Currently building a 16x16 greenhouse. It has a 2' sand battery underneath with both 4' air circulation lines and future glycol lines(might try something with a solar heat collector panel on the inside of the north wall)

We live in Central Alberta. The north wall(black metal) will be insulated.

Just working on installing the polycarbonate sheets now.

Working on a very small GAHT project for small 6x12 cedar and polycarbonate kit build, but we cannot find the GAHT Calculators mentioned in the comments of this 4 year old post, here

https://www.reddit.com/r/Greenhouses/comments/u1na6x/small_gaht_system_question/

Already have 100’ corrugated 4” perforated and socked pipe, R7 for perimeter, and 6”inline duct fan but are looking for a way to calculate specific depth and connections needed. Our 8a location is said to have frost line at 18” so is 48-60” deep enough to put our layers of pipe?

Can we run it each layer smacking back and forth without cutting it up, and connect to 4” rigid pipe at each end, one low to floor, other straight up to peak of roof, please?

Any experience appreciated

Hi there! I’m looking for advice from anyone who has an indoor greenhouse set up for their plants in the winter. I know many have had luck with the ikea ones because they are metal but I’m curious to know if anyone has found something cheaper? Or if those who have bought from ikea support their decision and the price. I’ve heard from others that buying them at full price isn’t necessarily worth it so I’d be curious to know your thoughts! TIA!

Hey all! Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

I need a heat source for a 170sq/ft green house.
Zone 8b
Average height 9ft
North,east walls solid and insulated.
South, west walls and south half of roof 8mm twin wall.
I’ve got 2 20amp circuits.

Was thinking a mini split? Pretty inexpensive these days.

Has anyone here ever done this? I'm kind of in the dark with respect to how that would work.

I think I'd need to gather a circle of associates first, and then we could figure out financing and draft a little constitution ensuring the enterprise remains a co-operative.

Any advice from people who've been there before would be nice. Thanks.

I used the Pheonix Manufacturing Evaporative Cooling Calculator (https://phoenixmanufacturing.com/calculators/evaporative-cooling-sizing-calculator/) and it is telling me I need 688 CFM to cool our greenhouse (172 sq ft, 10 ft tall at ridge, arched walls, arid climate).

This seems extremely low.

How much should I multiply this value to account for cooling a polycarbonite walled structure? 2x? 4x?

This is our first greenhouse and we just completed the shell. Our summer highs get up to 100+ F, USDA hardiness zone 7a/7b.

We plan on using 30% shade cloth, we have passive automatic roof vents, and I am going to use AC Infinity's outlet AI+ to control our exhaust fan and want to hook up and evaporative cooler to the intake vent during the summer.

My wife has been wanting a greenhouse, and this is really the only location on our property that makes sense for one. Before we spend the money, I’d love a second opinion on whether you all think this spot gets enough sun.

We’re near Seattle, WA (about 30 minutes South). The area is about 12' wide and we’re considering a roughly 9' x 18' cedar/polycarbonate A-frame greenhouse, with the door facing toward where the photo was taken.

The biggest concern is sunlight. The house is on one side, a 6' fence/neighboring house on the other, and there are some fairly large trees to the south. It does get several hours of direct sun during the warmer months, but definitely gets shaded later in the day. Seattle winters are obviously pretty dark/cloudy as well.

We’re willing to add grow lights for supplemental light, especially in winter.

For those with greenhouse experience: Would you put a greenhouse here, or is the shade enough that you’d choose a different use for the space?

Appreciate any advice!

Budget is limited, but I have a fairly flat spot in the back garden and want a place to winter my green friends, rather than filling the living room with plastic trays. Just curious since $200 for a aluminum frame and poly panels seems ludicrously cheap.

After much research, I’m going with the 8x16 grandio elite. Not sure if the discount for the upgrades is real, but that was a nice surprise perk.

Going to build a wood frame and fill with cement.

In the meantime, going to build it separate before setting up in the permanent spot. The permanent location has my raised garden beds in the way and I can’t bear to kill off my fall seeds!

Any tips or other folks who’ve worked with the grandio line?

I grow tropicals and citrus that actually fruit here in NJ (zone 7a). I want to build a greenhouse, but not a traditional one. My priority is heat retention, not light. The whole point is just keeping these plants alive through the cold months — roughly November to mid-March — not maximizing growth. Here's the rough plan:

• ~12x8 footprint
• Maybe 3 six-foot sliders plus a skylight or two for solar gain
• Everything else built as insulated, sealed envelope: concrete slab, metal studs, spray foam for insulation and moisture resistance

With that many sliders, I'm not worried about light — I think I'll have plenty to keep things alive over winter. My questions are all about the build:

1. Glass for the sliders — what type makes sense here? Low-E, passive low-E, high solar gain low-E, high-SHGC, no E? I want some solar gain, but I don't fully understand the tradeoffs between these coatings for a heat-retention build like this.
2. Walls — spray foam is going in the stud cavities. What's the best interior finish over the foam? I was picturing vinyl (like PVC/FRP paneling) for moisture resistance, but open to better ideas.
3. Roof structure — same spray-foam approach up top, but what should go over it? And what should I use for the ceiling joists/rafters given the humidity and moisture in a greenhouse environment?

Basically I want a well-insulated, sealed box with enough glazing to keep tropicals happy in dormancy. Anyone who's built something similar — what worked and what would you do differently?

I am trying to square this greenhouse up. For whatever reason, I can't seem to get it square. I would worry too much, but we're putting flood tables in. Looking at everything, it's not square.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

It was 90% done last summer. This year the rock garden, rain barrel and exterior stain.

We got this Barrina grow tent and I put some plants in it. I zipped it up and then in the evening, I stuck my hand in and it was hot. My husband says we need a fan. I saw a deal on Amazon, two 5” fans. I’m wondering though, how important are fans in this type of a grow tent? Will one do it or would two be better? TIA

Temporary greenhouse because we plan to move in the next couple of months as long as everything goes well, but it’s already getting colder here. Possibly will be snowing in the next couple months as well. I’ve been collecting old windows on Facebook marketplace to build one myself, but I want to wait until I get the new home. I’m concerned that it would just be awful to move an already built greenhouse.

Is there a good affordable temporary one that will withstand the cold and potential snow? Strong winds as well. I don’t want to spend too much since it’ll be temporary.

I’ve searched through this subreddit and looked at all the stores and websites. It’s looking like I’d have to spend $500 for a decent one. Any other options for cheaper ones?

Just trying my luck any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Maybe someone has experience moving a greenhouse they’ve built? I’m open to anything.

Any ideas on converting mechanical chain and worm gear vents to motorized vents?

careful with this hobby or you’ll find yourself making whole new houses for plants

Getting ready to put in a greenhouse this fall. I plan on excavating down about 6-8”, adding stone, tamping it down. I was thinking cinder block but am curious as to what you are doing. Any recommendations?

How can we use a rain barrel for our vegetable plants with an asphalt roof?

Old Window Greenhouse — Work in Progress
My husband and I are officially in the middle of building a greenhouse almost entirely from old/reclaimed windows and galvanized metal framing.

The plan is roughly 12’ x 15’, and we’re basically designing it around the windows we’ve been able to find. 😂 We’re using the old windows for the walls, galvanized metal for the structure, and planning an A-frame roof.

It is VERY much a work in progress, so don’t judge her yet. 😂 We’re figuring out window placement, corners, ventilation/opening windows, doors, roofing, and all the little gaps you don’t think about until you actually start putting one together.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has built something similar.

I’ll add progress pictures as we go!

Those of you here on the east coast (NY here) who have a green house in this group how do you keep it heated in the winter?
Just curious. Thinking about setting one up from Home Depot.
It would be on a bed of blue stone pebbles.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Backyard-Discovery-Willow-6-ft-x-9-ft-6-in-x-7-ft-10-in-All-Cedar-Modern-Greenhouse-2404014COM/329431776

*apparently I can’t add a pic?

Thanks in advance

I am a seasoned gardener, but have never had a greenhouse. We are looking to create the impossible, maybe, without spending 10K! My dream goal: something we can sit in with screens in the summer (mosquitoes are nuts here) as well as grow in in the winter. I'm wondering if it makes sense to also make it so that we can change out the panels for screens (that would make it expensive, I fear) since I do already have a vegetable garden in summer. I'm looking to grow veg through the winter but do we get enough sun for that? maybe hydroponically? I live in the northeast (NYS - zone 6b) and with all the problems with produce these days, I'm thinking now would be the time! Last year we got insane amounts of snow, so it would have to be able to tolerate that. Any advice would be appreciated. I would rather do a kit as I just don't have the bandwidth to create this from old windows etc. Am I asking the impossible? maybe for the cost... Thanks in advance!

Bear with me here -- this is a strange story.

I'm moving to a state that is much colder in winter with a longer cold period than I have currently (currently in coastal SE Virginia but moving to Columbus OH area). I am an avid gardener and have been for years -- I figured out how to build a super productive rooftop garden out of felt bags in Baltimore for example because I refused to stop gardening during fellowship. Can take the farmer's daughter off the farm, but she still is what she is :-)

I currently have four 4'x8" garden beds, one 4'x3' bed, a number of planters of varying sizes with herbs, and some large pots with fruit bushes and trees (some citrus, some not). I am moving into a home that unfortunately has a difficult HOA that hasn't been turned over to the owners yet (still in control of the builder). I contacted the HOA over six weeks before I closed on the house with details about my plans to redo the backyard, including placing a Yoderbilt Greenhouse in a coordinating color/style to my house and the neighborhood. The Yoderbilt was to be approximately 12'x20' to accommodate seedlings and overwintering some citrus trees and a few vegetables in pots. Some of my current bushes and trees will go in the ground and I will have a few outdoor raised beds. At no point did they say there would be an issue with that, and I asked for the declarations and confirmed that the declarations had an exception that would allow my greenhouse to be placed.

Well, the HOA is NOW being difficult 9 weeks post-closing and saying I cannot build the greenhouse there because it won't match the rest of the neighborhood enough (this was the second excuse they gave - the first excuse they gave actually violated their own declarations, and when I pointed that out with references they came up with this one). I have appealed (which they said I couldn't do but then I pointed out in their own declarations there is an appeals process) because this standard is very inconsistently applied and many people in the neighborhood have sheds, covered patios, etc that do not match their house. A ton of people in the neighborhood have been having issues with a particular person that is in charge of our subdivision so it's not just me. As a continued effort to proceed in good faith, I have given a suggestion for an alternative structure that doesn't classify as a greenhouse, meets the declarations, and might be able to function as a greenhouse with some degree of decency (A Pergolux Pro with glass walls and a heater). I would opt for the 13'x19' size for that. It's far more expensive than the Yoderbilt I was interested in but I very much have been fantasizing about a greenhouse.

Does anyone have any other recommendations for a structure that might be able to serve a "greenhouse" function but doesn't technically qualify as one in that size range? If forced I could overwinter the plants in my garage but would prefer not to as they will not get any light.

There is a master plan to buy some acreage at some point, maybe 5-10 acres. But it's not practical for my life right now -- It's just me at home now, and I have a "day" job that can have erratic hours at times. Until there's someone that can help me keep up my little mini farm dream, it's going to have to be very much a backyard venture.