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A customer wants a free-standing greenhouse in this high snow-load region. Does anyone know where I can find guidance about building a solid and attractive greenhouse, or a set of plans? Thanks!
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Eric,
Went through this last year building a wood frame green house for my wife. Thought there'd be a bunch of plans available on the net. Spent weeks searching etc. I've since gotten very interested in this area. If you can give me an idea of the size and type of greenhouse I may be able to point you at something.
JonC
*Eric, a number of years ago, I was a sales agent for Lord & Burnham, and served as an independent contractor for the construction of their residential greenhouses. L&B is no longer in business, but at least one other firm has stepped into the prefabricated residential greenhouse market.Anyhow, my advice to you would be to purchase an engineered product for your client and erect it in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Building a greenhouse from scratch is a nifty DIY homeowner project where time has no value and there's no one to blame but yourself for the resulting leaks and lack of structural rigidity.One hint... your greenhouse foundation needs to be dead level. You can't shave or shim those glass panels, and the terms plumb, level and square will repeatedly conme into play as you erect the framework.Good luck, Steve
*Jon,Thank you for your reply. Here are a few requirements: 10'x12', wood frame, low/no tech (for now, no juice; a solar powered fan a possibility), footing w/gravel floor. The site gets much snow so a sturdy roof with a couple of skylights seems in order. How about a "saltbox" style: low, solid north wall and a tall, heavily glassed (w/some strategically placed, operating windows) south wall?Any suggestions most gratefully appreciated.EricPS: Where are you in Oregon? I'm on the slopes of Mt Eddy, a stones throw WNW of Mt. Shasta.
*Steve,Thank you for your reply. My customer wants to stay in keeping with the other structures on his land and, if possible, go with a wood greenhouse (which will be sited right next to his wood sauna. Actually, I'm encouraging vented contiguousness). He wants to use some beautiful old timbers he's been saving for his next project. Your tip about working with glass panels is well taken. Thanks again, Eric
*Eric, it sounds like a nice project. If you use single glazing, you probably won't have any snow build-up with a 50-degree inside temperature. With insulated glazing, snow load can become an issue.The problem is that greenhouses are heating energy sponges... don't count on any significant solar gain and retention to speak of unless you go all-out with some sort of collector design. The idea of using sauna "exhaust" sounds like a good one, and the humidity would be good for the plants.Consider a design utilizing "barcaps" which hold the glazing in place on the framework... similar to what is used on the aluminum-framed manufactured greenhouses. L&B made redwood-framed greenhouses before shifting to aluminum, and used the barcap glazing approach. Many of these redwood units are probably still standing after three or four decades.Good luck, Steve
*Eric,The best wood frame kits I could locate were by a company called Sturdibuilt. You might want to check their website for some ideas. Found a couple pics of small timber framed green houses I'd love to attempt someday on other sites. Also Taunton's book, "Classic Garden Structures has a section on building a nice 12x18 wood frame green house. Additionally, Charley's Green House Supply has alot of info on building green houses. They also answer questions via email. I bought some plans for an 8'6"x16' green house(length can vary in 4' increments. It came out nice but I cant really recommend the plans. The design was basically lifted for U. Conn ext service and redrawn by somebody who is probably an excellent gardener. I'd love to know more about that barcap glazing system.JonC
*Curious as to what happened tp Lord and Burnham .......why did they go out of business? They had a topnotch product.
*Yes, they did... I always felt their engineering was supurb, but slow to evolve in the double-glazed residential market. The commercial market pretty much died off with the tube and poly product that cost a lot less and could be relocated with ease. At the time I left my assciation with the company, some key personnel were jumping to Four Seasons, and some others, I believe, were retiring. L&B provided some remarkable estate greenhouses and phenomenal units for botanical gardens, etc. Those beauties will stand for centuries. Many L&B commercial-type greenhouses were built for waste treatment sludge drying purposes, and have been taken down as municipalities have adopted new water treatment techniques.Anyhow, there's a company or two that have spare parts and can provide the otherwise impossible-to-find-locally curved glass.Here's some links: Our own 23-year-old L&B glass-to-ground lean-to remains in great shape, and we continue to use and enjoy it.Glad someone cares... Steve
*Jon, the barcap system consists of a stamped aluminum strip which is screwed into the frame member and presses down on the glass to hold it in place. The barcaps range from a few inches to about 2-1/2 feet long, and (hopefully) exert uniform pressure on the glass. In cross section, a barcap looks something like the letter "U" turned up-side-down. The legs of the "U", which are flared outwards, press against the glass. The base of the inverted "U" receives a screw every several inches to apply pressure to the glass. (My description leaves a lot to be desired, but hopefully, you can get the idea).With a wooden frame, the glass would rest in a rabbet on either side of the frame member. With an aluminum frame, the glass lies on a foam pad atop a channel on either side of the frame member. Glazing is applied (remains soft after 20+ years!) and the barcap applied.Check around for an aluminum greenhouse, and chances are you can find this type of glazing used (L&B's patent ran out decades ago).Hope this answers your question. You may be able to buy barcaps from one of the sources I gave on another post to this thread...Good luck, Steve
*Eric,I'm in Scio, Oregon, about 15 miles or so East of Albany. I'd be happy to send you a pic of the one I built. Would have been more attractive if I'd covered it with glass or even the smooth twin wall polycarbonate but its in an area wher I expect it to take some hits so I used the corrogated poly. You can shoot golf balls at that stuff.JonC