Upcycled trampoline greenhouse

FB marketplace has free (15') trampolines that I upcycled into a greenhouse. I used polycarbonate panels to enclose the greenhouse and attached the panels with self-tapping screws. The front door is a salvaged storm door from a remodel; it has a built-in sliding glass screen for ventilation. This is my first growing season with this greenhouse so hopefully it works out well. The raised beds are made from cedar fencing. Total cost of build is about $800.

Nice job Jesse. Does it clear 6 feet inside?

Many small greenhouses that I've looked at are only 10ft wide, which doesn't give much room for having both paths and beds. I can see that more like 14ft of useable space in what you built would be great. About what is the width at the top of your raised beds?

yes, it is over 6' high in the center and is 15' wide and the raised beds are 24" wide by 7' long. My mistake was putting the center herb garden too close to the door. If I move it back 12" I can fit the wheelbarrow inside the path area. Now that the beds are filled with soil I don't need use the wheelbarrow inside.

That's a clever use of a trampoline frame. The curved shape actually works well for a greenhouse, good light distribution and no flat spots to collect water. Free on marketplace is hard to argue with too.

That is fantastic!
I use them for structures but never a green house, have you welded some connectors to the arches ?

That's a great use for salvaged material. A hoop shape is a very practical and efficient basic design for structures, especially greenhouses. I have a couple of suggestions for your consideration that are based on my experience. If you haven't already allowed for movement (thermal stress) in your polycarbonate skin, you're likely to get cracking around the fasteners. At a minimum, the screw holes in the panels need to be oversized and bridged with washers. If you want a bit more height inside, the hoop "bones" can be raised onto low walls (which can even be insulated with foamboard such as Styrofoam).

What a good use of free resources! And if you have a little bit of a slope on it end to end, even just an inch or two, you can probably get some rain catchment off the roof as well!

David Wieland wrote:...(which can even be insulated with foamboard such as Styrofoam).

Does ground-contact foamboard hold up ok for you? I thought the pink/purple foamboard insulation was impervious to nature and left some pieces of it leaned up against a wall with their bottom edges on the ground, and something termite-ish ended up turning it into a bunch of cool-looking tunnels and uncool purple plastic powder.

I LOVE this!  What a great idea.  It might be a good starting point for a chicken house as well.  I wonder if you live in a place with snow and was also wondering if the poly panels could be turned 90 degrees so that water and snow would slide off easier.  I'm visualizing cement blocks around the perimeter into which the frame could fit, raising it enough so that the door would be a good fit.  I have zero carpentry skills, so I don't really know, but this is a remarkable idea...Now to figure out where I could put one! It is so roomy!  Thank you for sharing it.

This looks awesome! How is that material on the top called I searched it in FB marketplace and couldnot find it.

"FREE " on Marketplace is music to my ears...What a creative and efficient use of 'waste' trampolines. Nicely done!

Amy Clarke wrote:...
Does ground-contact foamboard hold up ok for you? I thought the pink/purple foamboard insulation was impervious to nature and left some pieces of it leaned up against a wall with their bottom edges on the ground, and something termite-ish ended up turning it into a bunch of cool-looking tunnels and uncool purple plastic powder.

I don't have termites here in rural Ottawa, Ontario, so that may be why I haven't seen that kind of damage. If tunneling insects were to become a problem, I would try to protect the bottom edge with something unchewable -- perhaps aluminum J-trim or similar.

Amy Clarke wrote:...
Does ground-contact foamboard hold up ok for you? I thought the pink/purple foamboard insulation was impervious to nature and left some pieces of it leaned up against a wall with their bottom edges on the ground, and something termite-ish ended up turning it into a bunch of cool-looking tunnels and uncool purple plastic powder.

Maybe it's because termites don't come this far north, but I haven't seen any tunneling in the foamboard (actually ordinary white expanded -- not extruded -- foamboard that I already had when I made my hoop greenhouse several years ago).

David Wieland wrote:

Amy Clarke wrote:...
Does ground-contact foamboard hold up ok for you? I thought the pink/purple foamboard insulation was impervious to nature and left some pieces of it leaned up against a wall with their bottom edges on the ground, and something termite-ish ended up turning it into a bunch of cool-looking tunnels and uncool purple plastic powder.

Maybe it's because termites don't come this far north, but I haven't seen any tunneling in the foamboard (actually ordinary white expanded -- not extruded -- foamboard that I already had when I made my hoop greenhouse several years ago).

Yes, our local carpenter ants will make tunnels in the pink foamboard, but not the white expanded stuff. Something in the difference in how they are made. I've both read about this, and observed it.

David Wieland wrote:<snip>If you want a bit more height inside, the hoop "bones" can be raised onto low walls (which can even be insulated with foamboard such as Styrofoam).

Aside the long sides of a gothic arch greenhouse that I built, grow massive snow piles in winter which have torn loose the long-lived greenhouse polyethylene-plus film glazing it, so now I shovel snow away often.

In hindsight, lifting the entire arched frame atop, say, pallets or such would spare my this shoveling work, provide more headroom and allow lower cross-bracing within the greenhouse

So I say to David Wieland: "Brilliant!".

Here's to next time,

Brian
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Brian Cady wrote:Aside the long sides of a gothic arch greenhouse that I built, grow massive snow piles in winter which have torn loose the long-lived greenhouse polyethylene-plus film glazing it, so now I shovel snow away often.

In hindsight, lifting the entire arched frame atop, say, pallets or such would spare my this shoveling work, provide more headroom and allow lower cross-bracing within the greenhouse

Snow against the sides would act as a bit of insulation....

To Jesse - Snow loading in winter may be a thing for you to consider. That shape looks like it would not shed snow well and could easily get over loaded. Good for withstanding wind load though.

Interesting observation about the pink foam versus the white expanded foam. One thing worth mentioning is that carpenter ants aren't actually eating the foam any more than they eat wood. They excavate it to make galleries and nesting space.So if someone finds tunnels in foamboard, I wouldn't assume the inslation itself attracted them as food. I would look around the edges and behind it for an access route, nearbyy damp wood, or an existing place the ants are using as a nest. Keeping the lower edge of the insulation protected and inspectable seems like a good idea, especially where it meets soil or wood.The little piles of foam particles they kick out can also be a useful clue that something is excavating inside where you can't see it.