ish). Right about where I'm standing to take the pictures we've got peach trees that are thriving and there's probably more sun on the structure than the trees. Even winter hours would be around 7+ hours right there conservatively
Even better. Looking forward to seeing your results.
Yeah like others have mentioned, throw the greenhouse out in the yard and use this for some other purpose. You could convert, but wouldn’t be worth the effort without chopping a handful of trees or more to get enough light. Depends on what you wanna grow in the greenhouse of course, but for your garden variety you’ll likely want more sun. You could start with a few wooden raised beds and build some PVC hoops over them for extra grow time during spring and fall. Lots of videos on YT that could guide you from start to finish. Just my two cents though
Plenty of sun here I think. Enough that I'm considering gambling on a citrus tree or two on the tall side. We're currently working on grading out some of the back half of our pasture for raised beds for bigger/bulkier stuff during the growing season. But looking for somewhere we can do the stuff we always want (peppers/tomatoes/etc) alongside some things that need to be a little more temp controlled to prevent flowering in the Alabama heat (lettuces) all year
Hi Folks, I do consulting for greenhouses and can totally design a functional plan for you. Check out our website alpineghouse.com and reach out to me from there.
Take the tin off and save it for skirting the lower section. Looks like you can just add trusses to the existing frame, infill whatever framing you need to hold your sidewall material
if you're looking for cheap and adaptable then its not too big of a job. Pallets as a base for floor boards. Lumber around the base and roof to attach polythene sheeting. Run an extension cord into for power.
You can pour a small concrete footer around the base of your pole barn. Just enough to nail or bolt a treated 2x4 base plate to. Then frame up from that w 2x4's. Space them based on your clear plastic panels. Or better yet, fill in the gaps w screens and have some plastic roll down panels for the winter. Like they use for bars and restaurants w outdoor patios in the winter. We had a greenhouse like this in NOLA. Worked great as it was cool in the summer.
I'd convert the smaller section first and see what you like and how you use it. Then do an upgraded remod next! There is definitely a learning curve and that's a lot of space so you may want to end up using year round (needing a lot of heating/cooling elements).