Got plans off of Etsy and the glass windows were recycled. I’m no finish carpenter and it has its quirks (character) but overall it came out how I envisioned it. I can’t wait to plant next year.
Sorry for the novel. I tried about a million times to shorten this, but I wanted to explain what we’re doing before it gets ripped apart. Honestly, that’s kind of what I’m hoping for so we don’t make any huge, unfixable mistakes.
My dad and I are building a roughly 5’x10’x7’ greenhouse off the back of the house for his lemon and grapefruit trees over the winter. He was a home builder his whole life, so I trust him completely when it comes to construction. The problem is that I know very little about greenhouses, and he probably knows even less, so I’m looking for some outside opinions before we get too far.
The roof will be a single sheet of 16mm “triple wall” polycarbonate. The pitch is pretty shallow, so I’m wondering how well it will handle snow/ice. The sides will be insulated glass doors two double doors and one single door. His idea, which could either be brilliant or a complete nightmare.
The deck underneath is mostly new. The 2x10 joists are about 40 years old but in surprisingly great shape. He added supports every 2 feet, replaced the 4x4s with 6x6s, added additional 4x4 supports, and bolted it into the house in a bunch of places.
We actually sit/walk underneath this area, so we’ve tried to beef it up as much as possible. I can post pictures of that if needed, although I’m guessing structural questions are probably better suited for r/decks.
We’re planning to insulate underneath with foam board. On top of the Trex we were thinking Tyvek or another impermeable layer, then a rubber/vinyl mat. I’m also wondering if the floor should have a slight pitch toward a drain to deal with condensation/watering.
The big questions I’m hoping people can help with:
How realistic is it to overwinter lemon/grapefruit trees in a greenhouse in Zone 7? The deck faces southwest and gets a ton of sun, and being attached to the house should help with heat retention, but I’m assuming supplemental heat and possibly lighting will still be necessary.
How do we balance ventilation/humidity control with trying to retain heat in the winter? We’ll have an exhaust fan, and the doors have screens, so summer seems easier.
Should we add a drain in the floor?
How strong is 16mm triple-wall polycarbonate for a roof, particularly with snow? Is our pitch too shallow?
Would wrapping the outside with another layer of plastic or some other insulation actually help?
Any obvious greenhouse-specific problems with the materials/design that I’m missing?
One thing I’m particularly concerned about is the dryer vent. It’s a gas dryer, and my dad thinks venting it near/into the greenhouse will help heat it. I’m pretty sure intentionally putting a gas dryer exhaust into a tiny enclosed room is a terrible idea because of CO and moisture, not to mention the heat/fire concerns. He seems less concerned than I am. 😂 There will at least be a smoke/CO detector, but I’m pushing for the dryer to be properly vented somewhere else and using a safe dedicated heat source if we need supplemental heat.
Basically, I realize there are probably about 47 ways this thing could become a death trap, so I’d rather find them now while we can still change things.
My dad wants to keep his citrus trees in here all winter, and I’m trying to figure out what we need to do to make that realistically possible.
Any advice, criticism, or “absolutely do NOT do that” comments are welcome.
My dad has been growing in ground trees so I think he will be able to keep them pruned to fit but the size and other concerns I have make me think, it better suited as a greenhouse for keeping cold tolerant plants through winter, maybe it will be warm enough for some other vegetables but I just think it’s too small and ill prepared to keep citrus trees and he will have to keep driving my mom crazy by keeping them inside. At least she got creative last year and in lieu a Christmas tree lit and decorated the lemon trees.
Thanks for reading this far and I’d appreciate some constructive criticism
My first ever greenhouse, and I love a project so I want to make it as nice as I can. Will add diagonal supports between the vertical posts made of 10-12mm round steel rods, so that the glass can be uninterrupted from the foundation wall to the top of the roof.
Was a lot of work since I excavated all the way down to the rock beneath, built the base up with bricks and then filled it to level with rocks. Going to plaster/stucco the base.
The rear wall will be half glass half wood unlike the drawing, I also will leave the floor plan bare and not make the soil walls to have it more modular and flexible. Slow progress because I’m doing it on my free time and winter in Sweden is cold.
Any tips?
I'm planning to build a greenhouse based on my own design and I could use some feedback, specifically on the foundation, but any other tips are appreciated as well.
These are my main assumptions for the design:
- I want the plants to have access to the soil underneath, so no full concrete or gravel pad
- my garden plot is not easily accessible by car, so ideally I want to carry as little gravel/cement as possible
- I'm in zone 8b, snow isn't usually and issue but we get some frost
- we sometimes get strong winds, so the greenhouse has to be securely tied down
- I've drilled some test holes in the soil and keep hitting bedrock or stones at about 60cm deep
My idea was to use ground screws since they are easy to transport and install, but I'm not sure if they will be secure enough. Would I gain much stability by using concrete footings? I'd rather add a few more ground screws to be safe.
Time has come for me to start thinking about redoing the poly. Mistakes were made, accidents were had, and several years later, things are still standing.
My question is for opinions on how exactly you would wrap it, what materials would you use and such. I'm thinking of doing each panel seperately and using tape of some kind.
Thanks for your time :)
Backyard Discovery Zalie greenhouse and it fits perfectly in our little space. Question for those who have finished the build though - how the heck did you get up there to seal the polycarbonate panels?? I’m having a logistical challenge and could use some suggestions!
Hello! We are building a 10'x20' greenhouse and are at the stage when we are deciding on the layout for our raised beds. We are debating between doing 6 square beds that are 4'x4', giving us 2' walkways and spaces for pots and benches, or doing two long 20'x3' beds, leaving us a big 4' middle aisle. We will be primarily planting vegetables in here, as well as doing some veggie starts in the spring for our big garden.
We are also open to other suggestions for layouts for a greenhouse this size! Thank you in advance!