JT's GH AP System Thread

DecalsbyJT

Hey all............

Well its that time of the year for all of us on this side of the world and its just about time
for me to start my Greenhouse system.... if you have read my other thread, you can see
that I've already started pre-fabing the FT, ST, and Main GB.

over the last couple weeks, I have been transplanting my GH plants out into my 24' x 45' (7.3m x 13.7m) dirt garden and also in my 16' x 20' (4.9m x 6.09m) raised garden. Im down
to the last few to be put outside, so I decided to bunch up the rest and open up the FT area so I can start getting it ready to build.

got a question, my FT with water will weight in at around 5500 Lbs. (2494.8 kg) and the ground im putting it on is a mixture of sand and topsoil which stays wet for quite some time after a good rain. What is the best way to make a good solid base for this big FT?

I was thinking about using crush and run, not sure what its called in Au. but its a mixture of
large and small stones and when compacted it allows water to seep thru it...

I was also thinking it might be a good idea to put a cement slab down and put the FT on that....

any ideas?

thanks JT

DecalsbyJT · JT AP system 04-10-09 double fill pipe.jpg [ 235.44 KiB | Viewed 33892 times ]

Here is the sketchup view of my planned system

jT

elefant

What about you use some old bricks as a base for you FT lay them as paving cheap and easy to do

DecalsbyJT

thanks

thats a possibility, I have some bricks just outside the back door of the GH, but when the ground gets really wet, they seem to settle alot.... but maybe with a bed 3' x 9' (.9m x 2.74m) it might be stable enough...

DecalsbyJT

Here are some beginning pics of the GH and location for the FT

DecalsbyJT

the FT will go across the complete west wall, I will leave the door incase I need to access the FT from that side....

third pic is showing the mulch being removed, its 4" (101mm) deep and wet, so will take
alot of shoveling

second pic is old plant tables which will be broken down and recycled

first pic is location of current old tables

BatonRouge Bill

JT, it is situated perfect facing south and with an exhaust fan to cool it. In my little 10 x 12 green house I used the large pea gravel that is often used in driveways cost about $200. for a truck load and layered it about 4-6" deep where if I spilled anything it would go down thru and drain into the soil and like you the rains would come in sometimes and wet it but it was always dry on top which kept the mold/fungus down. Now the damned fire ants would move in so I had to constantly battle them, and the little miners would carry the dirt up to the top but they would do that on pavers and even a slab with a crack in it. Now you could save a little green by using the small gravel and it could fill the growbeds and make your floor and a little landscaping. Just a thought.

DecalsbyJT

Hey

I thought about the gravel..... it would be much better then the mulch.... I was in a hurry last year to get the GH up and running....

im just trying to get a good solution for the FT so it wont settle to much....

I will be taking off the plastic above the FT and GBs and next fall I will build panels
with new plastic that I can just screw on.. then come spring, I just have to take off the panels....

jT

Dave Donley

It's going to a sweet setup JT, maybe sink some 4x4s down into some post holes and attach the FT frame to them?

stevesmartt

g'day mate, my FT will hold twice the volume of yours, but mine has to have a concrete pad, maybe you could put down some cement in powder form and mix it all up, to adepth of 8" or so and compact it down... ?? or build the area up, so the moisture drains away from the FT... try some 8"x 4" beams to give it a bigger foot print on the ground and spread the load?

Dave Donley

For our deck I used those cardboard cylinder forms with cement in them, not sure if you want to go to all that trouble...

DecalsbyJT

Thanks for all the suggestions.....

Im looking at using the crush and run and maybe adding some cement to it to firm it up...

started digging out for the FT...

will be tamping the area down....

will probably take me a couple months to get it all set up......

a couple more weeks and will move ALL the plants out.... working on the back
porch to make that the new plant storage over next winter..

jT

BatonRouge Bill

JT, if the fish tank is lined with no bottom, just use the dirt like an above ground pool, contour the bottom and bevel the edges. It will settle but not to the point that it will rip. May not need to over engineer it. You can get the foam bevels from a pool supply cheap.

elefant

Can you get timber slabs there we often use old rail sleepers to support heavy stuff even shipping containers as they distibute the weight over the entire surface area?

DecalsbyJT

thanks for all the input..... a combination of them is what Im doing...

I am putting in the crush and run to build up the bottom of the FT because it does
get wet when it rains alot.... this will also raise the FT for my CHIFT PIST system...

I will be using 4 x 4 base and double 1/2" plywood bottom.....

more progress pics below..

jT

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