GREENHOUSE BASE HEATING

[barboo]

Two years ago i errected my own greenhouse But pre getting the frame together i had to think about the base,
What was best for my idea of greenhouse gardening,
After reading about all kinds of ideas and before i'd heard of this forum I decided i liked one idea for the base
USED GLASS BOTTLES.
What the idea is that once the base area has been decided ref size and you've used the bourds that will hold the concrete in place while it sets,
The first job is to use some form of hard standing; ie broken stones/gravel etc
Now this done the next step was to use empty glass bottles layed length ways so the complete area was used I spread builders sand between the bottles to hold them in place and to retain ground heat,
And then filled the remaining area over the bottles with concrete "i used a space of 4 inch of concrete over the bottles.
The bottles form a heat retainer due to the trapped air inside the glass bottles,
Ive had the greenhouse up for three years this november and inspite of the greenhouse not being heated through the winter all the over wintered shrubs etc have stayed alive
and ive not had any frost inside the house and the floor has stayed frost free inspite of the odd water spillage from the watering can.
I do use bubble wrap lined walls and in the spring when i start my seed sowing in trays i do use night heating via an electric fan heater and paraffin heater if the electric is forcast lightening storms.
The greenhouse heats up well and because i used clear seal on all the bottom area of the greenhouse base heat tends not to escape, "tip the base area if not sealed looses the most heat"
So all in all the bottle idea and ensuring the base of the greenhouse is sealed ive had good growing results and feel the bottle idea is worth passing on as a tip for anyone who's thinking of errecting a greenhouse.
I do feel a saving is made when you want to heat the greenhouse due to heat staying inside the house and heat not being wasted,

[silverback]

You could also lay expanded polystyrene sheets, if you are making the base from scratch, about £5-£10 a sheet depending on thickness, like the idea of the bottles though!

[Freeranger]

SB - would the polystyrene be as well as or instead of the bottles?

[barboo]

Hi Freeranger,
Im thinking instead is the answer here,
I did use the polystyrene sheets once before when i put a solid concrete base into the garage we had in wales,
Worked very well no complaints,
The only reason ive mentioned the glass bottle idea is that we tend to chuck them in the re-cycle bin and get nothing for them "hence ' ive saved on buying the polystyrene cost.

Another good use for old clear bottles or coloured ones is for making a solid closed window to let light in,
Our wood store was once a donkey stable and the window had long gone, so i filled the space by lining the window frame inside with bottles,
it's simple to do juse make sure the end of the bottle faces the outside and as you lay each line of bottles from one side to the other,
cement inbetween so the bottles become fixed,

The light still get s through and if you use a few coloured bottles on the centre of your window space you'll have a nice coloured light coming through when the sun shines,
A bit like a church window idea.
A very simple and cost effective way to use up what would be chucked away.

[silverback]

Hi FR, personally I would use the polystyrene instead of the bottles, also it would depend on the area that needs covering, 2-3 or more sq/mtrs would require quite a few bottles!..

[Kips123]

The bottles form a heat retainer due to the trapped air inside the glass bottles,
Ive had the greenhouse up for three years this november and inspite of the greenhouse not being heated through the winter all the over wintered shrubs etc have stayed alive