Designing and building my own home had always been a dream, but at age 70, I realized that my dream had to be down-sized in order to make it a reality. After six years of planning and collecting materials, I finally managed to build a greenhouse in my garden during the summer of 2017.
I did have to purchase four 4"x4"s to serve as corner beams. Tim, a wood-working friend, gave me valuable advice about constructing the frame.
...the reality of fitting the odd-sized windows into place caused my careful plans to undergo constant modification. Esthetics frequently gave way to achieving level-osity.
I had already collected all the tile, sand, and gravel necessary for the floor. This was another jig-saw puzzle task.
A few decorative touches...
...and the first plants were ready to move in.
Oh, happy, happy little garden house!
The greenhouse has been in use for a year now, and it has been the delight of my gardening experience. It allowed me to start vegetables and herbs earlier this Spring, and last winter, it protected strawberries and a grapevine from the cold and snow.
Nearly all of the building materials were salvaged. It took me a couple of years to collect enough wood-framed windows to form the four walls, and most of the hardware was repurposed hinges and hasps...
...not to mention the cinder blocks that were used for the foundation.
Each 4"x4" stood upright in a partially-buried cinder block. With a level, and the help of my friend Sherrod, we attached horizontal support beams to the uprights.
All of the measuring, cutting and prepping of the windows took place on a make-shift work table set up in the backyard, where I scraped, washed with vinegar, and re-caulked each window.
Although I planned carefully for the placement of each window (sort of like putting a jigsaw puzzle together)...
Because there is no electricity in the greenhouse (so only natural cooling and heating), I added a drop-down panel and screen on the "wind" side, opposite the screen door entrance.
Panel up...
...panel down.
Once the walls were up, I taped and painted the frames with left-over exterior paint.
The biggest expense (and the biggest challenge) was designing, constructing, and installing the roof. I bought panels of clear, corrugated roofing and connected them with PVC pipe. But how was I to get this cumbersome roof onto the top of the greenhouse? I'm 5'3" tall, and the greenhouse is 7' tall.
Friend Maggie to the rescue! She brought her tall son and grandson to lift the finished roof, set it on the greenhouse, and anchor it with zip ties that I had looped around the PVC pipe at intervals.
Yay! The roof is on! I was so happy that I hugged everyone and did a little dance in my backyard.
I even cried a little.
A few decorative touches...
...including a chicken-chalkboard...
What a fabulous job you have done, I love it. This is exactly what I am planning for when I build my greenhouse.
ReplyDeleteI just turned 69 and have been wanting to build a greenhouse for decades. We have a huge Victorian heritage Home and three years ago replaced 6 huge windows with replacement energy efficient ones. I kept every window and storm window and I am planning to use those for my build. Thanks for the inspiration! I love taking on projects like this. At 59 I put on my first rolled roof on a building I own downtown and at 65 I replaced a shingled roof over our back porch and part of our back of the house. I had to buy a shovel that removes old shingles, shovel them all off check to see if I had to replace underboards which I fortunately did not put down the underlay paper and put the shingles on and the caps all by myself! It took me two weeks and much tarping as I had to keep running in the house to check on my son who at the time was living with us due to his multiple sclerosis. Also during the time I was doing this my husband had to have emergency gallbladder surgery an hour and a half away so I had to run back and forth for the 10 days he was in the hospital. I have not regretted it and I have not had one leak! Unfortunately our son passed away so I have lots of time on my hands to do these projects. I had put everything on hold since 2012 when Nathan got to the point that I was spending eight to 10 hours a day at his house. He lived with us for the last 28 months of his life and passed away March 31st 2017 surrounded by family and friends in the home he grew up in and in the playroom he loved. Ironically as I am cleaning up the back yard to build this greenhouse I came across shells from the Mandarin restaurant which was one of Nathan's favourite places to eat and we always brought the shelves Home that had been filled with shrimp garlic mashed potatoes. My husband had built a pond and I had covered the waterfall with the shells but now some of them will be lovingly placed on Nathan's headstone. I noticed this was a couple of years ago so I hope you are still building projects.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, blessing & prayers for you and I hope all is going well & that you got that greenhouse up & going . Cheryl, l just love the plans & style of this greenhouse . I am into putting one up for me, Hope I can getter done. Thanks, Cheryl, for showing us your plans.
DeleteHi Cheryl! Love the coverage of your greenhouse build. It and your garden look BEAUTIFUL!! I am using a lot of your tips to (hopefully) build my own with the occasional help of some stronger than me. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteCheryl, your greenhouse is fantastic — what an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteHi Cheryl, just wanted to say Hi!! My name is also Cheryl, I LOVE gardening and am researching looks and ideas on Greenhouses!!! You are truly an inspiration, big thank you from the heart!! Enjoy the beautiful day!!!! -Cheryl
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