Building PVC Greenhouses – 3 Great Tips For Gardening Success

If your looking to build an inexpensive and easy to construct pvc greenhouse of your own, that still provides an efficient and durable growing space, then a pvc greenhouse is hard to beat. With a few cheap supplies and a little elbow grease you’ll be well on your way to setting up a wonderful backyard greenhouse of your own.

PVC greenhouses can be set up quickly (often within a day), and can be a lot of fun to make once you have a decent set of plans to work off of. If you can coax some friends or family members to help with the project, even better. Before you begin however there are some important considerations to think about with regards to pre-planning. Let’s take a look at some of these considerations in a little more detail.

Site Selection – This is definitely the first and most critical area of consideration to address before any construction begins on your greenhouse. Just like any piece of real estate- location, location, location is what it’s all about. Pick a spot in your yard that receives an ample amount of sunlight (this is especially important in the winter time), that is fairly level, and has good natural drainage. Ideally you want a spot that gets lots of light but still has some good natural shade from trees in the vicinity during the hottest parts of the day. This provides a cooling effect for your plants and prevents scorching. If you don’t have any trees around to do this, some sort of artificial shade covering will probably be needed. White canvass material works nicely for this.

Determining The Right Size – Along with location, determining the best size for your new pvc greenhouse is very important. I usually advise people to build the largest greenhouse they can afford. If you’re like me, you’ll quickly grow into and then run out of space. Such is the life of a greenhouse gardener. Width is of primary importance. As a good rule of thumb you want to make it at least 8 ft. wide. Remember that you’ll need space for your potting benches (2-3ft. wide), and the entry door which needs to be at least 22 inches wide. So I recommend 8-10 ft. width for a hobby greenhouse. That should give you plenty of space to move around. Length of the structure is less critical. Really it’s your own preference for how long you want to make it. Since pvc greenhouses are so inexpensive to build, you should make it as long as your space permits.

Materials – Here’s a complete list of what you’ll need to build a pvc greenhouse:

• PVC piping (1/2 ” x 8 ft. lengths). For a house that is 10×8 ft. you need to buy 12 pipes. PVC T- shaped and cross connectors. These will provide a way to tie in the framework of your house.
• Lumber for the base and door frame. The base will require 2 2x6x10′ and 2 2x6x8′ lengths, plus wood screws or nails to secure them with. Door frame will require 6 2x4x8′ boards (for the door jamb and cross braces).
• Plastic sheeting. I highly recommend using Visquene plastic of 6-8 mil thickness, plus the appropriate number of binder clips to attach it to the frame.
• 30 Metal U brackets to attach to the wood base 2 ft apart from each other. These will allow you to attach the pvc pipe to the base.
• An inexpensive way to furnish a door is to simply get an old screen door used from a junk yard or second hand store. They’re light weight and easy to work with. Be sure to allow areas for good ventilation as well.

Keep these simple tips in mind and you’ll be on your way to building some fantastic greenhouses of your own!

Dave Pierson is a professional nurseryman and master gardener, and has been teaching people how to build garden greenhouses for over 15 years. He is also editor in chief at gardengreenhouseinfo.com, an information rich site concerned with all things “greenhouses”.

For more in depth information and ideas on pvc greenhouses, please visit, there you will find many more practical tips on how to build your own greenhouse of your own!… and hopefully a little inspiration too!

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