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Your Greenhouse Foundation

When starting to build your greenhouse, there are many different options for your foundation.

On occasion, when buying a do it yourself greenhouse, people will simply lay it on top of whatever ground exists at the location they choose. That may be on gravel, or dirt or even grass. Some pre-made greenhouses come complete not only with roof and walls, but a floor, as well.

If you choose to build your own greenhouse,You will need to prepare the ground underneath. Levelling the earth and laying railroad ties evenly spaced about an inch apart is all that is needed. An alternative step up could be creating a simple platform of eight-foot 2 x 4’s or 1 x 6’s nailed to 4 x 4’s spaced out about every 18 inches under the slats. That way you have a solid base and drainage.

But those simple designs leave you with the problem of controlling weeds, as well as controlling mildew, replacing floor boards and other issues with wooden floors.

The next thing to do is lay your cement foundation, which is similar to a foundation under a house. This is easier than it sounds, but it requires more effort than the other alternatives and has a few potential drawbacks.

To create your foundation you will need to lay out an area, smooth and level it and build a temporary container around the area where you are going to pour the cement. You’ll want to make it fairly smooth and level - not an easy thing to do unless you have a fair amount of experience pouring cement.

You could be left with a foundation which would be hard to move if you change your mind about where you want to place it.

But a cement foundation will last longer and give you some options about heating. You could lay carpet or tile on top with heating tubes or wires underneath, for example. It’s easier to take care of and very sturdy. Cement floors also can absorb and reflect a lot of heat, which can be handy in a greenhouse.

It may take you a couple of weekends to build a good cement foundation. The materials, tools and construction plans are available at a hardware store or can be ordered online and delivered.

Beyond following the directions for mixing cement, creating the frame and properly forming the surface, the key is temperature and humidity. It’s important that you carry out the project when you expect moderate to warm temperatures, relatively low humidity and no rain.

Planning ahead is vitally important, whichever option you choose. The floor is going to need to be sturdy enough to support all the tables, benches, pots, and of course you.After is has been installed, it’s much tougher to replace flooring.

My next article will cover what is green about a greenhouse.

If you are interested in climate change, check out my web site at http://www.enesolarpanels.com/climate-change.html