How to Build Your Own Greenhouse Book

Introduction

1. Questions to Ask before You Begin

How Much Time Does a Greenhouse Require? What Is Your Budget? How Large Should Your Greenhouse Be? What about Structure and Systems? What Are the Pros and Cons of Kit Greenhouses? Build It Yourself or Hire a Contractor? What Aesthetics Are Important to You?

2. The First Glasshouses

The Start of Growing under Glass
• The First Conservatories
• Orangeries and Pineries
• Nineteenth-Century Colossal Greenhouses
• The Hobby Greenhouse

3. An Overview of Greenhouse Options

What Type and Structural Style Do You Want?
• Five Basic Types
• Basic Structural or Building Styles

4. Choosing the Greenhouse Site, Size, and Interior Layout

Site selection
• Determining the size of your greenhouse
• Making the floor plan
• Designing the entrance
• Getting permits

5. Controlling the Greenhouse Environment

Water in the Greenhouse
• Lighting and Electricity in the Greenhouse
• Heating, Cooling, and Ventilation Systems
• Hydroponics
• Insecticides in the Greenhouse

6. Greenhouse Building Materials

Wood as a Construction Material
• Sheathing
• House Wrap
• Exterior Siding
• Other Greenhouse Framing Materials
• Framing Materials Insulation
• Vapor Barriers
• Doors
• Alternative Building Materials
• Painting the Greenhouse

7. Glazing

Understanding Light Transmission
• Types of Glazing Materials
• Combining Glazing Materials
• Caulking and Weather Stripping

Checklist for a New Greenhouse

8. The Foundation

Types of Foundations
• Types of Floors
• Constructing a Concrete Foundation and Slab
• Finishing the Foundation

9. Building Techniques

Building a Kit Greenhouse
• Building a Conventional or Do-It-Yourself Greenhouse

10. Wiring, Plumbing, and Heating: Systems Design and Installation

Installing Electricity
• Installing Plumbing
• Installing a Heating System

11. Greenhouse Accessories

Benches
• Shelving
• Growing Beds
• Tools and Equipment
• A Germination Chamber or Seed-Starting Box
• A Growing Chamber
• A Potting Bench
• Storage
• Greenhouse Clothing
• Accessories to Control Insects

12. Greenhouse Maintenance

Regular Chores
• Monthly or Quarterly Maintenance
• Biannual or Annual Maintenance

13. Greenhouse Plans

Basic Conventional Greenhouse

Slant-Front, Insulated Greenhouse

Slope-Sided Greenhouse

Gothic Arch Greenhouse

Lean-to Greenhouse

Greenhouse Built on Piers or a Deck

Hoop House or High-Tunnel Greenhouse

Window Greenhouse

Garden Shed/Greenhouse

Multiuse Cold Frame

Potting Bench

Resources

Index