Clair's Success Story
Saving The Green
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Clair Schwan is one of my customers in Wyoming. He is building a 20 by 62 foot greenhouse using our tubing bender. It looks like a great project for a great cause – getting rid of the produce bill. I’m happy to showcase his project as a good example of what can be done if you are serious about building a greenhouse.
The project uses 20 foot ribs placed on 2 foot centers. The close spacing of the ribs is required for extra strength to withstand the strong winds that are common in Wyoming. The structure has 4 purlins and a ridge piece to tie the ribs together. There are 3 sets of cross bracing on each side of the structure, one in the middle and one on each end. Diagonal bracing and joists are also incorporated every fourth rib to make a strong upper shell. Concrete form stakes driven into the ground hold the building in place at the ends of each rib.
Five large turnbuckles, evenly spaced along each side, will each be anchored to 4 ribs just below the first purlin using angle iron. The turnbuckles will be secured with angle iron and lag screws to thick slabs of treated wood buried 5 feet deep and about 7 feet away from the structure. This anchoring system will allow the building to be pulled down onto its foundation and will give it superior “push and pull” resistance to winds that often reach 70 mph.
Beneath the growing beds of this greenhouse is about 500 feet of solar heated water piping to provide heat to the soil throughout the year. Clair intends to heat this, and his other two greenhouses with solar energy to help provide a year round harvest of fresh vegetables for him and his family. Closed cell rigid foam insulation surrounds the greenhouse below grade to help hold in warmth in the winter months.
All in all, it is quite a project. You can see this and other greenhouse projects in more detail at Frugal-Living-Freedom. Just click on the Build a Greenhouse navigation button.
In addition to showing you this ambitious project, I also wanted you to see the Frugal Living Freedom website that Clair has put together. The entire website is dedicated to helping people be more frugal and self-reliant. Growing vegetables and building greenhouses are just two ways to help create a more frugal and less dependent life. He has many others.
If you browse through his site, you’ll find lots of other ideas about spending less on energy, phone service, and household chores, and becoming more disciplined with your money. There are large portions of the site that discuss in detail how to save gas, get better fuel economy and use alternative transportation.
He also has lots of advice and examples about smart shopping and finding great bargains at retail stores, garage sales and auctions. He is also an advocate of relocating to lower cost-of-living areas and even to tax-free states as a way of saving money. According to his estimates, his move to Wyoming in 1998 has resulted in an accumulated savings of about $80,000 so far.
If you ever wondered about the mindset of a frugal person, his website spells it out pretty clearly. Here you can learn more about how frugal people think, plan and behave in a manner that serves their best interest.
His advice is especially welcome in these days of higher fuel prices. As you probably have noticed, everything else goes up with the cost of fuel. We could all use a little advice about how to stretch our dollars.
Clair shows you how it can be done. An entrepreneur at heart, he has operated successful businesses and self-retired before age 50. His “more life and less work” philosophy sounds great to me.
Take a look at his website and enjoy the discussion of concepts, philosophy and practical advice about creating and retaining wealth, and making your money go farther for you and your family. The best part of his website is that it’s all free and all worthwhile reading.
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