The Roof and West Wall

The roof panels get covered with SunTuf White

The finished panels installed

 

The door is installed, and the walls begin to take shape. 

The TufTex  from Lowe's is quite transparent.

 

You might ask why I used SunTuf from Home Depot on the roof, and TufTex from Lowe's for the walls. Both are polycarbonate material, almost identical in price. Home depot does not stock white closure strips for their products. I did not want to use brown or gray closure strips under transparent siding.

I also noticed that the "clear" SunTuf at Home Depot appears to be a smoky gray color. I wanted the walls to be as transparent as possible. I can add any shading as needed. I wanted to roof to be white, with its 45% shading already built in. One might wish to use a transparent roof in a cooler climate, but here in the central valley, the summer sun is very intense.

The West wall was the most difficult to cover, with the door and swamp cooler openings. The remaining walls should be completed very soon.

 

I am getting excited about the prospect of having a working greenhouse soon!

 



Temple Number 6

I am hard-wired to benefit from tropical plants. I love the ambiance, the beauty, and the peaceful oxygen-rich atmosphere in a greenhouse. I have had a Temple most of my life, since I was 18 years old.

The Lord has blessed me with  a place where I can finally have another "Temple." Two of my previous Temples, or their remnants, are still standing after many years. This latest edifice is constructed of 4' x 8' panels that bolt together, and can easily be moved to another location, should the need arise.

The first decision at hand, was where to place the greenhouse for maximum light exposure. My previous experience has demonstrated that too much shade causes poor growth of the plants, with resulting few blooms.

The head of my driveway is in full sun until 2 p.m., after which it is shaded by a large Chinese Elm. Temple  #2 from 1989 had a similar arrangement, and I was able to flower the plants with ease. Temple #3 was placed similarly with favorable results.

 Temple #4 was a disaster, being located against the west side of my former residence. There was no morning sun, and everything baked for a few hours at the end of the day. This is during demolition in 2012.

Temple #5 was in shade most of the day.


I started construction several weeks ago, using 2" x 2" paint lumber. The white surfaces help to conduct light into the greenhouse , and give the building a retro feel.

The first things I constructed were the roof trusses. The SunTuf material is flimsy, so reinforcement is necessary.

 

One of the North wall panels.

 

The East wall.

The West and South walls go up.

The finished wall framing, bolted together. The peculiar opening on the lower left of the facing wall is for the evaporative cooler.