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Greenhouse Base with IBRAN®-X40 Greenhouse Base Grids

Fundamenter til drivhuse

Et drivhusfundament der er præcist i vater og afleder vand

Glas er nådesløst. IBRAN-gitter giver et fast, præcist afrettet underlag der dræner frit og forankrer solidt, så rammen holder formen, ruderne sidder i clipsen og døren glider hele sæsonen.

Hvorfor fundamentet betyder mere her end noget andet sted

Et drivhus er den mindst tolerante havebygning, der findes. Et skur på et let ujævnt underlag er et skur med en stiv dør. Et drivhus på et let ujævnt underlag er en ramme, der har vredet sig, og når en aluminiumsramme er ude af vinklen, sidder ruderne ikke længere korrekt i clipsen, døren sætter sig fast eller falder af løberen, og glasset begynder at revne i hjørnerne.

Så er der vand. Et drivhus producerer overraskende meget af det: vanding, kondensvand der løber ned ad glasset, stænk fra slangen, spild fra borde og hylder. På et uigennemtrængeligt betondæk har vandet ingen steder at gå, så det bliver stående på gulvet, holder fugtigheden høj og giver alger og mos et permanent levested.

Og så er der vinden. Et drivhus er en stor, let kasse med et stort vindafsnittsareal, og ét vindstød under en uforankret ramme vil flytte den. Forankring er ikke valgfri, og den skal have noget solidt at gå i.

Et gitterfundament løser alle tre problemer. Indesluttet skærver giver en stiv, præcist afrettet platform der ikke sætter sig ujævnt, overfladen forbliver fuldt permeabel så vand dræner direkte ned gennem gulvet, og det kompakterede opbygningslag giver et fast medium at forankre rammen i.

Hvor dette fungerer godt

  • Drivhuse med aluminiums- og træramme
  • Fundamenter og indgange til tunneldrivhuse
  • Kolde bede og vækstbure
  • Arbejdsskure og glashusgange
  • Arbejdsborde og opstillingsarealer
  • Stier mellem bede under glas
  • Kolonihavestrukturer
  • Udskiftning af et fejlslagent beton- eller flisefundament

Overblik

Bærelag 75-100mm kompakteret stabilgrus til et typisk privat drivhus
Fyldmateriale 6-14mm gradueret blanding, kantet og ren, fyldt i niveau med celletoppe
Samlet udgravning Ca. 110-140mm afhængigt af gitterdybde og bærelag
Tolerance Vater og vinkel er afgørende. Kontroller i begge retninger og på diagonalerne
Forankring Rammeankre fastgøres gennem fundamentet ned i det kompakterede bærelag
Dræning Fuldt permeabelt. Vandingsvand, kondensvand og spild dræner direkte igennem
Designlevetid 25 år, forudsat dokumenteret udførelse
Materiale 100% genanvendt polypropylen, fremstillet i EU

I vater, i vinklen – og hvorfor begge dele er afgørende

Drivhusproducenter foreskriver et fundament der er i vater og i vinklen, fordi rammen samles til faste mål og glasset ikke har nogen eftergivelse overhovedet.

I vater betyder plant i begge retninger over hele fodaftrykket, ikke kun i hjørnerne. Et højt punkt i midten løfter rammen ud af linje og vrider den, og vridningen viser sig i den modsatte ende som en dør der ikke vil lukke.

I vinklen betyder at diagonalerne er ens. Et aluminiumsdrivhus samlet på et fundament der er en centimeter ude af vinklen, vil modarbejde dig hele vejen, og den sidste rude vil ikke gå i.

Kontroller begge dele, inden du lægger et eneste gitter, derefter igen efter afretningslaget er skrabet ud, og igen inden rammen sættes ned. Det er den billigste kvalitetskontrol på hele arbejdet og det eneste tidspunkt, hvor noget af det stadig kan rettes.

Dræning under glas

Et permeabelt gulv ændrer drivhusets daglige funktion.

Vand fra vandkander, slanger og kondensvand dræner ned gennem fundamentet i stedet for at blive stående, så gulvet forbliver gangbart og tørrer hurtigt. Det reducerer den stående fugt der giver alger på gulvet og mos i hjørnerne, og det gør arbejdsmiljøet mere behageligt.

Det har også betydning for det der dyrkes. Hvor der er jordbede inde i drivhuset, betyder et frit drænende omgivende fundament at overskydende vand bevæger sig væk i stedet for at stå op mod bedene. Hvor alt er i potter på hylder, forsvinder dryppet simpelthen.

En grusflade har endnu en fordel under glas: fugt den ned på en varm dag, og den holder fugtigheden blidt oppe mens den fordamper – en klassisk drivhusteknik der er betydeligt sværere at udføre på et forseglet gulv.

Hvilken gitterdybde?

Tallet på et gitter er en beslutning om, hvor dybt det indesluttede stenlag er. Drivhusbelastninger er lette, så her handler det om præcision i afretningen og udgravningsdybden snarere end bæreevne.

  • IBRAN®-X30 til de fleste private drivhuse. Lav udgravning, minimalt overskudsjord og let at få præcist i vater – hvilket er det denne anvendelse reelt kræver.
  • IBRAN®-X40 til større konstruktioner, kommercielle væksthuse eller hvor fundamentet strækker sig ind i en trillebørerute eller opstillingsareal.
  • IBRAN®-X50 hvor et køretøj eller tungt udstyr skal bruge samme overflade, f.eks. en adgangsforplads ved et gartneri.

Valg af sten

Brug en 6-14mm gradueret blanding, kantet og ren. En blanding pakker tættere end én enkelt størrelse, fordi den mindre sten fylder mellemrummene mellem den større, og her gør den tæthed dobbelt arbejde: den holder niveauet præcist og giver en komfortabel overflade at stå og knæle på mens du arbejder.

Fyld i niveau med celletoppene frem for over dem, så gulvet er plant under foden og intet ruller når du flytter hylder eller en tung potte.

Undgå rundet havegrus, der forskydes under foden, og alt der indeholder finstof eller støv, som binder overfladen, holder på vand og giver mos et sted at etablere sig. En ren, vasket blanding holder gulvet drænende og forbliver renere år for år.

How it goes in

  1. Check the greenhouse manufacturer's base dimensions before marking anything out. Frames are built to fixed sizes and the base needs to match them, not the other way round.
  2. Mark out the base larger than the frame footprint by at least 100mm on every side, so runoff from the glass lands on stone rather than soil.
  3. Clear turf, roots and soft soil down to firm ground, and check that ground falls away from the greenhouse position rather than towards it.
  4. Excavate to your total depth: sub-base plus grid depth, typically 110-140mm.
  5. Lay a woven geotextile across the dig, lapping joins by at least 300mm and taking it up the sides.
  6. Add and compact the sub-base. 75-100mm of MOT is ample, compacted properly rather than tipped and raked, because this is what your anchors will ultimately bite into.
  7. Blind with a thin layer of grit sand and screed it dead level. Check with a straight edge and spirit level in both directions and along both diagonals, and check the diagonals of the marked area match.
  8. Push-fit the grids together, cutting the perimeter to line with a hand saw.
  9. Fill the cells with a 6-14mm graded blend, level with the cell tops, brushing in so no cell is left hollow.
  10. Set out the frame, check square and level again, then anchor it down before glazing.

Full step-by-step detail is in our installation guides.

Anchoring the frame

Do not skip this and do not leave it until later. An unanchored greenhouse in a gale is a large glass sail, and the damage is rarely limited to the greenhouse.

Most aluminium greenhouses come with anchor plates or ground anchors designed to fix at the corners and at intervals along the base rails. These fix through the grid base into the compacted sub-base beneath, which is why compacting that layer properly matters more here than on a shed base.

Where the manufacturer specifies concrete anchor pads, you can set small pads at the fixing points within the grid layout, keeping the rest of the base permeable. It is the anchor points that need mass, not the whole floor.

Fix the frame down before you glaze. Glazing a frame that then has to be shifted to line up an anchor point is a job nobody enjoys twice.

Soil borders and staging

Most greenhouses end up as some combination of beds and benches, and the base can accommodate both.

For soil borders, leave the border areas out of the grid layout and run the base as paths and standing areas around them. The permeable base beside a border drains water away from the bed rather than into it, and the border keeps direct contact with the ground beneath, which is what you want for deep-rooted crops.

For staging and benching, a fully gridded floor gives an even, firm surface that legs will not sink into, and drips fall straight through rather than pooling under the bench.

If you are not sure yet, grid the whole floor. Removing grids later to open up a border is straightforward; adding a base under an established bench is not.

Polytunnels

Polytunnels have a different failure point: the ground anchors and the trench where the polythene is buried, both of which sit at the perimeter.

A grid base works well for the internal paths and standing areas while leaving the perimeter free for anchoring and skirting. It is particularly worth doing at the doorway, which is the muddiest square metre of any polytunnel and the one place traffic concentrates.

Get it right first time

The one thing worth knowing: check level and square three times.

Every other application on this site tolerates a few millimetres of variation. This one does not, because glass has no give and an aluminium frame transmits any twist straight to the panes.

Check when you mark out, check after screeding the blinding, and check before the frame is fixed. Straight edge in both directions, spirit level across the middle as well as the edges, tape across both diagonals. It takes ten minutes each time and it is the difference between a greenhouse that goes together in an afternoon and one that fights you all weekend and cracks a pane on the way.

Ask our engineer

Questions about depths, anchoring, borders or getting the base square? Ask below, or get in touch directly.

Common Questions

Things that frequently come up when carrying out this project.
Can you put a greenhouse on a gravel base?

Yes, provided the gravel is confined in a grid rather than loose. Loose gravel shifts underfoot and will not hold a level, but stone confined in cells gives a rigid, precisely level platform that also drains freely.

That combination suits a greenhouse better than a slab, because water from watering, condensation and spills drains straight through the floor.

Does a greenhouse base need to be perfectly level?

Yes, and square as well. A greenhouse frame is assembled to fixed dimensions and glass has no give in it. A high spot lifts the frame off its line and twists it, which shows up at the far end as a door that will not close or panes that will not sit in their clips.

Check level in both directions and check the diagonals match, before laying grids and again before fixing the frame.

How do you anchor a greenhouse to a grid base?

Most aluminium greenhouses come with anchor plates or ground anchors that fix at the corners and along the base rails. These fix through the grid base into the compacted sub-base beneath, which is why compacting that layer properly matters.

Where the manufacturer specifies concrete anchor pads, set small pads at the fixing points within the grid layout and keep the rest of the base permeable. Anchor the frame before glazing.

How deep should a greenhouse base be?

Around 110mm to 140mm in total for a typical domestic greenhouse: 75mm to 100mm of compacted MOT sub-base plus the grid depth.

Compact the sub-base properly rather than tipping and raking it, because it is both your level and the medium your anchors bite into.

What gravel is best for a greenhouse floor?

A 6mm to 14mm graded blend, angular and clean. A blend packs tighter than a single size and holds the level precisely, while giving a comfortable surface to stand and kneel on.

Avoid rounded pea shingle, which shifts underfoot, and anything carrying fines, which binds, holds water and gives moss somewhere to establish.

Can I have soil borders inside if the floor is gravel?

Yes. Leave the border areas out of the grid layout and run the base as paths and standing areas around them. The permeable base beside a border drains water away from the bed rather than into it, and the border keeps direct contact with the ground beneath for deep-rooted crops.

If you are undecided, grid the whole floor: removing grids later to open a border is straightforward.

Will a permeable floor make the greenhouse too damp?

The opposite. Water drains through rather than standing on the floor, so the surface dries quickly and there is less standing damp for algae and moss.

On a hot day the gravel can be damped down deliberately to raise humidity gently as it evaporates, which is a traditional glasshouse technique and much harder to do on a sealed floor.

Which grid depth do I need for a greenhouse?

The 30mm grid suits most domestic greenhouses: shallow dig, minimal spoil and easy to get precisely level, which is what this application actually needs.

Use 40mm for larger structures, commercial glasshouses, or where the base extends into a wheelbarrow route or standing-out area.

How big should the base be compared to the greenhouse?

Larger than the frame footprint by at least 100mm on every side, so runoff from the glass lands on free-draining stone rather than on soil that will splash back against the frame.

Check the manufacturer's stated base dimensions first, since frames are built to fixed sizes and the base has to match them.

Does this work for polytunnels?

Yes, for internal paths and standing areas, leaving the perimeter free for ground anchors and the trench where the polythene is buried.

It is particularly worth doing at the doorway, which is the muddiest square metre of any polytunnel and where traffic concentrates.

Ask our engineer

Questions about depths, sub-base, edging or which system fits your project? Ask below.