Here is a picture of my greenhouse. Took me about 5 years to get to this point. I dug the hole for the foundation with a hand shovel and a pick, made my own concrete forms, I did have a ready mix truck for the pouring of the footings and walls. Most of the glass is from old windows I picked up from a house-remodeling job. All the carpentry work I did myself. A lot of work but only way I could afford to build it the way I wanted to.
Very nice, bensen...it's a great addiction to your home! Looks like it was worth the work AND the wait. =)
Enjoy your greenhouse!
Rhonda
Very impressive. Bensen, could you post some more pics? Window details, inside, that sort of thing?
SB
Thanks Rhonda. SB, here is a shot of the entrance that is sort of a mudroom between the basement and the greenhouse. I couldn't find any ready-made greenhouses or sunrooms that fit my application. As you can see I'm still in the building process.
Here is a shot from inside the greenhouse looking toward the mudroom. I wanted most of the greenhouse below the benches to be below ground level, figured it would be easier to heat in the winter. Also the massive cement base for my chimney absorbs and holds not only the heat from the sun but also from the furnace and woodstove in the basement. I plan on building a wall with a door at the top of the stairs between the greenhouse and mudroom so cold drafts will stay out of the greenhouse when going in and out of the basement.
Here is a shot of some of my framework. I built each wall as a section, using standard 2X4's that I cut a little shoulder into with my bench saw. I cut this shoulder on both the outside and inside. Then I tacked strips to the top and bottom plate that aligns with these shoulders.This allows me to add glass on the inside in winter if need be to save on heat. On the outside I simply put 6 pieces of butyl equally spaced on this shoulder then apply window caulking and insert the piece of glass. Finally I screw a furring strip between the pieces of glass. The glass in the roof sets on the rafters with the rear of glass under the shingle overhang. The furring strips are notched so that when screwed tight to rafter there is still a little gap which I put caulking before screwing down. This gap allows the glass to move as it expands and contracts.
Bensen, this is a well-conceived and executed design. I particularly like three things. First, you have taken advantage of thermal mass and available heat (by sinking the greenhouse and building around your chimney). I also like the architectural consistency between your house and the greenhouse...I'm talking about the use of wood, the siding on the mudroom, that sort of thing. Finally, I like the tile (or faux-tile?) on the first step to the mud room.
This is a great example of what planning and patience can yield. I'll say it again, very impressive.
Thanks again BS
beautiful job bensen!!
Enjoy!!
Cricket
Definitely great planning and construction! Awesome job! Please show more pictures of inside the greenhouse.
:) Donna
Wow!!!!! Absolutely gorgeous addition. My dream for down the road.
Although, I'd love to be able to see into it from my house. Meaning, some type of glass wall to be able to view it. I have seen a movie recently
(When a Stranger Calls), where the whole house was constructed around the greenhouse-terarium, you could see it from all of the hall-ways and living room. I know it is a dream, but it is my dream, and it may just come true.
Beautiful GH, Congratulations, I know how much work has gone into it.
Love, FreeBird...
This message was edited Sep 17, 2006 9:30 PM
That is awesome !!! Wish I had that much talent !!!
~Julie =0)
I'd love to have an attached greenhouse again. Very nicely done!
Dave
Thanks for all the compliments, once I get a little further along I'll post some more pictures. My next step is finishing up my benches, installing a sink with running water, putting some heat under the benches and installing the wall with a door between the mudroom and the greenhouse.
Benson, You have done what we had done...your energy and skills are amazing. We hired an architect and builders in 1981 to build a passive solar house. It isn't as cold here as it is in NH but we have been thrilled with our GH for both heat and for our winter garden space. The only heat for the GH is the wood stove pipe which runs for about 10 feet before going back into the chimney.(you can see it in the picture) We don't start the stove usually until the sun goes down as the house usually gets a great deal of heat from the GH. We have backup heat available for the house, but avoid using it due to the expense. Thought you would enjoy seeing ours. I've just finished moving everyone back into their winter digs (literally). I transplant any annuals that I think might make a splash of winter color. I just dug up a mess of hot pepper plants that I figure might keep things hot until January! I've just given everyone a good trim so things are a bit sparse. Patti
This message was edited Dec 17, 2007 8:14 AM
Patti, I luv, luv your greenhouse to! We need lot more pictures of the inside. This is the kind I would like to get when we starting building our new home and greenhouse/solarium in a couple of years.
:) Donna
Here are a few more inside shots. Patti
Another of the lower area. Patti
One more. Patti
What a beautiful space, and how wonderful you have room to use it as a living space as well as for plants. And great greenhouse dogs too!
Sheri
Awesome, Patti! That's what I want!!!! Now are the side of the house and the big cement planters made of something special? Was this created to keep the heat inside? What happens in the summer when it gets hot in there???? I have lots of questions......lol.
:) Donna
Patti, what a great greenhouse, you have a lot more room than I do. You are heating yours much the same way I do. Last year I installed a wood stove in my basement and I have two fans to circulate the heat from the basement into the greenhouse on one end and then back into the basement on the other end. Some day I do plan on installing a loop of baseboard piping (just the pipe with the fins) under my benches. I've been thinking of expanding and inclosing our front porch with glass and think I may do something similar to what you have done. Again, you did a great job.
Bensen, Thank you but we didn't do the work like you have. Ours sometimes gets so hot during the winter that we have to vent the heat out during the day rather than letting the house too hot. Those days are wonderful. I don't really have benches but had beds built out of concrete blocks that were then parged with gray concrete. The beds retain a lot of heat. I plant directly in the beds or put lots of potted plants on the surface of these beds and on the ledges of the beds. We then put lots of potted plants on the floors and on little stands, and old chairs etc. The floors are brick set in sand. The windows are glass from sliding glass doors (a couple have lost their seal and need to be replaced) and the wood is cypress that was recycled from old Rheingold brewery vats from NY. We do have a sink at one end and a small potting bench (not big enough). In the summer we empty most of it out. We leave in some jades and hibiscus. We move everyone out in Mid may and back in around Columbus day. We originally had a venting system with duct work and fans installed but never used it It seemed too complicated and we thought we might end up with all kinds of unwanted dirt and critters in the house. We also had preheat tanks installed for our hot water, but a few years ago I decided that I wanted the space for more plants and as the tanks needed work, we opted to remove them. But using the wood stove in the basement and fin tubes to vent the heat into the GH is brilliant.( my parents business in Okla was in waste heat reduction system with miles of fin tubes in every unit). I look forward to seeing your GH over the winter here on Daves. Patti
I use mine mainly for starting my plants in the spring and over wintering a few. This year I have three tomato plants, which I started in June and moved into the greenhouse this fall. We have had a dozen tomatoes so far. I have oak and maple trees to the south of the greenhouse so I get filtered light until the leaves go. During the summer it reached 100 in the greenhouse and usually doesn't drop below 50 in the winter. I still love all the space you have.
