DIY polytunnel frame

[jono83]

Hi all, during that terrible weather a couple of weeks back my polytunnel frame got destroyed. I thaought that was it for this year no cucmbers or toms, and the missuss' new trial with water melons was over, but we put our heads together and came up with this


E voila! one repaired polytunnel and our veg is back on the menu, suprising what you can do with a few hazel poles

[veggiechicken]

Excellent job, Jono & Mrs Jono. Looks more substantial than the original!

[jono83]

Excellent job, Jono & Mrs Jono. Looks more substantial than the original!

I must admit, I wasn't fully confident with the original frame, it was like tin foil from new, hopefully this will withstand the wind for this year

[Feral007]

So was it only the frame that got destroyed Jono? not the poly? I'm just asking because we plan to make a polytunnel from scratch next spring and can't help wondering how to manage to keep the poly on the frame when it's not a fitted one.

[jono83]

So was it only the frame that got destroyed Jono? not the poly? I'm just asking because we plan to make a polytunnel from scratch next spring and can't help wondering how to manage to keep the poly on the frame when it's not a fitted one.

just the frame it was a mangled mess, I used nails this time but originally it had little velcro tabs stitched in the seams thats all that held it on the old frame. Its only to last this season, then doing a homemade one ourselves, using corrugated PVC like this stuff Clear PVCu Corrugated Sheet - PVC Corrugated Sheets & Trims - Roofing -Building Materials - Wickes (no one said a poly tunnel had to be round or made of polythene )
ATB jono

[troyka]

im a huge fan of hazel, its the ultimate in renewable resource for the garden, i use it for all sorts, like the netting frame for my small veg plot, it keeps the evil cats and the birds off.. although i need to ditch the net and get metal grill of some kind as i have hedgehogs in the garden, and i wouldnt want them getting stuck in the netting

[Pinfold Plotter]

I'm a willow weaver and when the frame of my walk in plastic greenhouse buckled under the surprise heavy snowstorm we had at the beginning of spring I managed to repair it with thick rods. Whereas it was apex roofed before, it's not kind of Dutch barn style. If anything it is stronger now, and my cucumbers are climbing up to the roof - something I don't think the previous flimsy frame would have coped with. The only downside is that when it rains you get some slight pooling where the ridge of the apex used to be. I'm going to have to rectify that for winter as ice will cause some damage.

[Shadylane]

So was it only the frame that got destroyed Jono? not the poly? I'm just asking because we plan to make a polytunnel from scratch next spring and can't help wondering how to manage to keep the poly on the frame when it's not a fitted one.

You need to make a door frame, (which you fix to the poly frame with p-clips) and then pull the sheeting through the opening and attach it to inside of the door frame using staples and battons. You then make a door and cover that in sheeting, possibly half netting to allow ventilation. We're planning on doing this with our frame next year as the fitted cover is on it's way out. First Polytunnels have loads of videos which show you how to do it.

[Samurailord]

I recently watched a series of videos on YouTube where a guy made his own polytunnel - looked very good too. He used scaffolding poles in the ground supporting plasic water pipe for his frame.

You can find him by searching for Rickvanman on YouTube and look at his allotmnent videos - I find him to be quite a good presenter and he makes his videos very watchable in my opinon.

Andy

[pigletwillie]

He copied me lol, there are pictures of my 20x12 tunnel on my blog. The bonus is you can make a custom size to suit the space you have if you make your own.

[chris]

I'm going to be doing it - copying you, pw. The only thing I can think of as being the difficult part is making sure that the scaffolding tubes are square (as in square to each other )

[pigletwillie]

You don't have to be knob on, the whole thing is very forgiving. You can peg out a triangle with string 3-4-5 (1 side 3mtr 1 side 4mtre with the long side 5mtre) this will give you a perfect 90 degree corner.

[redser]

And another thing you can do to make sure it is square before you actually start hammering in the tubes is measure the diagonals. If they are equal then you're good to go!