Location: central Ohio (zone 6a).
Vision: a greenhouse to house an aquaponics system and to grow food for home consumption – without having to step outdoors! (Fish may or may not be eaten, I'm more focused on veggies)
Specifics:
-
The carport is on the south side of the house. There is some tree cover on the east and west.
-
Footprint would be approx 10'x20'
-
You can't see well in the photo, but there's a side door to the house in front of where the car is parked. The door is not covered by the carport, and that area has pea gravel. In order for that door to open into the greenhouse, I'd have to extend the roof out a few feet on the west wall. Having a few square feet with drainage would be an added benefit to this, since the impermeable driveway will be the floor of the rest of the greenhouse.
-
I investigated and found that the carport section of the roof is internally separated from the rest of the roof, over the front porch. I don't know what it looks like on the inside; there's a "ceiling" to the carport (is soffit the right term?), but I assume it's just wooden framing and possibly some insulation…? I'd remove the roofing and siding and replace with glass, polycarbonate, etc.
-
I would lose a covered parking space, but that's not a major concern.
-
Ventilation: I hear those automatic wax windows can be nifty – is there a way to close them manually in a high wind? Will also need to plan fans, airflow.
-
Moisture: I'm guessing I would need to remove the siding and put some sort of moisture barrier on the side of the house to protect it…? And probably also paint or seal the wooden frame.
-
Electricity: there's an outlet in the wall, but once I'm running lights/water pump/fans that will probably be insufficient. Could I hire an electrician to beef this up somehow?
-
I'm skeptical about overwintering fish in an aboveground tank, in an unheated greenhouse, in Ohio. How do folks handle this? Do hobbyists generally so three-season aquaponics and start fresh every spring, or is there a feasible way to maintain a "dormant" system through the winter?
I'm inexperienced in most of this and in the pre-planning stage, so expert feedback would be very much appreciated. Would love to hear your thoughts.
by Cool-Tangelo7188
7 Comments
Do it. Very cool idea. Pinterest always had garage redos and makeovers, they might have some ideas for you on structure and layout for aquaponics setups. Nice.
It’s a great idea. I would skip the hydro though. It gets way too cold outside for that. You’ll need a good supplemental light, a fan or two and good insulation. In the winter you’ll definitely need a heat source. With it being south facing you will get a good amount of sunlight in the winter so that’s good. Also make sure to screen your windows and you’re going to have to hand pollinate everything unless you want to deal with bugs.
I would start with a small kit greenhouse from Harbor Freight first to see if the greenhouse is even useful to you. It’s a lot of work heating and cooling a greenhouse to make it usable more than a few months a year.
I get crazy ideas sometimes too. Luckily, I’m both cheap and lazy. What you’re suggesting will be both expensive and a LOT of work. It’ll never look good, and you’d be messing with your primary asset. You could end up in a world of hurt.
If you want to convert something, what about that shed in the back yard? Still not ideal, but far less cost and work, and if you mess it up, well, it was just a shed.
If you have never built anything hire a contractor if your dead set on this. Since the car port is in front of the house it will clash with the front of your house aka make your long term property value go down. People who will argue otherwise do not own property and don’t understand this basic concept.
If you’re new to building things, start with a structure behind your house so it doesn’t have to match as much etc. Learn, skill up, harvest water, build infrastructure and start with a raised bed>cold frame>shade structure and progress over time.
Good luck, we all have different micro climates and understand it takes time to build something properly. There are no short cuts to making/retaining heat, managing air flow and humidity so plants can transpire.
Humidity intrusion into the walls of the home, major structural and health hazard. If you want a greenhouse be sure to leave an exterior air gap along the side of the home so as to not have a contiguous enclosure but then how does one maintain the exterior siding of the home. Recommend to not do such.
I’m a newbie to greenhouse life, but have this silly thing to say: Consider sun exposure (ie heating in winter, if a prolonged season is your goal, unless it’s going to be accessible from home, lots of windows, heated), drainage system, venting. You may need permits, of course.