Homesteading and farming quickly teach you to be thrifty. We needed more hoop houses, also known as tunnels, but the costs add up rapidly. These hoops are highly beneficial for market farm production. We required more but lacked sufficient funding, so we posted a request for old trampoline frames. We collected about six and began planning.
The frames come in various sizes and patterns, so the first step was to match them by size and shape. The ground resembled a trampoline part warehouse as we sorted the parts by size and type. The next step was selecting the same types and connecting them until we achieved the desired height and width for our construction site. We used the legs as the footing base to connect hoops sideways, as they were on the trampolines.
Then, we connected the hoops with straight pieces along the sides and tops. Some pieces fit together as they did in the original framework, while for others, we used self-tapping screws and weather-resistant tape. We then took additional straight pieces and assembled them to create door frames at the tunnel ends.
Our framework for two tunnels is now complete; all we need are covers, and we are ready to start in early spring. These two tunnels differ by about half a foot in height. The taller one, standing at 7.5 feet high, is also larger, measuring 15 feet wide by 30 feet long, while the other is 13 feet wide by 25 feet long. We add couple more photos once we have the covers on. But all in all not a bad addition for no out of pocket cost for two frames.
Comments