How to Build a PVC Hoophouse

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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Build a PVC hoophouse to give plants an early start in the spring and protect them from cold weather. In milder climates, you can grow plants and vegetables in it all winter for year round crops. These instructions produce a structure 10 feet wide, 21 feet long and 7 feet high at the center, but you can modify it to make a larger or small structure. Here's how to do it.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

5 10-foot sticks of schedule 40 ½-inch PVC pipe
Hacksaw
Measuring tape
19 10-foot lengths of thin walled ¾- inch PVC pipe
6 ¾-inch PVC cross connectors (4-way)
2 ¾-inch PVC Tee connectors (3-way)
8 metal binder clips
Rubber mallet
1 20-foot by 25-foot sheet of clear plastic sheeting, such as visqueen
42 feet of 2-by-4-inch lumber

Step1

Determine where you want to build the hoophouse and lay out a rectangle on the ground 10 feet wide and 21 feet long.

Step2

Cut the 10-foot schedule 40 PVC sticks into 16 30-inch lengths to make stakes for the structure's frame. It helps to cut these pieces on an angle so you can drive them into the ground more easily. Cut three of the ¾-inch PVC sticks into 34-inch lengths to get seven 34-inch ridge supports.

Step3

Start at the end of one 21-foot-long side of the rectangle, and use the rubber mallet to drive a 30-inch PVC stake 6 inches straight into the ground. Drive seven more stakes along the side, each 3 feet apart. Repeat on the other long side of the rectangle to end with eight stakes equally spaced on each side of the rectangle.

Step4

Make hoop assemblies by joining two 10-foot ¾-inch PVC sticks into one PVC 4-way cross connector to form one 20-foot length for each hoop. Assemble six of the eight hoops. Use the rubber mallet to get a tight joint between the PVC sticks and the PVC cross connector.

Step5

Use the two PVC 3-way Tee connectors and the four remaining 10-foot ¾-inch PVC sticks to form the last two hoops, one for each end of the hoophouse.

Step6

Assemble the hoophouse frame by slipping one end of each hoop over one of the stakes, pushing it all the way to the ground and bending it over to slip over the stake in the same way on the opposite side. It helps to have another person assist you. As you set up each hoop, insert a 34-inch ridge support into the remaining openings of the 4-way connectors to join each of the hoops at the center point, forming the ridgeline. Use the last two hoops with the 3-way connectors at each end of the hoophouse frame.

Step7

Drape the plastic sheet evenly over the frame to cover the entire length of the hoophouse frame. Use four of the binder clips to secure the plastic to each end hoop. Anchor the bottom of the plastic along each side of the hoophouse with the 2-by-4 inch lumber.