I think I might post this over at Over the Fence too!
I am embarking on building a potting shed / greenhouse. Overall dimensions are 10×12. I have some leftover concrete pavers from a patio project and will likely use those for the floor. (the thought is thermal mass and aesthetics) Back wall will be windows salvaged from a friend’s reno and face south. Thinking of adding skylights into the roof for additional light / warmth for the greenhouse aspect.
Here’s where I have been focusing all of my thinking energy:
In the summer I would like to use this as a potting shed. In the winter I would like to use it as a mini greenhouse to winter over tropicals and start seeds in late winter / early spring. There is a strategically located deciduous tree that will provide shade to the south side in summer but let the sun shine in winter.
I plan to put in a frost free hydrant outside and run a little current to the building. I plan to insulate also as I will likely need some supplemental heat in winter to keep things from freezing inside.
For a foundation I am thinking of using 4×6 timbers to form a box to hold the pavers. Thinking of laying timbers on a gravel filled trench for drainage and to help with heaving.
This shed needs to be functional for my needs ( i.e. insulated and able to heat to 45 degrees on cold nights in winter) and it needs to be decorative for my wife’s needs.
Talk to me about how you would build a structure if this was for your garden? What would you include or change?
Edit to include- so you don’t have to check my profile- this is zone 6, Central Maryland- gets down to 0 or minus 10 once or twice a winter. Most of winter is 35-50 during day and 15-20 on cold nights.
Edited 7/10/2009 10:22 am ET by frontiercc2
Replies
i would like radiant floors , sink and mop sink , hot and cold water, and someway attatced to the house
I like Radiant floors too- just not sure how to work it. I was thinking with the pavers, I may be able to heat from below- but don't want to spend $$$ for a boiler for a little ole greenhouse. That got me thinking I might be able to superinsulate a tank of some sort and do some kind of solar set up. Heat water during day, store, and then circ through at night with a small pump to keep temp up a little. A sink is a definite. But I won't be attaching to house- I have the place picked out, just not the design.
I would not have skylights--in summer they will make it too hot, and in winter too cold. Clerestory windows would be better.
bump
You need to figure on ventilation as well as insolation. It can get brutally hot in a GH in just minutes of full sun. "Real" greenhouses use a double layer of film with air blown between for insulation. My hoophouses are the same air temp inside as outside when the sun's down, though the raised beds act as a flywheel. If you don't insulate the sash/floor/walls, i expect you'll be spending a lot of money keeping your tropicals from freezing.
A friend of mine kept orchids in a similar size green house to what you're planning, set into a hillside. She had PV, a fish pond of maybe 150 gallons, and an aux propane heater. The propane bill got too high, so she ended up giving her orchids away and just using it to start seedlings for summer planting. Zone 4.
So,...
What does a greenhouse owner need to do to keep the "particular color" of his "herb" crop from being identified by the overhead helo's?
You don't have an attic? <G>
That requires grow lights.
Story went years back before heat scope surveillance a fella planted his erb among his tomato plants
and hung red bulb Christmas decorations on the erb to disguise the plants from the air.
He had failed to take in the possibility of winds blowing the bulb decorations off and having a few break on the ground
revealing the silver reflective innards exposed to the air and causing the planes to fly by closer for a second look to see what the silver reflections were.
best made plans of mice and men
Thanks Splint. Will be more of a solarium as opposed to traditional GH if that makes sense. Lots of glass on S facing wall with insulated walls. Picture a 10x 12 garden shed with insulated walls and a south facing wall of windows. Sure it will get hot in the summer- I can vent that. What I am really hung up on is keeping it warm on cold winter nights.
It's tough to keep a greenhouse warm enough for tropical plants in winter without either lots of insulation or spending $$ for heat or both.
Any chance of putting it against the house? We have a porch (20 x 8) attached to the south side of the house with big, cheap, double hung windows on the south and west walls. The floor, walls and ceilings are insulated. The north and east walls are the former outside walls of the house. With no heat, we manage to keep the inside temps above 15-20 degrees even with outdoor temps 20 below.
On sunny days, we open the french doors and get free heat into the house.
If you don't use it to grow stuff in in the summer, I'd skip the skylights. In winter, the sun angle is low and they don't bring in much if any sunlight
Check these guys out as a source for greenhouse materials:
http://www.griffins.com/
You will wish you made it bigger.