Hello!
Looking for critique/advice to see if this build is worth pursuing further.
I’d love to build a greenhouse off the south side of my house, using the side of the house as the back wall of the greenhouse. There is a little hill that comes up to the house – the basement is a walkout but on this side of the house the hill come about 3ft above basement floor.
I was thinking about digging a big hole down to foundation level and then framing out a greenhouse by attaching the joists and the frames to the concrete part of my foundation. Would use stained wood and put a couple pylons in ground w concrete to attach frame to. Then would bury the greenhouse up to the first 2-3 feet so the outside is level with the current hill and hopefully that will give it some insulation to help warm it over winter by being in the ground.
I’ve included some pics and a VERY rough sketch of the frame-in-hole combination.
To enter I was thinking about making the window into a door (would have some one come to cut the foundation that’s above my pay grade).
TLDR; i want to build a greenhouse off the side of my house and I’m not sure about the best way to do it.
Suggestions? Is this a dumb ass plan?!
Thank you!!
by Ornery-Reindeer5887
3 Comments
I am interested in the idea of a partially buried greenhouse, I was considering building a basement foundation for a greenhouse when I actually build one. So hoping someone who knows what they’re talking about responds (not me).
This is an awesome idea!
Make sure you (or someone else) knows what they’re doing when you build that retaining wall, just to guarantee longevity.
An access from the inside sounds pretty rad, but I’d also consider a door to the yard, depending where all your planting supplies are located. For example, mine are all in the shed. Soil, spare pots, fertilizer, gloves, etc. Would be a pain to have to walk thru the house everything, messy too.
As far as underground stuff, it will definitely help insulate, as will a solid northern wall. Below your area’s frost line will be the warmest, depending on if you’re able to get down that low or not.
The one problem I see is that in the winter it would turn into a pond if you didn’t supply drainage underneath leading away. I would suggest at least 12 inches of gravel preferably more with corrugated piping buried at the bottom with an inch or two gravel below the pipe.
The earth moves and I think of you framed the base with wood the wood would collapse over time so maybe go with a concrete bunker style?