| After having wanted a greenhouse for nearly 20 years, but not wanting
to build one from scratch, I decided now was the time for a greenhouse
after reading an article titled Ready for a Greenhouse? in the January
2000 issue of Sunset Magazine, pgs. 58-59. After several weeks of
online investigation, and deciding I wanted a greenhouse as large as my
site could accomodate, I decided on the 8x10 Hidcote model from Charley's
Greenhouse Supply. Since extreme heat and cold is not a problem
in my area, I decided on glass walls and a twinwall roof.
The San Francisco bay area has a mild climate year round, but we have nagging winds most afternoons. I had a nearly ideal site on the south side of my house where the previous owners had installed a large concrete pad for parking their RV. They had also removed the fence and replaced it with a double gate large enough to drive through. |
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Foundation
Pressure treated 4x4s were cut for the finished dimensions of 10'4"x8'3". Thirteen holes were drilled in the existing concrete, and the foundation was anchored with 5 1/2"x1/2" anchor bolts. The pale pink line inside the foundation points North-South, indicating the south wall of the greenhouse is actually oriented slightly to the southeast. 3/18/2000 |
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Floor
I wanted the floor to be firm, absorb heat, hold moisture to help maintain humidity, and look nice. Red clay bricks were laid on sand in a basket weave pattern. The floor contains 308 bricks on 600 pounds of sand. (The foundation has been edged with copper tape against snails and slugs.) 3/19/2000 |
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Greenhouse Delivery
We were somewhat anxious about the delivery of the greenhouse parts, expecting piano-sized crates. We were pleasantly surprised by the relatively small size of the four packages. From left to right: the greenhouse frame (standing on it's side), the bench kit (flat), the twinwall roof (standing on it's side), and the packages of glass (on the pallet). 3/31/2000 |
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Side Frames and Sills
I built the side frames the previous day. Looking from the front of the greenhouse frame through the rear, the north and south sides of the frame rest on the foundation. 4/1/2000 |
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Rafters Mounted
This was the most challenging part of the whole construction: attaching the four corners of the rafter frame to the sides of the greenhouse at the corner gussets. 4/1/2000 |
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Front and Rear Frames, Door
Mounted
These components went up quickly, completing the greenhouse frame. 4/1/2000 |
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Roof Vents Mounted
We had to drill out the rivets on the manual hinges in preparation for mounting the Univent solar vent controls. Sliding the vents onto the hinge track was somewhat challenging until we figured out that holding the vents parallel to the floor helped. 4/1/2000 |
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Door Built and Temporarily
Hung
This was the only place where we found we had a problem with the instructions. The top-most bolts at the door would not hold the door header to the door frame when mounted according to the book. Luckily, the package containing the door hardware had several extra bolts that were longer than the rest of those supplied with the greenhouse. We used a pair of these bolted through both the door header and the door sides. 4/1/2000 |
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Louvred Windows Mounted
To aid in ventilation, I purchased louvred windows and Sesam solar controls. Like the roof vents, the manual controls in the louvred windows had to be removed by drilling out the rivets holding them in place before the solar controls could be installed. 4/2/2000 |
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Glazing Installed
After installing all the weather stripping around the entire frame, we installed the Twinwall roof. We then installed the glass, starting with the sides, proceeded to the back and glazed the front last. It was necessary to remove the door to install the glazing on either side of the door frame. Notice the teak bench that had to be put inside the greenhouse before the glazing went on. 4/2/2000 |
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Door Mounted
This took two people; one inside with the wrench and the other outside pushing on the door frame. An unusually warm day for the Bay Area in early April, we recorded 110 degrees Fahrenheit inside about that time. 4/2/2000 |
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It's a Greenhouse!
With shade cloth attached and solar vent controls installed, the greenhouse is comfortable. Everything is back in place, swept and hosed down. Now I need to buy some more orchids... 4/2/2000 |
Copyright © 2000 Sandra L. Souza. All rights reserved.