We love seeing DIY greenhouse projects that save tons of money, especially when it comes to something as awesomely functional as a greenhouse. David LaFerney at The Door Garden shows how to build a hoop greenhouse on the cheap. He did it for less than $50!
UPDATE: we get lots of comments about the $50 price tag of this greenhouse build. Keep in mind, this particular hoop house was built using many upcycled and free materials – which is key to keeping costs down. In David’s words – “First off – you really can build this thing very cheaply, but to do so you have to recycle, freecycle, and scrounge. If you just go out and buy new everything it will probably cost just over $200 – still not bad all in all.”
Hoop house greenhouses are great for extending the growing season in cold climates and are much cheaper and easier to build than glass greenhouses.
Because they are such a simple concept – a hoop-shaped structure made with plastic or metal framing that is covered in clear plastic – they make a great, inexpensive DIY project with plenty of flexibility for experimentation.
At 165 square feet, this is a nice-sized greenhouse with plenty of space for growing plants.
David has two built-in plant beds along each side of the greenhouse, in which he grows spinach, lettuce, and other plants year-round. Free-standing shelves could easily be added to this design for additional planting space for starting seeds or for overwintering potted plants.
It is absolutely possible to build a greenhouse like this for cheap. David had many of the materials on hand, which saved a lot of money. But even if you had to go out and buy all new materials, the cost would only amount to about $200, which is much cheaper than buying a kit for a similar-sized greenhouse.
By repurposing materials you might already have on hand and checking places like Freecycle and Craigslist, you could obtain many of these materials for cheap or free.
David began by building the two end pieces of the greenhouse frame out of wood. He then added the 20 foot PVP pipes that give the greenhouse its hoop shape. These same 20 foot PVC pieces make up the “ribs” of the greenhouse between the two end pieces.
This greenhouse is 11 feet wide, 15 feet long, and about seven and a half feet tall. This same concept can be used to make a greenhouse as long or short as you want, but with this design, the width will need to be between 10-12 feet.
At this width, there is not a very steep sloping edge on the interior sides of the greenhouse, like many hoop greenhouses have. This gentle slope leaves much more usable space along the edges for planting.
Another advantage to keeping the sides of the greenhouse steep, as opposed to a wider, flatter design, is that snow and rainwater is more likely to fall down the sides rather than piling up on top, which could cause the greenhouse to collapse.
The end pieces were placed and stabilized in a level location and the middle pipe pieces were added to complete the frame of the greenhouse. Once everything was secured with wood and screws, the greenhouse was ready for plastic.
There are many options for plastic to use when covering a hoop greenhouse. In this case, non-UV stabilized 6 mil clear plastic sheeting from a lumberyard was used.
David provides a full, detailed tutorial showing how to build a hoop greenhouse, step by step, at The Door Garden. Be sure to check out his updated comments about what worked well with this design and what needed improvements, as well as other ideas on how to implement similar structures in your own backyard.
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Dave123
Sunday 9th of September 2018
A little math check here: 1/2 schedule 40 PVC at HD is $1.85. 10 sticks would be $18.5 plus tax. That is way short of $324. Second: 20x24 plastic film will only cover the hoop area. Additional film will be needed to cover the gables. Third: Google hoop houses. I found a 15x7x7 with Velcro closure windows and zipper door for $110 with free shipping.
monique
Wednesday 30th of May 2018
this looks like it has 6 pvc pipe hoops, at least 20 ft each. one 10ft long pcv pipe 1/2" wide is $2.70 from home depot. so the 120ft of pvc pipe used in this greenhouse would come out to $324. the polyethelene covering is $109 for 20x24 ft, which is potentially enough to cover this entire structure.
wondering where this claim of $50/ "even if you had to go out and buy all new materials, the cost would only amount to about $150" claim comes from.
Brian Hawkins
Saturday 13th of April 2019
Hi Monique, I'm afraid your decimal is misplaced. :) The pvc actually amounts to $32.40 assuming a 10' length is just $2.70. Also, check Amazon and you'll find greenhouse plastic (better than construction film) between $50 and $75. I found two rolls (20' x 25') for $20 on FB marketplace.
MaksN
Monday 22nd of October 2018
Time to whip out that calculator as $2.70 x $12 is not $324... it is $32.
In either case, at Lowes, the pipe is around $2.20 for a 10ft section and of course use coupons that lower it by 10% to 20%.
The film is about $30 to $60 on Amazon, in either case, well under $100 can be done.
Off Grid World
Thursday 31st of May 2018
Hi Monique. As the article states, the builder used cheaper plastic from a lumberyard for this greenhouse. Still, it's an older article (he built it in 2008), so costs have changed a bit. Perhaps we'll do an updated article soon with cost estimates for new materials closer to what they are now. It is still possible to build one like this for very cheap, though, as we see these materials all the time on Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, and at our local ReStore.