A BUILD-IT-YOURSELF PINE POLE GREENHOUSE

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In order to get that kind of efficiency from an essentially crude structure, we had to do a good bit of planning before we set to work. The angle of the roof was calculated to allow the maximum transmission of light (see Fig. 1), and we chose a site on a south-facing slope, where the greenhouse would effectively receive more energy per unit of area than it would on level ground (Fig. 2).

PROCEEDING FROM POLE TO POLE
Before actually beginning construction, we carried the poles (which had been stripped and allowed to cure), as well as all of the rest of our materials, to the site by hand and wheelbarrow, to eliminate the risk of erosion due to soil disturbance on the slope. The poles, of course, tapered from one end to the other. We used the thicker portions (they averaged about 6" in diameter) for the load-bearing parts of the structure, and the thinner ends to frame up the doors and windows. Fig. 3 details the sizes of poles and nails used in each application.

We marked out the rough dimensions of the greenhouse on the site, making each side (shown as AB, BD, CD, and AC in Fig. 3) 13' long. The corner poles were each 6"-diameter posts cut to a length of 5' and set 1' 6" into the earth (with the help of a post-hole digger). Then, to provide support for the ridgepole, we cut two more 6 "-diameter poles (E and F) 9' 6" long and set them each 1' 6" into the ground at a point 5'3" down from the corresponding upper corner post. (Unless otherwise specified, all of the distances given are from center to center.) Next, a 4"-diameter timber (G), cut to about 9' in length, was sunk in place at a point 5' 3" up from the east bottom corner, leaving a 2' space (between it and F) for the doorway.

Next we cut two 15' poles of about 4"-diameter (H and I) and—after cutting the notches that would later receive the roof diagonals—secured them to their respective pairs of corner posts, allowing a 1' overhang on each end, as shown in Fig. 4. The 4"-diameter ridgepole (J) was then cut, notched, and fitted in the same manner.

Once the three horizontal components were in place, it was time to measure the diagonals (K, L, M, and N) from the ridgepole to each of the four corner posts. We then cut the poles, making each slightly longer than the actual measurements dictated (better to trim later than to waste a too short pole), raised them into position, marked the exact contact points, then cut the ends, each at an angle, as shown in Fig. 4. Before nailing the diagonal poles, we also marked frame post G, then cut it off and notched it to accept the diagonal post L. With the preparations out of the way, K, L, M, and N were fastened in place. The horizontal poles O on the west and P and Q on the east were measured in a similar manner, then the vertical poles E, F, and G were notched to receive them.

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