Up to Discussions in Horticulture/Greenhouse Management
6 Replies Last post: Sep 1, 2008 5:06 PM by jphancock  
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jblackburn
13 posts since
Nov 28, 2007

Jul 1, 2008 11:24 AM

New Greenhouse


Hello All -

It looks like I will be getting a new 30x48 Stuppy greenhouse for my school this summer/fall! :^0 My main question/concern is what to floor it with. I have been in some greenhouses with full concrete pads with cener drainage and some with a partial pad, center conceret walkway and gravel under the benches. i know that weeds (and bugs) can be a problem with the gravel, but is there any other reason to go full concrete with center drainage? Any help for this greenhouse newbie would be appreciated!!


Thanks and have a great summer!!

Tags: greenhouse, facilities, school_greenhouse
Click to view ccasada@4act's profile  
ccasada@4act
23 posts since
Nov 20, 2007
1. Jul 1, 2008 11:39 AM in response to: jblackburn
Re: New Greenhouse
One of my parents a few years ago was a roofer and because of money issues (the lack of) I laid asphalt shingles on the ground and under the benches. These worked fine in my case. The taps allowed for drainage and they were not slick to walk on.
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lholt
24 posts since
Oct 3, 2007
2. Jul 1, 2008 1:16 PM in response to: jblackburn
Re: New Greenhouse
I appreciate the fact that you can CLEAN the floor so easy with all concrete. Just hose it out. I am particularly fastidious about cleanliness in my greenhouse and love the completely concrete floor. My students are very messy when potting up stuff and we can just sweep daily and then hose off the floor weekly. You would be surprised how often and quickly weeds will grow in a graveled area.
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Murphy
1 posts since
Jun 30, 2008
3. Jul 2, 2008 12:39 AM in response to: jblackburn
Re: New Greenhouse

Go for concrete. It allows more versatility. You may want to take out benches and put in fish tanks in a portion of the house. When we did our new house the cost was the same, because the time saved by not having to build forms for each gravel pit made up for the price of more yards of concrete.

Also easier to clean and no rocks for our students to throw (not that they would do anything like that).

Good luck,


Murphy

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mpeiffer
4 posts since
Apr 24, 2008
4. Jul 2, 2008 4:57 PM in response to: jblackburn
Re: New Greenhouse

We are looking to get a greenhouse built in the next year or two.......out of curiosity, what is the ball park figure it is taking to put that Stuppy structure up and what all does it include????

Thanks, Michael

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jblackburn
13 posts since
Nov 28, 2007
5. Jul 2, 2008 8:11 PM in response to: mpeiffer
Re: New Greenhouse
Ours will be a 30 x48 System 2000 Classic. Our package includes two headers, cool cell pad, fertilizer injector, autophone controls, 8 benches, and external shade. There may be something I'm missing, but that is the main stuff. The materials cost about $45,000. We chose their basic intallation which is them putting up the structure, hanging the lexan, and hanging the heaters and cool cell pads. They also offer a full installation that is quite a bit more. The installation cost depends on your counties prevailin wage. Unfortunately, my county has a fairly high prevailing wage so basis installation will cost us $27,000. The total cost is around $75,000. I was fortunate enough to receive some state grant money so our district will spend less than $30,000. I hope this helps!! Good luck!
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jphancock
3 posts since
Sep 1, 2008
6. Sep 1, 2008 5:06 PM in response to: jblackburn
Re: New Greenhouse
We've been our new greenhouse about 2 years now. We have a 12' concrete pad across one end and a 4' walk down the center with 6" to 10" of pea gravel on each side. The two gravel pits are each drained with a center drain pipe. The gravel is difficult to walk on for some of my physically impaired students. My solution was to pave the gravel surface with 12"x12"x2" concrete blocks. They make a stable surface that's easily cleaned and drains well through the seams.

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