Grow Beds

Here is the floor plan for the grow beds I drew up in AutoCAD. The open spot is where I plan to put a 330 gallon IBC tank. I will be cutting the top off the IBC tank to make an aquaponics section in the greenhouse.

The grow beds are all framed in now and held in place with some nice rough cut 4x4's from The Board Barn. I put panda film on all the walls to protect the wood. The outside facing walls are all double insulated with ploy covered fiberglass insulation. In the center I put down a layer of weed barrier fabric with some sand then finished the floor with stone dust from Durgin Sand and Gravel.

Door Framed in and Installed

I finished framing in the door and got it installed. Outside sheathing on the 2' walls is now complete. I will have to take out some pieces if I decide to put a water tank in I guess. I have been searching around for an IBC tank but have not found one at a fair price yet.

 

Begin Construction

I used a 2" aluminum pipe that I cut into 3.5" lengths for the hubs. Metal strapping will go through the center of the pipe and 2 wood screws will hold it together on both sides of the 2x4 beams.

Dome construction started in the garage until it got too large. Then we moved the operation to the back yard.

The base was set on concrete blocks at each corner then the two half dome sections were placed on top.

Dome Design and Model

My dome was designed at  http://acidome.ru/lab/calc/ 

This site is in German but translates fine. I went with a 2v dome with piped hubs and I will put a 2' wall under it.

To understand how it would all go together and how I would frame out the door I built a 1/10 scale model of the dome over the winter.