How to fix a polycarbonate greenhouse to the ground correctly

Features of installation without a foundation

If the summer resident is going to operate the greenhouse only from May to September, it is better for him to abandon the foundation. In addition to tangible cost savings, this will also save time - after all, you can assemble a light polycarbonate greenhouse in just a couple of days with your own hands, perhaps with one assistant. If necessary, it can be moved to another place, and at the end of the summer cottage season, simply disassembled, so as not to come in winter specifically to remove snow from its roof.

So that a strong gust of wind does not damage the economy, a light greenhouse is fixed in the ground using metal or wooden T-shaped fasteners. You can make the lower harness from a wooden bar for weighting, you can bury such a bar or a log in the ground and attach the base of the greenhouse to it - but this will already turn out to be such a foundation that will deprive it of its mobility and increase the consumption of time and money. Installation should be done in the fall after the end of all agricultural work, or in early spring, in order to calmly move around the site without fear of trampling the plants. The air temperature must be at least 10 degrees, otherwise the polycarbonate will not be plastic.

Choosing a fertile place

It is very important to choose the right place for the greenhouse. The plot should be flat, not shaded, there should be no buildings or large trees at a distance of 3 meters. Trees create not only shade, their root system will interfere with the development of plants in the greenhouse, and nearby buildings contribute to the appearance of drafts.
The greenhouse must be oriented to the cardinal points. The correct location will be from east to west in length, then one wide side will always face south, and this will provide the greatest amount of sunlight.

Another advantage of a mobile greenhouse is that if you have chosen a wrong place, then this is only for one year, next year you will not repeat this mistake.

What to do with the soil

When choosing a place, you need to investigate the ground. To do this, it is recommended to dig a special pit with dimensions of 70 cm by 70 cm and a depth of 1 meter 20 cm. Now you need to determine the type of soil. This is easy to do if you take a handful of it and try to make a ball. It turned out to roll a ball or a sausage - there is a lot of clay, but it didn't work out - sandy soil. Sand is a very good basis for greenhouse soil: it allows water to pass through, its excess will not allow the roots to rot. If the soil is clayey, it will have to be replaced.

To replace the soil under the greenhouse, you need to dig a pit with a depth of at least 70 cm and fill it with 40 centimeters of sand, and leave the upper 30 cm to fill with a fertile mixture.In addition, it would be good to know the depth of the groundwater. If they are found higher in the pit, you will have to make drainage grooves to drain excess water.

Installation instructions

If a place for the greenhouse has already been chosen, all the elements of the frame are made by hand or bought ready-made and brought to the site, you can proceed with the installation. You need to start by preparing the site. It is recommended to mark a site of the required size at the selected place with prepared soil. This is done with wooden pegs and a rope. Further, the site is leveled, the sod and protruding mounds and bumps are removed. It is advisable to check the horizontalness using a building spirit level. There should be no height differences of more than 5 cm. Particular attention is paid to the half-meter strip along the perimeter. The rest can be aligned later.

To determine the outer edge of the trench, measure 30 cm from the indicated line, draw a line with a shovel or pin on the ground. We dig a trench with a width of 30 cm and a depth that depends on the length of the greenhouse legs. We calculate so that the lower frame of the frame rises 10 cm above the ground. If we are going to install the greenhouse on a timber, then the depth and width of the trench depends on the size of the timber. The bottom of the trench needs to be tamped a little and check its horizontality, so that later the frame does not warp.

It's time to start protecting the greenhouse from weeds and pests. To do this, you need to overlay the outer wall of the trench with some hard material, for example, slate or roofing material. They say that after 3-4 years wheatgrass will overcome such an obstacle. So, if the greenhouse remains in the same place, the protection will have to be updated.

Video "Greenhouse Installation Instructions"

Phased assembly of the frame

Anyone who is determined to assemble a greenhouse with his own hands will need a screwdriver and a wrench. If you bought a ready-made greenhouse, then the kit must include all the necessary fasteners and an assembly diagram. If you are able to weld all the elements of the frame with your own hands, then you have already made a drawing, calculated and bought the elements necessary for installation.

It is correct to start assembling the frame from the ends. Door and window frames, reinforcing strips, are attached to the end arcs. Then the parts of the lower harness are fastened and the T-shaped legs are attached to it. The harness with supports is installed in the trench, and the harness should be 10 cm above the ground. Now you need to check the horizontal position of the installation, correct it if necessary and proceed to further assembly.

If the greenhouse is mounted on a bar, then the frame profiles must be attached to the bar with steel corners. And lay the roofing material not just on the side, but also under the beam itself. This will provide moisture insulation. In addition, all structural elements that will be placed in the ground must be treated with bitumen - this will protect them from corrosion and pests.

Then the rest of the frame arcs are attached to the harness, and polycarbonate is installed on the top. It is necessary to carefully consider and attach it so that the light-protective film is on the outside, it will need to be removed before installation or immediately after it. Otherwise, ultraviolet light will intensify the effect of the glue. The installation of polycarbonate also begins from the ends (before that, you need to remove the door and window frames). It is more convenient to attach a rectangular sheet as a whole, without cutting out in shape, but to cut out the already attached one with a hacksaw, bypass the outline of the frame on the outside and cut out the holes for doors and vents in the same way. The removed frames must be closed and secured in place with polycarbonate.

When installing polycarbonate on the rest of the frame, the sheets must be laid across and without overlap. Design the joints with a special connecting profile. Usually it is attached to each arch in several places, but you can do it differently. Overlap the entire greenhouse with long narrow strips of aluminum and tighten them with the screw with the required density.

It remains only to lay the ground around the perimeter 5 cm above the base, this will also be a barrier to the movement of insects. But for a greenhouse without a foundation, you can make an additional strapping from a bar. The timber treated with linseed oil or bitumen will become an excellent barrier to pests. In addition, a greenhouse weighted with a bar will definitely not suffer from gusts of wind. The greenhouse, which remains assembled for the winter, will have to be cleared of snow, otherwise the polycarbonate may crack. And it is advisable to leave the doors open and let the ground freeze.

Video "Greenhouses without a foundation"

Polycarbonate is the only material suitable for building a greenhouse without a foundation. The construction is very strong and stable.