erect a polytunnel

[firewoodman]

looking at buying a polytunnel for storage and drying of firewood,

 

anyone got any experience of erecting these as they seem to come in different styles of grounding.

 

not intending on having doors at either end and will run with the prevailing wind direction on a slight slope.

 

dont know wether to have vented sides too?

 

any help and advice appreciated

[treedave]

No experience but my farming neighbour has 2 (both 2nd hand frames and new covers). Both with mesh in the lowest 3-4 feet, it doesn't let rain in but a good breeze. It seems strong enough as the sheep haven't wrecked it yet.

What kind money are you looking at having to spend, I'm looking at getting on next summer.

 

Good luck,

 

I'll pick your brain when you've got sorted if that's ok:001_smile:

[firewoodman]

i want a big one... aprox 40-45ft long and min of 14ft wide.

 

prob cost £1200 new

[Peter]

Put up plenty of polytunnels. The newer designs have upright sides, and then a dome on top, which gives you more useable space.

 

You need a few friends to help skin it up!

[firewoodman]

is it easy?

[Peter]

Yes. As long as the sockets for the hoops are in the right place, and the spacing is right, its a piece of cake.

 

We always used to dig a trench down each side, and bury the skin, but you can use timber battens fixed to the hoops to do the same job.

 

The main thing with the skin is to make sure its stretched evenly, and if its visqueen, make sure its the right way round, the inside should be marked.

 

In short

 

install the sockets

 

put up the hoops, any cross braces, and the lateral strut.

 

unfold the skin at one end, and get one person on each side and one at the end, and drag it over the frame.

 

tension the skin, fix all the battens and job done!

[Log-ologist]

any help and advice appreciated

 

helps if the ground is flat.

 

 

oh , your in Wales

 

 

[firewoodman]

got flat ground but is on a slope of 1:15ft

not much of an angle but should the hoops be perfectly level?

 

looking at using ground anchor and netted vents with timber battons... don't fancy digging trench.

 

where would be the best place/company to buy one or find a second hand one?

[Peter]

Getting a good second hand one will be tricky, unless you find a nursery that is closing down.

 

We used to use these people northernpolytunnels

 

Slope is no problem, it does help if all the hoops are in one plane, ie you could lay an imaginary straight edge along the tops of the hoops.

[Brushcutter]

Putting a polly tunnel up isn't that hard. However putting the skin on is a pain as is doing the vents. I took down a 14 metre by 37 metre polytunnel the other week and its going up ok. I got it for free from the local agricultre college that didn't use them anymore and sold the land they were on for housing.