Greenhouse: Who has a lean to greenhouse?, 0 by WNYwillieB

WNYwillieB wrote:
That is about the size of mine, which is about 10 x 32. This one is a Four Seasons brand kit and is no easy task for someone who isn't a serious craftsman, or has little help. I raised the roof on the house and it attaches right to the gutter line. The raised roof has a pitch of about one inch per one foot and installed (2) vented skylights. Those skylights are the best thing in drawing out the excess heat, glad I insisted they were the type that opened. The greenhouse opens directly into the two upstairs rooms with 10 x 4 foot openings. These upstairs rooms warm very quickly in the sun.

The only thing that was "tricky" was maneuvering the large panes of glass for the roof. Other than that, simple roughing was all that was required, after the concrete foundation went in, that is. A drain in the floor is indispensable, and almost didn't get installed. Glad I discovered that BEFORE they poured the crete.

For the most part, the greenhouse is pretty open to the house on the second floor. You can see the openings to the second floor in this photo, which shows about 1/2 way through construction. Cold temps made it necessary to bring everything in before it was complete. If I had the budget, I would have DEFINITELY installed radiant heat in the concrete floor of the GH. For the most part, the house furnace (a slightly bigger furnace than the house would normally require) heats everything just fine, without there being a huge heating bill in the winter. Many days, such as today, it is 19ºF outside and 82ºF here in the house and the furnace is not running because the sun is shining brightly between some scattered clouds. Doubt you will have that trouble as much as keeping it COOL in the summer. The exhaust fans I have installed, while powerful and quiet, are too weak and loud. When they run in the summertime, you don't notice it, until you turn them off, and then it is, like, wow .... that's loud! There has to be more powerful, more silent exhaust fans out there, but I haven't looked.

I have cold water (was originally on the outside of the house before GH went up) but do not have electricity in the GH, except lines from the second floor to the exhaust fans. I thought plugs in the greenhouse and all that water were a dangerous mix. The only other thing I am going to install is a stationary tub sink that I can sumberge, wash off, and spray plants in. If you get a twin set, one side can be for watering and the other side filled with perlite to start cuttings. I like to spray mealy infested plants with isopropyl and then immediately wash the isopropyl off. The stationary tub is perfect for that. And, they're only like $25-$30.

I guess the only thing I did wrong was, when figuring the budget, I didn't multiply the bottom line by THREE!