Greenhouse advice for newbie

[SteveMcG]

Hi all

After a couple of years spent collecting cacti for window ledges, I've now secured a sunny spot for a 10 x 8 Halls gh I purchased from eBay. I am mostly competent so should be able to reassemble but I have many questions and hope not to stretch your patience too much but here goes:

1. I need to replace many bolts, but the ones for sale are mostly 11mm whereas the ones I've removed are 10. I'm guessing this doesn't matter?

2. I will be building all my own staging from wood. I will stick to the dimensions of commercially available but I guess I could build them deeper?

3. But with 8' wide, could I get a central aisle in too? Not sure.

4. Should I build second tier straight away, pre-empting a need in a few short months!

5. I can get electricity in before building - I'm guessing a good idea.
6. What should I do with the floor? Currently broken concrete path and soil.
7. Could I plant some directly into the ground?
8. There is a louvre window placed nearest the ground. Is this better in the second pane up position?

9. Staging - most people seem to have big trays the plants sit on - are they needed? Where do they come from?

10. There are currently two windows up top. Should I put in two more (I've already been told yes :-) )
11. And better with self-openers?

12. There is no extra metal frame for the base - it was screwed to a rotten wooden frame over two brick courses, I'm considering railway sleepers - new ones or similar, big timber frame for it to rest on. I don't think I need more height? What have people used in the past for a base frame?

OK, so only a dozen in the end...

Thanks in anticipation!

Steve

[Chris L]

Hi all


1. I need to replace many bolts, but the ones for sale are mostly 11mm whereas the ones I've removed are 10. I'm guessing this doesn't matter?

10. There are currently two windows up top. Should I put in two more (I've already been told yes :-) )

11. And better with self-openers?

Steve

The greenhouse bolts I've seen come in two sorts (both in fourth link). One is square (and slides down the internal groove) and the other is oblong and is designed to twist into an already finished greenhouse.

The first link shows a slightly different design and seems to be for Halls Greenhouses. Don't know if they are interchangeable.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Halls-Greenh ... 2442775551

There is also these for Halls which seem to be like the ones I know:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-50-HALLS ... 2326614359

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Halls-Greenh ... SwxN5WavXB

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Greenhouse-A ... 1636914930

You should be able to get three top windows for each side and they are best as auto-opening.

[habanerocat]

1. I need to replace many bolts, but the ones for sale are mostly 11mm whereas the ones I've removed are 10. I'm guessing this doesn't matter?

Probably not, just make sure they are alu or stainless steel.

2. I will be building all my own staging from wood. I will stick to the dimensions of commercially available but I guess I could build them deeper?

As far as you can comfortably reach. Corners are always a problem. Perhaps a recess there.

3. But with 8' wide, could I get a central aisle in too? Not sure.

Mine is 9'. Lots of wasted space, but I found no easy solution. Do a search here. Other previous discussions.

4. Should I build second tier straight away, pre-empting a need in a few short months!

Up to yourself and your needs. I use a higher level at the back.

5. I can get electricity in before building - I'm guessing a good idea.

Electricity is a must.

6. What should I do with the floor? Currently broken concrete path and soil.

Solid concrete floor can't be beaten. Damp proof it.

7. Could I plant some directly into the ground?

A drained raised bed is probably best.

8. There is a louvre window placed nearest the ground. Is this better in the second pane up position?

I took my louvre out, for insulation reasons. Up to yourself.

9. Staging - most people seem to have big trays the plants sit on - are they needed? Where do they come from?

I don't use them. People who water from below find them very useful.

10. There are currently two windows up top. Should I put in two more (I've already been told yes :-) )

I'd agree.

11. And better with self-openers?

I have no experience of these, sorry......

12. There is no extra metal frame for the base - it was screwed to a rotten wooden frame over two brick courses, I'm considering railway sleepers - new ones or similar, big timber frame for it to rest on. I don't think I need more height? What have people used in the past for a base frame?

Sit it on a layer of concrete blocks, laid on your damp proof concrete base. You won't look back.
If the legs of your staging are wood, and are left standing on a damp floor, they'll rot in no time.
You'll be left in some trouble then.

[rodsmith]

8. There is a louvre window placed nearest the ground. Is this better in the second pane up position?

10. There are currently two windows up top. Should I put in two more (I've already been told yes :-) )

11. And better with self-openers?

My choice would be to have the louvre in the second pane up position. You're less likely to get overnight visits from slugs & snails and it gives plant-level ventilation.

I agree with the extra windows. Good ventilation is essential and I would always go with self openers.

[Jim_Mercer]

1. I need to replace many bolts, but the ones for sale are mostly 11mm whereas the ones I've removed are 10. I'm guessing this doesn't matter?

I think this is the length not the diameter so will not matter, there are longer ones available which might be useful in some locations.

[DaveW]

Commercial staging's are often too narrow to make optimal use of smaller width greenhouse space since they are made to fit any greenhouse, therefore usually leave far too wide paths unless you are in a wheelchair. As somebody said above, design your staging's as wide as you can reach to the back. Mine are 3ft wide, but I am fairly tall. Also make them the optimal height you can reach without getting back ache, the height of kitchen unit worktops are a good guide to best average height for most people. My staging's are 3ft high and that will leave more space under to grow plants if it is a glass to ground greenhouse.

Time spent drawing out your greenhouse floor plan on something like graph paper and a vertical view for staging heights is time well spent. You can even draw yourself in to scale and how far you can reach and also see you don't bang your head on the sloping roof doing so, which is what I did. If you are heating the greenhouse, paths are wasted space. I find 18 inch paths are quite wide enough for me and anything wider than 2ft is certainly a waste of space unless you need wheelchair access.

Unfortunately for our hobby requiring growing on staging's, certain greenhouse widths are not optimal for floor space usage. I have a 12ft-6inch wide greenhouse and can only just get a center bed or centre staging in it with staging's at each side.

[ralphrmartin]

Dont build a second tier, unless you have some shade loving plants to go underneath it (e.g. Haworthias, Epiphytes, etc). In the long run, you will not get nice plants, and will regret it. Just try to limit your collection to what will fit into the good light you have on one shelf.

(Do as I say, not as I do, [well, did in my previous greenhouse], etc etc.... )

[Liz M]

Most of your plants will prefer the light in the highest staging, as Ralph said. Some plants are quite happy and thrive in the shadier lower shelf. The lower shelf is also extremely useful for overwintering tender plants that are basically dormant and do not require light but protection from water. I put a lot of plants under the upper staging for winter, in fact my greenhouse is full, any late-comers end up on the floor.
DaveW is right about the size of your greenhouse and trying to put in a central section, it is very difficult unless you have it at least 12 foot wide. It is much better to take advantage of the width to make wide staging and keep the centre narrow. My widest staging is 3 foot and I am just over 5 foot, with long arms, so can manage that width, just.

[DaveW]

As Liz says I would not consider a bed for plants in a 10ft x 8ft greenhouse, or even centre staging. If you have a long greenhouse but narrower than 12ft wide you can always build a bed the width of the greenhouse at the far end of it and leave the staging's a couple of feet short of the greenhouse full length.

The ideal width for a two staging greenhouse is 3ft side staging + 18 inch path + 3ft side staging, meaning at least a 7ft 6 inches wide greenhouse.

The next most space saving arrangement to save on wasted paths is a double width centre staging since it can be reached from the paths either side, but you need a wide greenhouse for that, meaning a 3ft side staging + 18 inch path + 6ft middle staging + 18 inch path + 3ft side staging, meaning at least a 15ft wide greenhouse!

You can get away with a slightly less space saving middle staging, meaning 3ft side staging + 18 inch path + 3ft wide middle staging + 18 inch path + 3ft side staging = at least 12ft wide greenhouse.

As said before, sitting down and working things out on graph paper to scale beforehand is always better than just assuming commercial staging's are going to be the best use of heated greenhouse space. Also make sure you are slim enough for 18 inch paths, otherwise you may need to slim down the staging's slightly to have say 2ft paths.

Make sure the staging's also have a vertical upstand at the front edge or you will be brushing plants off with your clothes as you walk past, especially hooked spined plants. I have a 6 inch plywood vertical front on my staging's to prevent this.

[Ali Baba]

If you grow or overwinter plants under the main staging as I do, you will find an 18 inch centre path too narrow to work comfortably, unless you are very small. I am over 6 feet tall and still ocasionally knock into things whilst watering under the bench plants and my centre path is over 24 inches wide.

Remember that the height of the staging relative to your own height affects how easily you can reach the furthest plants.