Our First Greenhouse

So I started a garden 4 years ago and my husband thought I wouldn't stick with it longer than the summer, but he was wrong!! :) I've added on more and more each year, starting everything indoors from seeds and transplanting them outside when its time. This year plants were taking over my home office so I decided that I needed a greenhouse! It took us less than a week to build and the cost for everything was a little under $700. We didn't use top notch materials for this greenhouse but it stays dry inside and will definitely last me a few years. Since this is my first greenhouse it will be a learning experience for sure but I can take notes for improvements for my next one!

Supplies

Tuftex Poly Carb Plastic Roof Panels
Tuftex Screws
5 - 2x4's
26 - 2 x 3 x 8 boards
4 - small cement blocks
OSB board
Tuftex Wood Solid Roof Panel Closure Strips
Pine Fence boards ( or whatever material you'd like for the outside boards)
Pea Gravel
Stepping stone pavers of your choice

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Tuftex-PolyCarb-2-17-ft-x...

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Tuftex-Wood-Solid-Roof-P...

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Teks-9-x-1-in-Zinc-Plated...

Tools we used:

Miter Saw

Drill

Level

Level the Foundation

The least fun part of this whole process is leveling the ground!!! After you have done that you are ready to put down the base. Using the 2 x 4 x 8's, cut 2 at 82" and 2 at 89". Fasten together with screws. We used 4 small cement blocks under each corner for more support and to keep it slightly off the ground to help with rotting. Use a level to make sure all sides are even.

Building the Side Walls

For the side walls, we used 5 2 x 3's ,cutting them in half to 48" for the studs and 4 2 x 3's (2 on each side) for the top and bottom wall. Space the boards 24 inches apart to make the spacing nice and even across and fasten together with screws.

Front and Back Walls & Roof

For the front and back walls we used 2 x 3's using these measurements:

(2) 46 1/2 " for the outer sides - Same for back wall

(2) 24 1/2" for the bottom- back wall use 1 board at 77"

(2) 71 7/16" for the door frame- Same for back wall but cut 1 board at 23 3/4 " to make window

(2) 23" for the top sides-Back wall cut 2 25 1/8"

(1) 31" for the top of the door frame, sides cut at a 45° angle- Same for back wall

For the ridge beam we used a 2 x 4 board and for the end rafters 2 2 x 3's cut at 56 15/16". Cut one end at a 45° angle and cut the birdmouth at the other end.

Cut 6 additional 2 x 3's 56 15/16" cut the ends just like the end rafters and align and secure them with the side wall studs.

Now for the panels!!! We put a Tuftex Wood Solid Roof Panel Closure Strips on each 2 x 3 on the roof and attached the Poly Carb panels with the screws. We continued that on the front, back and sides until everything was sealed up!

Walls and Door

We used OSB for the lower walls and 2 x 3's to make the outline of the door. We had some Poly Carb roof panel left over so we used that to fill in the door.

Curb Appeal

We used pine fence boards to give it a nice curb appeal! Put a few pavers down so I would have something solid to stand on and filled the rest in with pea gravel. We made some benches for each side for my plants and we have ourselves a greenhouse!!

Finishing Touches

The final step was to figure out ventilation. We probably should have done that first but after a lot of thought and trial and error we figured something out! There wouldn't be enough air flow with the window in the back since its up against the house so we decided to have the sides open. I bought steel folding shelf brackets from amazon and used 2 per side. They go up and down smoothly. We were afraid of the wind getting underneath them so we put some latches on each side to secure it from wind.

It was a lot of fun building this and I couldn't have done it without my wonderful husband!