Introduction: Greenhouse Made With...scaffolding?
Before anything else, check out my website for other cool stuff: https://xval.me.
Hi! Today I am here for a project a bit little off the usual track. Instead of electronics or mechanics I bring you a greenhouse, structure made with scaffolding. I want to show you all how easy is to build a greenhouse like this, without having to pay to someone to do the job! Its pretty simple!
Step 1: First Things First: Find a Good Place
Before anything else, you need to find a decent place to build your structure. In my case, since I already had some kind of wall near the place I was going to build the greenhouse, I did not even have to worry about fixing it to the ground since scaffolding was made to last. However, I trully reccomend to find a place with almost no natural wind, and some kind of protection, since you don´t want to your greenhouse to flee away :D. You can also opt to fix the structure to the ground, but thats up to you. I forgot to take a picture of the place before starting to build, so sorry about that! The place I choose to build the greenhouse has around 6 meters per 3. Since I have to build some stairs, I ended up making the greenhouse with 6 per 2.5 meters.
Step 2: The Scaffolding Structure
I had these scaffolding from other projects, so I just had to reuse them. This is the structure after being built. As you can see, its pretty solid! The scaffolding has these circles as you may see in the 4th image so that you can connect the parts like Lego. I only needed less than 2 hour to build this.
Step 3: Don´t Forget the Door!
I opted to make a door right in the middle of the structure, since the scaffolding I had here at home was a bit limited and I wanted to keep things simple. To better secure the structure, I made this connection in shape of a triangle to make sure the place where the door is gonna be is resistent.
Step 4: Scaffolding Is Ugly...lets Add a Bit of Aluminum Sheet!
Well, every project made here needs a bit of aluminium, and scaffolding does not look that good, so I added some aluminum around it, as you cann see from the image.
Step 5: Adding the Supports to the Plants
Since I wanted to make a layer to place the plants, I used the default parts used in scaffolding building, since they connect in a simple way.
Step 6: Some Plastic to Make the Greenhouse Itself
I used some plastic semi-transparent to make the sidewalls of the greenhouse.
Step 7: Roof
Using some plastic roof tiles, which were giant (I only needed 6) I made the roof. Using some iron and shims I fixed them to the structure.
Step 8: Ventillation
Instead of adding windows, I decided to leave this zones in the sides of the greenhouse to let the air flow. In the winter, or when I think the temperature is too low, I use some of the extra plastic I used to the sidewalls to close them. Simple
Step 9: How It Looks Like
This is how the exterior looks like. Pretty cool, right?
Step 10: More Aluminum Sheets
Well, since the interior was a bit ugly because of thescaffolding tables, I decided to cover them with aluminum sheet
Step 11: Paiting the Floor
Since the old floor was not in the proper conditions, I painted it with this brown I had at home.
Step 12: Result and Thoughs
This was the end result of my work. Well, it is not exactly the end, since the Greenhouse is not ready yet. The plants and door are missing, but this will take some time and I will be updating the instructable when I add new things! I hope you liked the project and gave you some ideas. As you can see, building a green house is not that hard :D. If you enjoyed, consider to vote in this instructable, since I am competing in a Gardening contest! See you in the next project!

Participated in the
Gardening Challenge
9 Comments
1 year ago
nice
1 year ago
I had never thought about using scaffolding as a framework before, but the concept is brilliant. It is designed to be safe, strong, configurable, and the components are readily available. This could be set up anywhere that is needed. By making some wooden curved supports that would be easy to construct, it could be packed and shipped anywhere to help people in poor countries. You opened a door to many opportunities. Very nicely done!
1 year ago on Step 12
That is very good idea
1 year ago
Your greenhouse looks great. I hope you get many years of use from it. We are no longer able to vote or I would vote for your project. Our input no longer counts. Voting is now up to the powers that be. Good luck.
1 year ago
Fantastic and simple...one thing tho...
I'm not sure where you live , but it looks tropical..and might have seasonal wind. While it does have a heavy structure...if it does lift off the ground...it COULD do ALOT of damage. A couple of pieces of bent re-bar as staking can prevent this. Just a thought.
I have seen things you wouldn't believe become airborn over the years.
GREAT JOB
1 year ago
The 'J-hook' fastener used to secure the transparent plastic wavy roof tiles puts quite a bit of stress in a very small area under the nut. Adding a large 'fender washer' would help - or a piece (short length) of wood with a hole drilled through it would serve. Also would suggest a LOCKING nut given the expansion/contraction expected from the different materials so fastened together.
1 year ago
Here in the Midwest we were warned of a sudden drop in overnight temps into the mid 20s. With a half dozen large potted plants on the deck, we hastily made a shelter for all the plants from a $100 yet to be assembled BBQ grill gazebo. Folded a pocket along the length of the heavy plastic sheet and secured it with white duct tape. Then cut the sheet to approximately the right height to match the gazebo uprights. Pulled a rope thru the pocket. Wrapped the sheet around the 5ft X 8ft structure and secured it to the circumference with zip ties along the horizontal bracing at just below the "roof" . Added some more tape at the points where the zip ties were punched through the plastic. The weight of the plastic curtain is held up by the rope in the pocket and the plastic ties. The deck furniture weighs down the bottom edge of the plastic. Only a temporary shelter, it did protect the plants from two nights of potentially damaging temperatures. It's ideas and postings like yours that inspire others to think of how many things can be repurposed to serve our wants and needs. Thanks for posting.
1 year ago
Wonderful!!
We did something like this to keep birds and squirrels from the garden. I recycled a lot of nominal 1" manufacturing-cell quick-change bench & shelf configuration tubes and connectors into what we needed at home. Some good-quality birdnet and zip-ties topped it.
1 year ago
What an awesome reuse of materials! :D