My plan for today was to go outside and attempt to dig my greenhouse out from under the snow that's collapsed it, and get it standing back up.
Whether we needed heat was the test for this winter, really.
We're getting a lot more snow than normal. The design is alright, and I've got a few tweaks that'll fix the weight and snow problem.
Here's the greenhouse when it was under construction
Hard to see, but I spent an hour yesterday pulling several hundred lbs of snow off it. Got a bit more than half way done.
So far it's survived 70+ MPH winds (112 kph), Heavy rain, and quite a bit of snow.
This past snow storm dumped too much and pushed it over
Got a bit more than half way done
The boards on the inside shifted with the added weight on the side, and allowed it to fold over.
I'll add a few wooden stakes on the inside to keep the base from shifting, didn't think it was necessary with the tension on the cattle panels before but the snow proves that wrong.
I'm also going to get some extra tall T-posts and make a small frame over the outside of it that'll add extra lateral support.
This winter was supposed to be a test for this design, and the added t-posts and wooden stakes will bring the total for the project up to around $550.
The red is what was there.
The arch is 16 foot cattle panels covered in visqueen plastic sheeting, it's got 2x8's on the outside to hold the frame, and it's got 2x4s on the inside to hold the plastic under the edge.
The green is what I'll add. Stakes on the inside and t-posts on the outside.
Obviously this isn't to scale, just to show what I'm talking about.
it's at least standing again.
I'll add exterior support when it's warmer and I can fix the bend in the panels easier.