Quote:
Originally Posted by fotofashion
When DH designed my present GH, he did not consult with me so he built it like your solar design. I absolutely HATE it. It is a big waste of space. ....The trouble is that the sloping north side wastes space. I like to hang as many plants as I can. ...Anyhow, my point is that you need to consider how the shape of the GH will restrict or extend the capacity.
I find that treated 2x4's are adequate for the structure (even in MI where we had a lot of snow).
Beverly A.
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Thanks for your info Beverly. I went into my sketchup and measuring from the midpoint of the South bench, the roof is only 2 feet up.... Which is a bit short for anything buy seedling flats maybe. Did you mean that the sloped
South side wastes space? In my plan the steeper side faces South, the North side extends 4.5 feet above the benches before sloping. I too like to hang my plants in baskets or mounts. Since I want to breed stanhopea relatives and miniature other stuff, I want as much basket/mounting space as I can get.
I wonder how much more heat the a Solar South side adds over a convential shape... If I raised the South wall just 2 feet over bench height it would give a lot more vertical grow space on that South bench. I'll have to go play around more and see if that's an option.
I use 2x6's for the supporting members so I can fit 6" thick insulation versus 4". If I remember right 4" fiberglass bats are 14 or 15 R-value, while 6" are 20. I want to conserve heat as much as I can because with my weather that is going to be the biggest operating cost. The cost of building with 2x6's vs 2x4's is small enough that it will pay for itself in a year or two.
I'm also rethinking the benches too. If I bought/built shelves like a lot of people here use, that adds a grow space I can use for lower light plants. I guess it's a tradeoff of water storage for heat savings, or more plants. That's not really a hard choice is it?
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