12’x30′ DIY PVC Greenhouse For $360

So last year, after I made the decision to start farming our land, I had to come up with a plan of how to get to the Farmer’s Market as early as possible with a nice verity of vegetables to sell.

I met with my county cooperative extension agent on our land, which was just a cleared field back then, and as we were talking he suggested that I will purchase seedling from a farm in VA. This didn’t appeal to me so much. I didn’t want someone else to start the plants for me. I want to see the seedlings sprout.

But I don’t have $4000 for a commercial greenhouse. So I started looking around and watched many YouTube videos of people who built their greenhouses.

We were looking for something that we can do ourselves in a couple of days, something that will be big enough for a small farm, and that will cost us the least amount of money. We decided to go with a PVC greenhouse. We know this is not a greenhouse that will stay standing for many years, but if it last three years until the farm take off we’ll be grateful.

This 12’x30′ greenhouse cost us a little over $300 because we had some lumber and a door laying around that we could use. If you have absolutely nothing to recycle, it should cost you about $360.66 + your local sales tax.

Here is the list of materials (prices accurate as of 1/27/2015):

23 Charlotte Pipe 3/4-in x 10-ft 480-PSI Schedule 40 PVC Pipe @ $2.54 = $54.42

15 LASCO 3/4-in Dia 90-Degree PVC Sch 40 Cross Tee @ 2.37 = $35.55

6 LASCO 3/4-in Dia PVC Sch 40 Tee @ $0.47 = $2.82

4 Gampak 4-Pack 3/4-in Rigid Strap @ $0.87 = $3.47

Oatey 8-fl oz PVC Cement @ $5.18

2 doors – better to buy storm doors. If you get an indoor kind of door, make sure you either paint it or cover it with plastic. We used leftovers from out greenhouse film to do that. Don’t buy new doors! There are a gazillion doors on Craigslist, and you can easily find a very cheap door or even a free one. I calculated them at $20 each = $40.

4 2x6x16 treated lumber (for the long sides of the frame) @ $10.97 = $43.88

2 2x6x12 treated lumber (for the 2 shorter sides of the frame) @ $8.57 = $17.14

12 2x4x8 treated lumber (for door frames and frames to support the plywood at the ends) @ 2.97 = $35.64

14 2 feet rebars @ $1.84 = $25.76

4 sheets of plywood @ $7.45 = $29.80

6 mil Greenhouse film – $67. Everywhere that I looked online, greenhouse film cost about $113 for a clear 6 mil 20’x50′. I was about to order when I decided to check my local farm store (Southern States). They didn’t have it in the store but were able to order a 6 mil 20’x100′ clear greenhouse film for me for $67! I might go ahead and add another layer of film in the near future, but so far we covered the greenhouse just once. Call around before you order online. The film must be at least 6 mil (better to go with thicker if you are in areas with heavy snow), and 20 feet wide. Buy at least 60′ of the film.

Materials total = $360.66

Please note, we love building things ourselves, but truth be told, we are not very good at making them pretty. They will always be a 100% functional, but pretty? Not so much. As we were nearing the end of the project, I asked my husband how come we don’t try to make things pretty. He gave me the look, the one that says “I’ve been working on this thing for two days and you dare to complain?,” and sent me to the other side to work on attaching the greenhouse film.

When he was done, he joined me, all smiling, and announced that he made the greenhouse pretty, just for me. I was shocked to find no less than a bright green, awful, heart graffiti on the other end of the greenhouse! I had to look around to make sure I’m not in one of Philadelphia’s subway stations. He ended up making flowers on the other end.

What I am trying to say is…

1.Don’t leave your husband alone with a can of paint.

2.Don’t ask questions you might regret later.

3.Don’t leave a can of paint alone with your husband.

4.With a little work, you can make this greenhouse much prettier than we did.

Oh well, silliness is what keeps us going around here ;-)

We started by measuring the lengths and the diagonals of the rectangle. The shorter lengths are 12′ each, and the longer ones are 30′ each. The diagonals must be equal. Then we built the frame from 2x6x16s and some reclaimed wood we had laying around. If you have to purchase everything, you’ll use the 2x6x16 lumber for the long lengths (2 for each side, shorten each one by 1 foot), and 2x6x12 lumber for the short lengths.

Head over to Lady Lee's Home to see the rest of this project!