Tag Archives: home greenhouse

Building A Greenhouse part 2

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This entry is part 2 of 7 in the series Building a Greenhouse

10'x15' Greenhouse

The greenhouse above is a 10×15 that was installed for a customer. The installation took 6 hours. We have installed about 30 greenhouses so have gotten the time down. If you are installing your own there is no race with time though. If you take your time and plan the installation step by step you will make fewer mistakes.

First I like to find a fairly level spot that is going to be easy to access from your house.I have built greenhouses with every exposure, North to South East to West and any angle in between. If you face the ends North to South then the West wall can get pretty hot in the afternoon. I know there are some rules out there about orientation but I find that it’s easiest to locate it so it’s convenient  to use.,so orient it any way you want.

If you are starting with a grass area I would mow the grass as short as your mower goes then put down some ground cloth and start building. I have a lot of clay so I put down some 3/4″ gravel and put the cloth over that. Don’t use plastic under the house it just causes sitting water and problems with algae and fungus growth. The ground cloth drains very well.

Next find your four corners. You can use a long tape measure to find the diagonal distance between opposing corners. After finding the corners I will dig a hole with an auger or post hole digger. The hole doesn’t need to be more than 8″ in diameter, and just over 12″ deep. The stubs that go into the holes are  24″ long and have a hole drilled at 4″ from the top. With the holes at the corners ready I will place the stubs into the them so that they are plumb and so that the top is 6″ above grade. The holes in the stubs should be about 2″ above grade and facing each other across the front of the house. Then level the  front two stubs across the tops from one side of the house to the other. Now you can mix a 60pound bag of redi-mix and dump it into the holes. I then do the back two stubs leveling them across the tops also. I don’t try to level the stubs from front to back. I just run a string from front to back and pound the other stubs along that line on 5 foot centers.

Tomorrow we will discuss bolting the frame together.

Building A Greenhouse part 1

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This entry is part 1 of 7 in the series Building a Greenhouse

Today I am starting a series on selecting,locating and site prepping for your new greenhouse as well as building your new Greenhouse Kit.

Almost 3' of Snow

The picture above shows what can happen in our area. It also shows that the kits that  we manufacture can stand up to the snow as well as the wind. Note how the snow breaks off of the top of the house as it gets to just over 12″ deep. You might also note that the second greenhouse in the row has no snow on the front 15′ of the roof. That is the house that has heat in the front of it. The back is not heated and you can see where the snow starts again.

I obviously think that the greenhouses kits that we make are the best all around kit. (imagine that).Some of the reasons why are strength against snow and wind. They are big enough to grow in either on benches or on the ground. They are small enough and low enough (7’6″ for the 10′ wide) that they are easier to heat and cool and also stop less wind. These kits are attached to the ground with a 24″ long stub. The bow drops 6″ into the stub and the 2×4 that acts as the foundation frame is bolted to both the stub and bow. If any part of the greenhouse is going to blow away the whole thing has to go. That’s not too likely of an occurance and has never happen yet.

Shown above is a house under construction. Tomorrow we will start building a house by defining the best site on you property and the best way to locate the house on it.

If you want specifics on your site leave a comment.