greenhouse Greenhouse Build

Heya guys,
 
 
I've had a bit of a gardening hiatus due to location... But with a new home coming I have my sights set on building a nice big greenhouse. I have a 10' x 16' limit imposed by my better half and a height limit of 12'6" imposed by the municipality.
 
  :mope: ZONE 5A   :violin:
 
I figured I'd start a thread to brainstorm and document, I have about a years time to plan. Any insight is welcome as always. This is my first greenhouse.
 
My wish list:
 
Twin-wall polycarbonnate exterior.
Wood frame.
Working tap with laundry sink, no drainage.
Drip system.
Buried heatsink.
Thermostat driven vents/fans.
Solar panel system.
Work station.
Shelves for smaller plants.
Floor space for larger plants.
Night time light for me to spend evening time gardening.
 
Realistically I may not get everything I want but lets hope for the best.
 
My hope is to use it to extend my season on both sides, start seedlings early, over winter outdoor plants, maybe even get a little hardy veggie crop. I don't know how much heat would/ will come from the heat sink.
 
 
Covering
 
I'm going to use twin-wall polycarbonate for the exterior. I have not worked with it before. I am unsure of the thickness to use for the roof? 6mm? 8mm 10mm?
 
Frame
 
I need a permit due to size, so I'm planning to design it out using the google sketchup design program. I don't know what angle will be acceptable for the roof? Laying out a foundation will be totally new to me.
 
Tub
 
Just a tub with a working cold water tap and hook up for the drip system. Will drain into bucket under the tub to be used.
 
Drip system.
 
No idea what I'm looking at here, just that the lazy man in me wants one, desperately.
 
Heat sink.
 
New idea I stumble onto. Bury a bunch of rock or gravel or water or ______ and use fans and piping to geo heat the greenhouse over the winter at night. Not sure what size I'd need or of the best material to use.
 
Thermostat driven vents.
 
I see these in all the youtube vids. Be cool to have if I can power them solarly.
 
Solar.
 
Enough to run the heat sink fans, vents, thermostats. Don't know what I'm doing here either. If I can't run it on solar it's not getting power. My night light may be run from the house, it wouldn't be bad to have an outlet either. If I was able to run the night light on solar that would be awesome but I think my hopes are getting a bit high for output power I'll have access to.
 
Workstation.
 
Mobile maybe like a sturdy cart. Maybe stationary. Unsure. Center table maybe?
 
Layout.
 
I would like one side for shorter plants with 2 maybe 3 wide shelves. I would like some space for some taller plants. I will likely hang some plants if height permits. Likely all pots no in ground. Wood like a wood chip floor rather than gravel or dirt.
 
 
 
 
Opinions appreciated! I'll keep this thread running through completion, hopefully all goes well and something cool turns out. :welcome:
 
seems like you have a lot of work to do.
 
a  hoophouse is easier to setup. no need to plan a complicated frame / angles. and greenhouse plastic sheeting is cheaper than poly carb.
 
i think you will need more than just passive geothermal heat
 
First, You're gonna love the GH. 
 
That's a small size and will be full before you know it so you need to scrap all those wish list items that take up room. I built a GH from wood scraps but if I had to buy the wood it would cost more than just buying a kit from Ebay and set it up in an afternoon. I wouldn't tell anyone about running electric to it either, that's more permits and a licensed electrician. Do you here it yet, Cha Ching!!!!!
 
You really should go bigger than you think you need because you'll regret it later. It's gonna be used more than you think all year especially in your location.
 
Good Luck with your decision!!!
 
Loving the list man, with all those amenities I think you should add a fold out bed to the list since I think you will be spending more time there than in the house ;)

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 
Back
Top