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ladylotus_gw

Greenhouse Progress

19 years ago

I wanted to thank all of you for so much valuable information. I have been reading this forum for quite awhile and started building my greenhouse this year. I am EXHAUSTED!!!! I don't think I will get it completed in time to heat it and keep my plants in the greenhouse this winter.

I first posted asking questions about heaters and did not receive many positive responses. One great response giving me a link to calculate my heating needs and let me know that I would need 50,000+ BTU's. But a couple posts saying it would be too expensive to heat it over the winter and advising that I only start seeds in Spring. While working a full time job and then working until dark every single night for the past 9 weeks I was very dishearted about my heating situation.

Then the posting about the solar pool covers came up and I once again have hopes of keeping my greenhouse heated over our dreaded winters with a minimum of heating needs. It still may not happen this year, but at least I know there are some other ways to make this work. Thank you!!!

Here is an updated photo of my greenhouse with the outside cedar siding put on. Everything on the outside of the greenhouse is finished for this year. Next year I will paint the outside white with ??? (not sure what color) trim. Any suggestions? ;)

I am currently working on redoing cabinets I confiscated from an old house that was being destroyed. I've worked 3 evenings just getting them cleaned and scraping off the paper that was glued to the shelves and drawers. Tomorrow evening I will have to replace old broken boards and build a green treated base for the cupboards so they will not rot when water sprays them.

Thanks again everyone!!!

Tj

Here is a link that might be useful: Greenhouse Photo

Comments (8)

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    I don't know how to post 2 photos in one post? Here are the cabinets I am working to get cleaned up and fixed up well enough for me to use them in my greenhouse on my North wall. By the way...they will get repainted. he he.

    I will be so thrilled to have one place to keep all my tools, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and the other misc. objects I have strewn all over the place and can never find what I am looking for when I need them.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Cabinets

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    Hi ladylotus,
    Nice job! Isnt it exciting getting so close to being completed. I see we are gardening in the same zone. We are the same as you, getting tired of working on it. All we have left is the exhaust fan and the heater to install. My fiance said yesterday (after the trench work has been completed) " He wants to go to natural gas." I could of strangled him. So that means take the lp furnace back and wait till spring to dig another trench for gas line. Looks like I will be growing seedlings on the kitchen table again this year. PS as exspensive as everything is it is cool getting free cabinets lucky you. Barb

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    Very impressive to say the least. It appears that you have used old sliding glass doors. Are they double glazed?
    Really your setup looks great. I tip my hat to you.

    1eyedJack and the Dawg

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    Your greenhouse looks great. I've been reading & researching posts also for several months. We've spent the last month building retaining walls, hauling fill dirt & digging footings. Almost have it ready to pour the kneewall & footing. Just hope we can get it done before our greenhouse ships. Looks like using it this winter may not happen. We had our first frost last night & my ferns were all still out on porches. Hope they're alright. Can't wait for my BC greenhouse to ship though. We're trying to figure the best way to heat for the least amount of $ too.
    Kim

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    I think it looks great too! I love scrounging and salvaging, the cabinets will be great when you're done. (love the deep drawers I see in the photos).

    I have felt exhausted by the endless decisions several times since we started our HFGH in July, so I can only imagine how much harder it would be to build from scratch. You'll have a wonderful structure when it's done though, and it will be uniquely yours.

    I don't envy the heating challenges you folks face; mine is simpler here, but I'll be complaining about cooling problems in the summer big time.

    By the way, here's a helpful thread about how to put more than one photo in a post:
    multiple photos
    Sheri

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    What a great greenhouse Lotuslady. And a nice size too. You won't ever be sorry for the space.
    We have very similar GHs but yours is much bigger. Did you use salvaged windows as well?

    I also used a salvaged kitchen counter unit in mine. It had a butcher block top and I painted it and added new hardware. I kept the sink in it and removed the door under the sink. My partner built a large sliding bin to go in the space under the sink. Now I can pot plants in the sink and any leftover ProMix goes down the "drain" into the storage bin.
    We found long, heavy duty, drawer slides at Home Depot and built the bin from plywood, sanded smooth.

    {{gwi:305870}}

    {{gwi:307361}}

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    You have a nice looking structure, Ladylotus.

    I think salvaged stuff is great, my potting bench was salvaged from an old gas station kitchen. However, I fear that the humid environment of a GH will make the life expectancy of those cabinets fairly short. If you try them, consider a good penetrating stain or some similar protection on all surfaces. Until you have a GH, you can't begin to imagine all the moisture, algae, mildew, and other scum that can accumulate.

    Good luck.

    SB

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    Thank you all for your wonderful comments.

    Rosepetal - Yes, the expense was a real surprise. I had been saving for years for this project and thought I had all the needed supplies. I am becoming so acquainted with Menards employess I fear we may be on first name basis if this project does not end soon. ;) I helped a friend tear down an old house and was able to salvage both the cabinets and the cedar siding. Too bad you do not think you will get your greenhouse completed this year. I'm worried I might now make it either. Next week the time changes so it will be less time available to work on this beast.

    Ole Dawg - Yes, I watched for anyone who was taking out their old sliding glass doors and was able to confiscate enough of them over the past 10 years to finish this project. All are double paned and glazed. I have had to remake some of the bases as some of the old doors were rotted a bit on the bottom. I used to be a girly girl so many of my friends are surprised at my change. ha ha. I guess when one wants something badly enough, they will work slow and steady to accomplish that dream. I do have to say, this has been one of the TOUGHEST physical challenges I've almost completed. Dawg, inside I have every nook and cranny insulated and will put on the sheeting over the insulation after I get the entire thing wired with electricity. I had a neighbor show me how to wire outlets and so I worked on that all evening. I even hooked up a 4000 watts heater. I know it won't be enough heat, but at least I can see how well that will do for me this year and adjust/add more heating next year. I also dug a 4' deep 5' X 12' wide pond in the greenhouse and once I have water in that I'm thinking it will really help hold in the heat at night. That might be this summers expense though. ;)

    Krayers - It sounds very exciting to be getting a BC greenhouse. They sure look beautiful. Had I known how much this thing ended up costing me...I would have selected a kit instead. ha ha. Once I have it completed and I forget the pain, I may change my mind on that statement.

    Mudhouse - I am adding a pond as I stated above and also have read about the solar pool covers. I think that may really help and I will have to eventually invest in something like this to assist with the heating costs. Thank you for the information on adding multiple photos. I will have to try that.

    Wyndyacre - Your greenhouse is absolutely gorgeous. I did have windows I was going to use. However, in the looonnng process of collecting materials some of them got broken. If they were that easy to break I did not want to use them. So in the end I purchased twin wall polycarbonate and framed them in to give them the appearance of windows with panes on the roof. I also added gutters and had the gutter empty into two large barrels that I picked up at a coke plant. They are very hard plastic and will withstand being full of water forever with out damaging.

    Stressbaby - I wondered about the moisture and how they would stand up. They are made of a really hard wood which I am thinking may be maple. But I agree that the moisture may wreak havoc on them. I am planning to repaint them using an outdoor oil based paint which can withstand quite a bit of moisture. I know I will have to be very diligent in keeping them painted and wiped down. I do a lot of hybridizing of lilies, daylilies and peonies, so the drawer space will be heaven.

    Thanks again everyone for allowing me to read all your valuable posts gaining such a great knowledge on things I should and should not do for my greenhouse.

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