I just started a huge project…my dream greenhouse /she shed. I ordered two of these beauties, to attach front to back, making a two room structure, with the door of the rear greenhouse opening into the front greenhouse. The back room will be modified with a regular roof (or blinds so it will be more of a "room" that I can put cozy furniture in and an office space for work. (I'm a therapist, and this will be for telehealth)
I am meeting with my contractor, Mason and electrician tomorrow to plan the concrete slab, placement of access lines for electrical and water lines.
I'm considering replacing two panels with wood so that I can install splits to help with temperature, to make it a four season structure.
I'm excited to get thoughts and suggestions.
by schmoowolf
5 Comments
We have this. Real talk? It’s a flimsy pos. I never new wood could be so porous and light.
Do yourself a favor and design your own build with quality material. Wish I would have because this thing will be tinder within five years – if it lasts that long.
Where I live, the bottom would rot, when the snow melts and you have 1 inch of water because the ground is still frozen and won’t absorb the water…
Cool design. If you have a contractor why not have him build it from local materials? It’ll last much longer and probably won’t be that much more. Many of these online or box store types have cheap materials and don’t last, they’re also often very expensive for what you get.
I’m also on the “build your own greenhouse” boat. You’ll want the 4-season portion of it to be insulated as thoroughly as a home. Otherwise, your mini split bill won’t be a pleasant one.
If your plan is to make some part of this a living space for humans more so than an actual greenhouse, you would be better served to build at least that half using proper double/triple glazed windows, window walls/sliding doors and skylights. As others have suggested, the structure will be far more durable and your utility bills lower. The polycarbonate panels suffer from UV degradation which cause them to become cloudy and later, yellow and VERY brittle. This can occur in as little as 3-5 years, depending upon exposure to the sun and, quality of the polycarbonate and UV protection. Greenhouses like these may be prone to a fair amount of leaking during rain and snowfall, when compared to your home or other space intended for human habitation.
In any case, use a greenhouse heat calculator to determine the thermal load as that information is needed to determine what size mini split will be needed to maintain your desired temperature range. There are many calculators. Here is but one
[greenhouse heat calculator](https://www.littlegreenhouse.com/heat-calc.shtml)