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DIY Greenhouse

Living in a neighborhood that has a homeowners association, has challenges in what you can and cannot build on your property. Most buildings will be approved as long as it is properly designed, up to code and built by someone who knows what they are doing. But getting your building approved by the board may take some time. It could be something as simple as a storage shed or back patio or a greenhouse. In our neighborhood, if the building cannot be seen from the front of the house or the privacy fence then nothing can be said about it.

Having a garden, even a suburban garden, is not complete until you have your own greenhouse. After researching the many types of greenhouses, what materials to use, and deciding where to place our greenhouse, I decided to go with a lean-to type greenhouse that will be placed in the front corner of our privacy fence. I chose a lean-to because the fence will be the main support for the greenhouse and it will hide the building. A lean-to is also less expensive to build since we will use the fence as part of the greenhouse, saving on building materials.

I consider myself a novice builder but I was a gofer (go for this, go for that) for my Dad for years and years and have learned from him on how to build things. I was able to build the greenhouse with 2 gofers in about 4 hours. The first thing I recommend is to level the ground and let it settle a little bit before starting this project. I had one low spot at the corner where the two sides met and had to add some extra dirt before completing the build. I built this greenhouse in 5 different sections. I started with the side of the building as it was the biggest section to complete. I used treated 2x4x8's and a framing nail gun to secure the boards. If you do not have a framing nail gun you can use wood screws instead. Be sure to pre-drill the wood before using the screws as to help with splitting the wood.  This section will be 6 foot tall by 8 feet long. I cut 7 boards 69 inches in length before nailing the boards together. Next I laid out the top and bottom boards and nailed 2 boards, one on each end, to start my wall. Now measure on the top and bottom boards starting from the inside of the end board 5 marks of 18.5 inches. Arrange the 5 other boards on the marks, center them, square them up and nail them in.

Next I made spacer boards to go in-between the vertical boards as added support. Measure the space in-between 2 boards (start on the end), cut and nail in.  When you nail in the spacer boards, you will have to stagger them in order to be able to secure them properly.

The last step with this wall is to nail it in the fence. I measured out 7.5 feet from the edge of the fence and nailed in the wall on the fence running boards. Using my level I made sure the wall was level vertically before I nailed in the wall.

The next complete wall, I built in three sections consisting of one door and two mini walls. The only reason I did this was so I didn't have to duck into the greenhouse every time I needed to go in and out of it. Being a man who is 6'1" being able to walk in and out of things without hitting my head is a priority for me.

The height for the two mini walls and the door vary in height due to the slope of the roof.  The mini wall that will be braced against the fence I made 74 inches tall by 26 ¼ inches wide and the other mini wall is 72 inches tall by 26 ¼ inches wide and it will be braced against the other side wall.  The two mini walls are simple to build, I cut 4 boards 26 ¼ inches, 2 boards 71 inches and 2 more boards 69 inches.  As with the first wall I started with the top and bottom boards and attached the side boards with a nail gun.  With no other boards to run vertically, I put 2 spacer boards in-between for support.  After they were built, I attached the taller mini wall to the fence leveling it vertically before nailing it to the fence boards.  The shorter mini wall I attached to the first wall I built, leveling it vertically first and then leveling the corner horizontally before nailing the two side together.  

 

Before attaching the door, I wanted to roof in the greenhouse.  I did this 5 2x4x8’s and 4 clear PVC 26”x8’ roofing panels.  Starting with the 2x4’s, I laid them flat starting with the farthest end and spaced the wood 20 inches apart from each other.  Once the running boards where attached I took some scrap wood (approximately 12-18 inches) and secured the 2 mini walls to the last running board so that they both would act as one wall.  The roof running boards I rested on the top of the fence running board and nailed each board in starting with the fence side first and then moving down to the side wall.  After securing the last roof board in, I laid the first roof panel and used roofing screws to secure the panel to the wood.  The next panel I overlapped the first panel approximately 2 inches and screw the panel in.  I did this with the other 2 panels until the roof was completed.  So the roof wouldn’t sag at the top, I took some of the scrap ends (12-18 inches) and placed in-between the roof running boards. 

 The last section I built for the greenhouse was the door.  I didn’t use 2x4’s as I did for the walls; I used 2x2’s to reduce the weight and to help with the door from sagging.  The door I made is roughly 73 inches tall by 34 inches wide.  I made the door this wide so the garden cart Melissa’s father made for her this past Christmas would be able to fit in with ease.  The top of the door I made a little shorter on one side so that it would not rub the roof running board.  I cut the top and bottom pieces 34 inches, the taller side 71 inches and the other 70 inches.  After attaching the 4 pieces together with screws (this part of the build I didn’t use a nail gun because a framing nail gun would have shattered the 2x2’s), I made 4 support pieces that would be attached to the 4 corners.  I didn’t measure out the support pieces; I just started by cutting 2 pieces of wood at 18 inches in length and used a miter saw to cut an angle of 45 degrees on each end.  I attached one piece at the top right corner and the other at the bottom left corner.  For the next corner, I cut a 45 degree angle on one end and placed next to bottom support piece.  Laying the piece out on the opposite end, I marked where it would rest against the wood and cut another 45 degree angle.  I attached the piece and did the same with the last corner.  After the door frame was complete, I took 2 hinges and attached them on the outside of the taller side wall approximately 1/3 the way up from the bottom and 1/3 the way down from the top.  Then I took the door and secured them to the hinges. 

The last thing to complete this greenhouse is to wall it in.  To save on cost I decided to use clear plastic sheeting, the kind you find in the painting department, instead of the PVC roofing material.  This was the easiest part of the build, I started out by unrolling the plastic sheeting and using a stapler, I stapled the sheeting first to the fence and then to the outside walls of the greenhouse.  I stapled every foot or so, on each and every board wrapping around the smaller wall and I stopped after I was inside the greenhouse approximately 12 inches.  I then did the same thing to the taller side wall and the door so that it would be only 1 gap in the plastic on that wall.  Since 2 of the walls of our greenhouse are also part of our fence, I lined the walls on the inside of the greenhouse just on the fence part.  After everything was wrapped I placed a simple latch on the outside of the door to keep from opening.  I had more plastic than what was needed to wrap the outside and left about 3-4 inches of plastic on the bottom.  I used hay to cover the bottom of the plastic and inside of the greenhouse to keep weeds at bay. 

This was a great addition to our garden; we went from a small store bought shelf that only had 4 18x24 inch shelves to a 60 square foot building that has potential to be able to grow anything we need.  I saw this as a good challenge for myself, testing me and my skills.  I have learned what works well and what doesn’t.  Just because this design works for me it may not work for you.  Study and research as much as you can before starting your own greenhouse.