Could I build a greenhouse?
Absolutely.
Did the coroplast work?
Briefly.
Can I just cut 3 sides of the door and use the coroplast itself as a hinge?
Maybe, but I didn't use enough reinforcement.
Does one simply use roofing screws?
No, the plastic disintegrates around it.
Also, I asked what the proper torque specs were, and everyone ignored me, but when I accidentally tightened excessively, which is incredibly easy with coroplast, the siding popped loose.
Would it have worked with larger washers?
Maybe. In theory you could go up to 1.5" without blocking sunlight, but I think the best way would have been to screw a 1x2 on every surface.
Since this didn't need to be inspected, can one simply spread the studs equidistantly?
Only if you want to cause yourself frustrations.
The panels are 48x96, so you need studs every 16 or 24".
Maybe 24" would have been enough to support plastic walls, although I got up on top to attach the roof--twice.
I think that it is about 10x12, so it should have 8 studs one way, and 9 the other, although I only had four studs on the shorter sides.
Again, since this only supported plastic walls, there was no need to double up on the corners, so in theory this should have had 30 studs, plus 9 rafters, so I would have needed 39 1x2s just to fasten the siding.
They are currently $1.65 each, so it would have cost $64.35, and less than one correct panel, but the roof disintegrated, and I fear that it is only a matter of time before the walls do, too.
I bought some clear duct tape that was supposed to be UV safe to patch up damage and it seemed to work.
Maybe wrapping it around exposed edges would at least contain broken plastic, if not protect it, but the only possible way I could see of making translucent coroplast work would be with a layer of the expensive stuff on top, for twice the negligible insulation.
Can't you UV-treat it?
I bought a bottle of UV treatment for $62 and all that it seemed to do was make it sticky.
Sixty-four dollars for 1x2s, $62 for UV treatment that didn't work, and $8 for tape to repair damage.
This is still maybe half the price of doing it right, but I just don't see any way of making this work.
Actually, my first proof-of-concept was buying drop cloths, which were also supposed to last longer than they did, and that was where I first got the idea of using 1x2s.
The wind immediately ripped off the plastic.
I think that I used 3 $20 dropcloths and then paid $80 for proper UV-resistant plastic.
Maybe 1x2s would have kept that safe, but can you imagine having a greenhouse that couldn't withstand a simple poke?
I could just use the tape, but still, it would not be ideal.
Bob Vila indicates that a professional greenhouse would cost about $20 per square foot, with Mom's being around $1,600.
How Much Does a Greenhouse Cost?
I paid:
$10 for tape
30 for screws
60 for dropcloths
60 for UV treatment that didn't work
80 for proper plastic that I didn't use
280 for disposable coroplast
280 or so for proper panels
$800 just trying to make Mom happy, but she refuses to be happy, and refused to use my $800 greenhouse.
Would she have used a professional one?
I doubt it, even if she told me to order one.
She gave me permission to build this, a lot of good that did.
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