Where did you get your glass door panels and how much did you pay? I've been looking for some of those for awhile now, with no luck :/

I paid $20 each, delivered and stored here.

I checked Craigslist.com and there was an ad form a month ago. The person works for a remodel/building company and these had been taken out of a home near here. I happen to live near the CT shoreline and there are a lot of wealthy people here (I'm not one of them LOL). This particular house was bought for $1 million and they are doing $1.2 million in renovations.

lucky you.

I actually called my local coop building materials (mostly used) place, and they have sliding door panels of various sizes for $20/pANEL. sOME STILL EVEN HAVE HANDLES IN THEM.

At first I wanted just the glass, but on thinking about it, I think the door panels will be easier to install. I'm hoping they have complete doors also, that way I can put full sliders on either end of the greenhouse to keep good airflow, etc.

Now to figure what to use for the roof glazing....

I am going to try to use this GH (if I can get the funds to build it) 10 months out of the year, and will likely put a woodstove or some kind of kerosene heater in. For installation I am thinking of a double wall super insulated setup. The lumber will actually be cheaper than 2x6 construction, I think.

there are some previous threads on here from people who have built GH from reclaimed windows and sliding doors. (although I will tell you my attempts to find them just now, proved ineffective) Not sure what's going on with this site....old threads seem NOT to be available any longer....anyway, people have built GH using exactly the materials you describe and they are very nice ...it inspired me to start collecting SG Doors...all said I had 10 (free) and then decided to buy the HFGH kit (10x12) so the doors went back online with Freecycle....it's a wonderful cycle of recyling :)

Be sure to look at posts from wyndyacre, hers is one to model after.

Thanks for the endorsement Rjinga! :)

Heatherbree-I have a 10'x16'greenhouse built from windows and sliding glass doors. In our case, we used the doors for the ceiling and the windows for the walls. The doors were still in their original wood frames.
The foundation is built on cement piers in the ground, formed with Sonotubes. (We never intend to move it.) The floor is a combination of a receyled wood deck and pavers laid over pea gravel. I started out with just the pea gravel but found it inconvenient as it was getting tracked out the door all the time in the tread of my boots.
I wouldn't recommend putting the GH on a raised platform. The wind and winter temperatures would blow underneath and make heating more difficult. Also critters would find it an inviting place to live. :)

Here's a photo of my GH. I've added a link to a past thread that includes more photos and an explanation of how the GH was built.

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Here is a link that might be useful: Some Greenhouse Photos

LOL Wyndyacre - you are the reason I started looking for doors! I am not understanding completely how you did the foundation. Why the sono tubes? Is the frame bottom attached to them and then you have pavers as the actual floor? I may go with that if I am understanding you correctly. I don't want to use pressure treated anything so I am trying to figure out what would be in contact with the ground.

I searched on here but the searches just are working as they usually do so I just looked through as many posts as I could the other night.

The windows I got are frameless and I like them that way. I like things to match and this way I'm not worrying about mismatched frames, etc. Yes, I am pretty particular about some things. I am hoping to get a slider for the GH that works but so far the only used ones I have seen have been $250 (same guy I got my panels from). We are getting a Habitat for Humanity store in the next few months here and I am really excited to start shopping there - my husband isn't so thrilled.

Here is one idea. But the windows have frames.

Here is a link that might be useful: greenhouse from windows with frames

Sonotube is a commercial name for the thick cardboard, circular forms that the concrete is poured into. They are buried, level with the ground and go below the frost line. Lag bolts are inserted into the concrete before it cures, making sure they are level and they provide a place to bolt your 2x10 lumber base plate. We used pressure treated wood but the arsenic type is no longer used in Canada and it is environmentally friendly.
Yes, the pea gravel and pavers are set on the ground and are the floor (as is the deck that is the other half of the floor).

I've shown these photos somewhere on here before but here they are again...
Building the greenhouse-

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Thank you. I think I have seen these pictures and saved them.

Sorry I wasn't clear before - I understand the sono tubes and the use of them etc. What I don't understand is I see wood touching the ground. I am worried about rot hence my thought of having the GH raised above the ground. Do you have the tubes at the corners and then in the center of each of the long walls? I am trying to get a mental image of this and I can't wrap my brain around it (lack of chocolate I think).

another one at end of post

Here is a link that might be useful: greenhouse from windows

There are sonotubes at the corners and several per side in between...don't remember exact numbers. The site was excavated slightly, a layer of pea gravel put down and the base plates are sitting on the pea gravel. But mainly, there is no rot after 6 years because the wood is treated.

Other options would be a poured concrete foundation or one built from cinder blocks which would be rot proof. But those are more permanent than what you want.

I'm looking to see if I have a photo of the site before the floor was laid but it will take a while to download it to photobucket-I'm on dial up. :(

Thank you everyone - this is so helpful to me. I can visualize and my husband - not so much LOL so the pictures are really helping him understand what I want. I am really getting excited!

I'll try to post a picture tomorrow so you can get an idea of where this will be in relation to everything. We bought this house because of the property and I love it here.

Hi All,
Just the thread I was looking for.

Here is a link to the design we are going by, with a few variations:

http://www.cedarshed.com/01-hobby-greenhouse-kit.html

My hubby isn't as enthusiastic about a greenhouse as I am so I was wondering, Wyndyacre are you married and if you are would you wife rent you out? ! :)

Just kidding. I have similar questions as heatherbree.

We are not building the greenhouse as a seperate building we are making it a lean to style off of our large shed. I guess my main question is, since we are only going to have windows on the roof (we are doing the entire roof with lexicon not half the roof like in the picture) will this create enough heat to keep the seedlings warm at night?

If not what is the best type of supplemental heat for a greenhouse?

Thanks,
Susan in NC

Here is the pictures of what the place looks like in the early spring. You can see a garden in the first picture with manure on it. Our garden will encompass the first garden and the garrden in the next picture as well. The grassy space between will be tilled this year and that is where the greenhouse will be.

Next year we will fence in the entire garden area. We have 3 large dogs but also deer. We are already fencing in the perimeter of our property so we hope that the additional fence around the garden itself will help.

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Susandonb-

LOL!!! I *am* the wife. :)

Fortunately, we both have carpenter skills and work well together. And he is very generous with his time and enthusiasm for supporting my interests.

As to your heat question-there are many opinions and variables as to what to use for GH heat. People on this forum use a range of methods including kerosene, propane, electric space heaters, depending on what is available in their area and the costs of each.
The roof panels in your GH will allow the warmth of the sun thru during the day but that residual heat will dissipate quickly without some form of insulation. The walls in my GH are insulated with fiberglass batting as is the north side of the roof which is shingled. A clear solar pool cover is put over the whole building in the winter, which allows sunlight thru the glass but helps further insulate, to retain heat.