It sounds like it's going to be wonderful! I hope you'll share more pictures as you go along.

I;m trying to visualise what's happening here. Are the two concrete feet I can see (plus another one?) going to support an extension to the existing wooden floor, to be the floor for the greenhouse?

I like the idea of an entrance direct from the house although I'd like it even more if I lived in Minnesota! I like the whole idea of greenhouses built against a wall of the house although I rarely see them. Always stand-lone. Why? More light?

What's the rate for boarding my collection over the winter, Bill?

Yes, the existing porch deck is 8 feet wide by 24 feet long. I am adding four feet to the width to make it total 24X12. I am then using 12X12 of it for the greenhouse and the other 12X12 to screen in for my hammock! I decided to hook it on to the house for several reasons. Reason #1: To have an entrance door from the house. That way, if we have a power outage, I can pump heat in there from the wood heater in the laundry room. Reason #2: The existing floor is already there (most of it anyhow) Reason #3: The white vinyl siding should reflect light back towards the plants. The greenhouse is not optimally orientated to the sun. It faces south/west. the sun usually hits the porch at around 10am, then stays there until the sun sets. It should suffice for my needs just fine though. Having the existing floor, and very nice yellow pine lumber from a building we tore down to do the framing for the walls and roof, the only out of pocket expense will be for the panels and track work for them, and insulation in the floor. I'm a scavenger, and can come up with an exterior door, and other needed things for free, or real cheap. Of course, come next spring, I will have to put in a ventilation fan. I can temporarily use a stand up oscillating fan for this fall and winter. I think I will buy some indoor/outdoor green astroturf for the floor. Other than have a tiny particle of insulating qualities, it should look spiffy in there!! :-) I also hope to have a certain amount of the upper panels hinged to open upward for summer heat relief.. A friend already gave me a free shade cloth!! :-)
BB in SC

Bill, Congrats on the starting of your greenhouse. You will have show pics of your progress. I like the idea of the GH being attached to your house. Have fun with your project.

Dawn

What a great project Bill, best of luck with it... keep us posted with progress. It'll be good to see it come together.
Hey, I was just thinlin', 12x12! ...you'll get a lot of Gymnos in there!! ;)

CP

I'm thinking firewood/chainsaw when I see those trees all over the place. How many cactus can one man own? Answer: as many as we want!! Good luck. I've considered enclosing my south facing balcony and add shelves to expand my small collection.

LOL.. Yeah Joe, I cut firewood, but the tree you see is a pecan, and I ain't cuttin' it!! The sun usually rises over it in the summer, and when it sheds it's leaves in late fall, the sun gets through there pretty good. There's also an American Redbud there and an ornamental cherry. All are deciduous, so I get plenty of winter sunlight. Once again, it seems that my south/west facing porch is sunny for the majority of the day, summer or winter.
Bill in SC

Congratulations, Bill! I am GREEN with envy! I wish I knew how to build stuff...I'd definitely have a green house by now...DH is too busy working all the time, and by the time he gets home, is too worn out to do something like this. How are you planning to heat it over the chilly months? How chilly does it get in SC, anyway? I am in zone 7b also, but I can't see it getting as cold there near the coast as it does here. I am interested in how you'll heat it, because by fall of NEXT year, I hope to have a greenhouse too, and want to look at my heating options! Thanks for the info, and best of luck!

Kate

I'm kinda leaning towards electric heat, Kate. We are 90 miles from the coast, so it gets pretty chilly here.. Lots of 20+ degree F nights, occasional teens, and rarely, but sometimes single digits for a day or so per year.
Bill in SC

Where would you get an electric heater for it? From your temperatures, I guess we are in the same zone 7b after all! That's about exactly how it is here! I really am planning to take the initiative and build one next spring/summer...my house is WAY too crowded over the winter with all my cacti inside! I need it more than I want it, I think! Thanks for all your help!

Kate

Bill, I didn't think it got that cold where you live. Where I live we have had temps as low as -20F. We have had winchills to -60F. Now that is cold Brrrr. Electric could get very expensive, couldn't you use gas and have it vent to the outside?

Dawn

Good show Bill - there's no turning back now - you're hooked. I do heat my greenhouse with a propane heater - electric backup. You live in the low-country so electric might not be that expensive. WS

Correct WS. I can pull it off with electric heat, and my backup will be the wood heater, and my backup for my backup will be my infrared propane heater. Dawn: I can't imagine living in those conditions, but I have a heap of friends that do. Just seems like such a miserable life to me during winters there. Kate: I am planning on using one of those electric heaters that look like a radiator, that are filled with the oil solution. My greenhouse will be well insulated, so it should work just fine..CPC: Gymnos here I come!! :-)
Bill in SC

Bill, It is terrible here in the winter. I'm a warm weather person. I keep trying to get DH to put in a transfer so we can move to the southern part of NC.Maybe someday.

Dawn

You probably get your power from Nuclear. (Sommer/Summer nuclear power plant near Columbia) You could buy a used submarine reactor from the Navy or for that matter spent Plutonium/Uranium rods that will be warm for another ten thousand years. Of course you'll have to sign the same agreement we had BinLaden sign stating that you would only use the expended fuel rods for the betterment of mankind and not for nuclear weapons.

Cool Bill, youre getting g'house, sounds a good un too!

I just saw on the weather channel that Ophelia was lying off the coast of South Carolina just waiting for Bill to start on his greenhouse. WS

Looks like Ophelia is going to dodge us WS. This morning, I gathered some wood from my pile for the floor joist framing. I was very bummed out to have disturbed at least 3 different species of ants who had huge nests with eggs in the wood pile. Most dissapointingly, was a huge colony of black carpenter ants with their queen. I don't see as many of these ants as I used to. I brought this colony here a couple of years ago to reestablish them. I had no idea they had taken up in my wood pile. Hopefully they can gather enough eggs and go somewhere else to survive. The poor queen is kinda helpless and probably won't survive.. I love ants.. here is a pic from this morning.. I am off to church, and will frame the floor this afternoon if I have enough nails..
{{gwi:476787}}
Bill in SC

Wow 12 x 12 - That's immense.

Looks like your gonna be real busy for a while Bill - Good luck.

I know how you feel coz my dad and I built a 6x5 Greenhouse a week or two back in our garden. Took us about 3 days of hard work to get it up and running. Unfortunately he wants to fill it full of tomatoes in the Summer but I'll sneak a couple of Cacti in lol. It'll be wicked having a greenhouse of that size just for C&S.

Anyway have fun and I hope you don't hurt your fingers too much putting those spiteful little glazing clips in.

Kyle

Looking good!
I'm kind of an insect-watcher, too, and I enjoy seeing ants going about their business outdoors, but carpenter ants in my building materials would be another matter entirely!

Kyle, it's easier to press the glazing clips in with a putty knife, not your fingers.. :-) I won't have any glazing clips in my greenhouse, as I am using the PolyCor panels.. Wish I could afford glass for a project this size..
Bill in SC

Good luck with your project Bill, and keep us updated on the project! :)
Dan

Hey Bill, that's good news, I hope they're right about Ophelia, we've been praying for you folks up there, ever since we saw it on the news yesterday afternoon, ... ya don't need another situation like Katrina delivered!

I had a nest of "inchmen" in my garden I found last summer, don't see them in the winter, but as the earth warms up for summer they'll be out and about, (if they haven't moved on) ...I love 'em.
Inchmen are a our largest native ant, they grow to approx 1" long, and can deliver quite sting, thankfully they are not aggressive, so if left to their business they're no problem.

Bill,
Just looked at your progress, I'm green with envy also. I have been planning a greenhouse for years, I would need at least a 14 (that's the widest I can go) by 24 for my collection and I've been told I should then double that for future growth. Your 12x12 should be a good size and it looks as if you've thought everything out. Good luck and we're praying that Ophelia will miss you guys.
God Bless and Good Growing,
Dan Rhoads - Lincoln, NE - USDA Zone 5b

Here is a link that might be useful: Some of my plants

Bill,

Oh, yeah, 144 square feet of C&S! Mine is about 16x6.5 ft., so about 100 SF. It's off my kitchen, with a slider door that opens into it. In winter, I leave the door open for the heat from the house to assist in heating it, and once it gets cold, I turn on a radiant heater. On very, very cold nights (oh, less than 10 degrees or so...) I supplement that with another little 1000 watt heater that has a blower. This will be my 5th winter with it and the first winter, I wasn't as smart and used one of those oil-filled heaters that looks a lot like an old-fashioned radiator. Our level-payment electric bill went from $75/month to $153!!! Ouch!! My husband about - uh - pooped his pants! Once we got smart enough to get the radiant heater, it came back down and now it's $85/month, only $10 more than it was 5 years ago. Not bad... Now THAT, hubby feels, is worth not having every nook and cranny with an iota of light filled with plants. (Don't get me wrong - there are still plenty of plants in the house...) The best thing about radiant heat, though, is that you can set plants very close to the heat source without it hurting the plants. All other heaters will cook the plants if too close...

Congrats on the GH!! What did your significant other (based on the assumption that you have one...) get in return??? I know - weird question - but I have to ask. I dreamed (and dreamed and DREAMED) of a GH for years and my husband would just roll his eyes. UNTIL, that is, he wanted a Harley (he hadn't had one in about 15 years...) I jumped at the opportunity and insisted that I get a luxury item of MY choice of the same value! Voila! No more eye-rolling!

Denise in Omaha

So, Bill...

Is it done yet? I want to see the finished product!

Kate

Dear Bill,

Yes, we want to see. Show us the house!

Once you get it constructed, you can start getting winter growers (Tylecodons, Othonnas, Pelargoniums, etc.) too!

Bill, when you are done building this GH you can start on the plans for the next GH, HeHe.

Dawn

Hi, Bill. Did you get any hurricane weather there where you are? How's the GH coming? I am excited for you and your plants! If I had a GH, my stuff would be starting to migrate in that direction, as it has been getting pretty cool at night here...about 55 degrees or so. BRRRRRR!

Kate

I'm waiting for the "greenhouse finished" post :)

I think the reel table is going to make a great centrepiece for the staging!

OK guys... been working hard at the church for hurricane relief the last two weeks. Going to Mississippi Oct. 16th to deliver an 18 wheeler full of goods. I do have my floor addition framed up. I will be back at it real soon. It's still mighty hot here for now. I will post some progress pics soon.. S_B: I won't be doing the reel for any staging as it would take up too much space in there!! :-) I am pondering on "step" staging...
{{gwi:476790}}
BB in SC

Bill, coming along nicely. Keep us updated on your progress.

Dawn

Good work Bill, it's coming along nicely.

CP

Great work Bill! keep us updated on your progress.
I have posted a link to a fun picture I found on the internet from a cactus greenhouse in Holland (just to inspire you a bit). Apparently the greenhouse is so big that you need a bike to get from on end to the other. I really wish my greenhouse had that kind of dimensions ;)
Dan

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:476782}}

Hey Dan, that's massive! how much more space have you got there Bill? ;)

CP

Dan, If I had a greenhouse that big in Holland, I would have it full of pot, not C&S!! :-)
Bill in SC

Any new progress yet, Bill? I know you're busy, but...what about the all-important C & S?

Kate

Bill, do you still have your plants outside or did you bring them in already.

Dawn

I still have all my plants outside except my Melocacti and Quiabentia. Our lowest temp has only been 47 degrees, and it is warming back up some. Here's the lowdown: The PolyCor panels I could have gotten dirt cheap a year ago have quadrupled in price, literally. Being a little on the "money looking funny" side, I refuse to pay those outrageous prices. I am currently seeking out old storm windows to build it with. They are piled up at every junk house and flea market, and I can come out a heap cheaper that way, but it is going to take me longer to gather the materials. Today, I priced the 8 12 foot treated 1X8s to complete the floor, and those boogers are $10.19 each!!! I didn't have $80+ dollars on hand, and didn't want to put anything on my credit card, so I will hold off on that until we sell another puppy this week. In the mean time, and I need y'all's advice on this; we have a room in the house the old timers called a Florida room. It is 8X10 and has windows 1/2 the way around it. The only thing is that it is on the North/West side of the house. I can heat it easily enough, but do you guys think there will be enough light to keep the cacti happy? Pic enclosed.. Let me hear some of your thoughts.. The greenhouse WILL be completed, but it's going to take a little while longer and I must get these cacti inside withing the next couple of weeks..
Bill in SC
BTW, I can paint the room white.. I painted it purple and black for my step daughter..

Here is a link that might be useful:

I think the Florida room should suit your purposes for now. I kept most of my Cactus (except for Melos and Discos) in a windowed walkin closet last winter. Not much light, but temps of about 50, and no water for them all winter, and I only lost one Lobivia. As long as you keep temps above freezing, and keep the plants dry, you should be fine.

That's what I was hoping to hear. My 80 year old mama and my wife said they would be fine there, but I wanted more opinions. I'm freaky about losing a single plant, and my success ratio thus far is about 99.8% positive. I've come too far too quickly to screw up now!! :-)
Bill in SC