How to Make a DIY Greenhouse

2019-09-12 14:54:53

by I Like To Make Stuff

We helped Josh s wife make a DIY Greenhouse with help from Lowe s It was a fun challenging build but Lowe s is the perfect partner to help you finish your fall projects andget back to enjoying what matters Look below for everything we used in this project MORE PROJECTS POSTS AND EVENTSTOOLS SUPPLIES affiliate links I WROTE A BOOK Want to support ILTMS Get exclusive content and more BUY A SHIRT STICKER NOTEBOOK DIGITAL PLANS and MORE FOLLOW Josh s wife is really into gardening and planting beautiful greenery leading to her desire for a greenhouse This way she can keep her plants alive during the winter months and incubate some new plants so they re ready for the spring Josh began the design with a 3d model in Fusion 360 We got our bill of materials and the cut list then headed to our local Lowe s to get the supplies to begin framing the structure I chose to use pressure treated lumber for this exterior addition to resist the moisture and humidity that may build up inside the greenhouse Using Josh s measurements we nailed together the floor and added the front and back wall studs Before adding a structure to your yard you may chose to grate and level the area beforehand Josh didn t want to tear up the yard and here in Kentucky the clay is super hard In lieu of digging into the ground to level it we chose to level the floor frame by adding 2x4 posts semi driven into the ground This way Josh and i could level the floor and nail it to those posts along the span of the greenhouse Now that we had a level surface to work from we continued to build out the frame by connecting the front and back studs and then connecting those two walls with some ceiling joists For the greenhouse floor Josh wanted something that could resist any standing water that would fall down from the plants We found some engineered siding panels at Lowe s that are weather resistant and come in large 4 x 8 sheets These panels are only 3 8 thick so we added another layer of pressure treated 1 2 plywood to ensure the floor was strong enough to walk on We fit three of these double layered panels on top of the floor frame making sure to cut around the wall studs and secured them with screws For the greenhouse s exterior it is possible to simply cover the bare frame with the clear polycarbonate sheets but because of this greenhouse s size that would take more than the 10 panels we allotted for this project We had to order the sheets from Lowes com and the came in a pack of 10 So rather than sacrificing the size of the greenhouse Josh got creative and added a decorative element to the outside that helped use less polycarbonate We decided to use the cutoffs of the engineered exterior sheeting to make a skirting of wood panels that wrapped around the greenhouse To cover any seams and to give the element some definition Josh cut up some 1x4 trim pieces that really set the decorative element apart It looked really nice and flowed super well with the overall design Again these step is optional but it does look fantastic and it helps save on the more expensive material later At this point in the project we have a nice looking frame of a greenhouse To make it functional as a greenhouse we need a way to trap the radiant heat from the sun inside the structure We found many ways to do this from using reclaimed windows rolls of plastic tarp pulled tight glass panes and sheets of acrylic greenhouse diy how to