I just purchased a 10×12 greenhouse thats about 2 years old. It is built like the portable sheds so it it sits off the ground about 10″ or so. We have used plastic sheeting to basically seal off the bottom from drafts. The previous owners recommended we do that because it helped tremendously to keep the temp up during the winter. They were using propane to keep it heated but I plan to use a diesel heater.
But a concern I have is i noticed that the roof panels aren’t sealed so most of the heat will be escaping through the ribs. Also the wall panels have the same ribs so im sure they would need sealing also. What could I use to seal this off that’s not going to be overly expensive? Thanks
by silv10
6 Comments
I would make an inner tent with clear painters poly and clear packaging tape. I did it with a tarp greenhouse and it made a huge difference.
Lowe’s and HD sell pieces that fit perfectly under the ribs to seal the gaps. They’re in the area by the roof paneling.
No, not the cheapest option probably, but it would be a one-time purchase.
Foam board what you can. Easy to cut triangles/slopes to shape and shove them in spaces.
I would be worried about what’s living under that base.
You could essentially glue the spaces together with cheap silicone. Just the basic clear silicone. The foam pieces shaped to fit in between the ribs on that type of roofing do a good job insulating between the pieces, but they will block quite a bit of light from reaching the plants. Which brings me to my next question. What are you planning on growing?
The roof not being clear is going to block a lot of sunlight from reaching your plants. Right now, the low sun angle means that most of the sun is coming through the clear wall panels but as we get into late February and early March, the sun angle will be much higher and more light will be coming in through the roof itself. The opaque white panels help to cool things off in the middle of summer but for the rest of the year, especially winter, they might be a problem.
At my greenhouse business, I spray a mix of white latex paint and water on the glass roof in late March. I wash it off in early November. Before washing it off, it always appears that plenty of light is coming in. But as i wash sections off it amazes me at how much more light comes through. In the winter, if you are trying to grow summer type plants that like full sun or part sun, you want as much clear sunlight as possible. If you are growing more shade tolerant plants then you will probably be ok. Just something to watch and think about. If your plants are doing good once you start growing things, that’s all that matters.
Sealing the spaces between the panels will help some with the heating, especially when it’s windy out. But it will still get cold in a hurry once the sun goes down. Diesel heat should work just fine. Get something as a backup to your diesel heater or install some type of alarm system that will alert you to low temperatures. Otherwise if something stops working with the heat, you won’t go in the next day and find everything frozen and dead.
insulate everywhere below the panels