How to Build Your Own Homemade Greenhouse Out of a Small Shed

A greenhouse is a great way to keep plants thriving all year round.

Greenhouses make it possible to keep plants healthy all year round and can also be used to protect delicate plants during the winter. If you like the idea of having your own greenhouse, you can turn an existing shed into a greenhouse by replacing the siding with greenhouse walls. Though most greenhouses utilize glass or glazed walls, these materials can be expensive. Keep your costs down by choosing fiberglass instead and still enjoy all the benefits of a functioning greenhouse.

Things You'll Need

• Small garden shed
• Clear, tedlar-coated fiberglass sheets
• Aluminum washer-head nails
• Clear caulking

Instructions

1. Determine which wall of your existing shed faces north. You will leave this wall intact and install the greenhouse walls on the east-, west- and south-facing walls in order to maximize sun exposure.

2. Calculate the surface area of the east, west and south walls by multiplying the length of each wall by its height. Record these measurements.

3. Remove the siding from the east-, west- and south-facing walls of the shed all the way down to the studs. Be careful not to damage the studs or the frame of the shed when removing siding and remove all nails from the studs and shed frame.

4. Purchase enough clear, tedlar-coated fiberglass to cover the three walls of your shed and have an in-store professional cut them to the appropriate size. To make installation easier, have the fiberglass sheets cut into at least two pieces to cover the surface of each wall rather than using one large sheet.

5. Install the fiberglass sheets along the walls of the shed using aluminum washer-head nails positioned at 3-inch intervals. Drive the nails through the studs and wood shed frame and line up the edges of each fiberglass sheet so that it lies as close to flush as possible with the neighboring sheet.

6. Seal all the joints between sheets of fiberglass and in the shed corners with clear caulking and push the caulking into the joints with your fingers to create a tight seal. A tight seal is essential in preventing heat loss.

7. Caulk any cracks or holes in the north-facing wall to prevent heat loss and check that any doors or windows installed in that window are tightly sealed.

References

• FineHomebuilding.com; Greenhouses and Potting Sheds; Lee Ann White
• West Virginia University; Planning and Building a Greenhouse; David S. Ross
• Cornell University; Plastic Greenhouse Manual; Raymond Sheldrake, Jr and Robert M. Sayles; 1992