Greenhouse built from Barrels

[hondamycivic]

Has anyone ever built a greenhouse made out of 55 gallon polyethalenne barrels?

I was thinking of building a greenhouse with the north (and east & west possibly) side built of 55 gallon plastic barrels. The barrels are black and could serve as a great heat store. The problem is how to secure them so that if I stack them (2 high = 6 feet) they are structurally solid. I'd like them to serve as the outside wall (no other siding necessary). But the space where the barrels meet on there edge will need some sort of insulation that would be exposed to the outside. Maybe I do need some kind of insulation on the outside so that the barrels will not get cold.

I was thinking of making the greenhouse 20' wide (20' exposed to the sun). So the north and south would be 20' (one side of barrels, one side of glass.)

Any ideas on using barrels would be greatly appreciated. Has anyone tried this? What problems did you encounter?

[escape]

Fill the barrels with water and they act like a heat sink and at night will slowly cool off, keeping the greenhouse warmer at night. This doesn't work during cold spells like we had last week, but in mild winters, my barrel wall at the north side of the greenhouse indeed was enough to keep it warm. Now, I do have a structure with a sheath. It's an inexpensive greenhouse I bought for about 700 dollars. It's 10x20 feet and 9' in the center.

You would have to stagger them for stability and then use appliance ties to hold them together. You know that stuff that comes on huge boxes...it's the plastic tie stuff. You can buy it with a special gun that tightens it. OR, you could go to Home Depot and buy straps and buckles to hold them together. They last forever if they are made of nylon, which most are.

Many things you can do.

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