Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

And eye protection. BTDT. Stay as far off of the line of spray as possible.
Chris, did you use an abrasive wheel, or a carbide blade? Both work, both will pretty much do in a blade in a single pass if you are cutting more than a few sheets thick. The more ridgidly you clamp the sheets together, the better for the abrasive, not so much if you are abusing a carbide. Feed really slowly in either case.

I made some more progress.

I had to work on my compressor some today. There is a squirrel cage style fan under the cover. The bolt came off and the fan was banging around. The allen head bolts that hold the top cover are recessed about 5 – 6 inches. It took a while to find a tool to get to them.
I found the bolt and put lock tight on it. It all took some time but it is back running and the nail gun is back to work.

I did the flashing on the front roof where it meets the polycarb. Insulation is done on the front top.


Then I made DIY sheet metal brake. It is temp and nothing fancy but it works. The metal I have is just 41” long so I did not need a big brake.

My Grace ice and water came in today and it was 68 f out. It needs to warm for this stuff to stick. I took off work early and put it up. My greenhouse is half black now.
This is my vapor barrier and moisture control layer. The insulation will go on against this. Three layers XPS foam 1.5” each layer is R7.5

Should keep everything nice and toasty. It was in the 40's here this am.

I found some Hardie Fiber Cement panels.
They are 4’ x 7’ I have never used this stuff before but I picked up 20 sheets for $12 a sheet. I don’t think I can go wrong at that price.



I installed the nailers and used spray foam to cover the seams and any gaps.
I put up the front roof metal and a couple pieces on the back roof.
I am using an abrasive wheel to cut the metal roofing. ( Ear plugs and safety glass ) Then I paint the cut edge.

Those Hardy Panels are great, they last for ever. When you put them up, use caulking between the joints.
If you use a nailgun be aware that the stuff might splinter at the edges, corners. If nailed down use caulking to cover your nail heads, before you paint. The stuff has a 20 years warranty.

Thanks for the heads up on installing them. Is it better to hand nail them or is a adjusted nail gun ok?

Know its a bit of a pain in the ass but you are better off pre drilling with a masonry bit then hand hammering, use large flat heat galv nails.
Or you could tec screw them on, the ones that have the rubber ?under the head.

Been really enjoying this thread even though it has little practical application in Perth.

No more rain today. Work before work today was productive. I go out and work 7:30 – 9:15 am before work to get more done now that it gets dark so early

Back roof metal almost done. I need to insulate the left and right side of the roof vents. I will insulate the boxing by the roof vent just to keep it the same height. I will come back later to do all the trim finish work on the boxing sides.

The roof is protected from water and it is mostly just for looks.
I will need to move on to insulating the back wall and the side walls.

Tec screws. Predrill holes and don't screw down too far. Looks good.

Hi there!

I'm very impressed by your building skills and how you've managed to embark the whole family on the DIY project, that's great!

I am also planning on building a passive solar greenhouse and I was wondering why the glazed roof/side of your greenhouse is not just one single 60° slope (ish, depending on your latitude), but half of it like that and the other half with a more gentle slope?

What is the difference in terms of performances with ZsaZsa's one (http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=9276&start=45)?

Thanks.

This is a more refined design than that one. But I love that build I have read it from beginning to end.
I think his is based off this http://bradford.cafnr.org/passive-solar-greenhouse/

The venting is very important.
Have a look at this web site. Cord has been advancing this design for a while now.
http://www.pennandcordsgarden.com/greenhouses.html
31 below zero they had tomatoes growing with no fuel bill and they don’t run a fan in the summer either.
Mine is based off his design.

The angles are determined by your Latitude and Longitude. You want the sun to come in at the right angle and the 55 gallon drums in the back need sun in the winter and some shade in the summer.
This book is an excellent book and explains in detail how to figure out what angles you need. You can still buy it used off amazon as I did I like the hard copy
https://archive.org/details/The_Food_an ... Greenhouse



All the flat surfaces are done on the roof except trim and the flashing in some places. It was ready for the crazy rain we are getting



I setup my work lights last night until it started to rain I got almost two layers of foam insulation on the back wall.
I know it does not look very good but it is reclaimed insulation and will all be covered. It is tongue and groove so it fits together very well.
After the next layer the 1 x 4 nailers will up.

Thank you for the links!

I think I have seen that you buried a sump tank in the greenhouse. Don't you have any problem with the water table? (I'm asking that as I can see that the ground seems to have difficulties swallowing all this amount of torrential rain)

Thank you for sharing your project, this is an incredible source of information!

Almost all the water is going today. Yesterday we had about 3” rain in a short period of time. Our water table is pretty deep so no issues with the tank in the ground. I left the tank stick out of the ground 5-6” and I am glad I did this keeps the rain from going into the tank.
Not much of a problem now that it is under cover.

I am installing my third and final layer 1.5” Dow blue foam board on the back wall. Each layer is 7.5R for a total 22.5 R the siding will go on the treated 1 x 4’s they say that air gap will give another 2R.

Seams are all staggered then spray foam will fill in any gaps. It feels like I am building a sideways cooler.


Every wall stud will get a treated 1 x 4 and five 8.5 “ HeadLok FastenMaster Structural wood screw.
They say they are a “3/8” lag screw replacement”
The cement fiber board will be attached to the 1 x 4. The siding is really just for looks so I will move on the something else and come back to putting that up.
http://www.fastenmaster.com/products/he ... tener.html

I have the insulation done except for a couple small pieces at the top of the sides. I have used lots of spray foam. Later I will tape the seams that are not sealed with foam.
Last night it was 35 F outside the greenhouse did not go lower than 46F.
The fish water was 66 F and went down to 63 F over night not to bad.