About: We are a family of six who left the city to live and grow on 20 acres. We like to make things and reuse things and build from the land. Enjoy!

Our family designed and then built this greenhouse from the ground up. Besides this awesome Instructables project, we also made a really informative YouTube video. Please be sure to watch our Greenhouse Build video as well.

Also-after the greenhouse was completed (as you can see in the above video) we added some LED puck lights. They are remote controlled and offer multiple colors and they beautifully light up the greenhouse at night. We picked them up on Amazon Aff Link- https://amzn.to/2GzsRYM

What you will need depends on your specific design. If you use Google Sketchup, like we did, then you will be able to add dimensions and get a specific and precise list for exactly how much lumber you will need. We recently published an hour long video tutorial on YouTube showing how to use Google Sketchup to design our greenhouse. Be sure to check that out if you want to learn how to custom design a greenhouse in Google Sketchup. Otherwise you can use our design. The items below are what you will need for our design which is 10 feet wide by 12 feet long with a gambrel style roof:

Tools Needed:

Safety goggles, gloves.

Tape Measure

Drill and 5/16 drill bit (to predrill holes in the polycarbonate). And 1/4 driver to screw in hex head neoprene washer/screws to attach panels

Circular saw, miter saw

Hammer or Nail Gun

Tin Snips

Paint Brush

Level

Material Needed:

TUFTEX polycarbonate panels. These are sold at Lowes. For this build you need 22 panels. Some home centers sell cheap vinyl panels and these can warp and fail over time. These TUFTEX panels are solid and a high quality product. You will also need to pick up foam closure strips (80) and screws with neoprene washers (typically used for metal roofing). We purchased 2 huge boxes of the screws.

Aluminum corrugated siding. Our home center sells this in 3 foot high sections. 20 pieces.

2x4 x8 feet boards. 60 pieces (this includes some extra, as we added some additional to the front and back and it’s always nice to have extra

2x4 x10 feet boards. 3 pieces. This is for the 3 foot high wall, for the bottom of the front and back the top of the back section.

2x4 x12 feet boards. 5 pieces. This is for the 3 foot high wall top and bottom on both sides AND it is for the ridge of the roof.

2x4 x12 feet boards, Pressure treated. 2 pieces (for the bottom of the side walls where it will touch the ground)

2x4 x10 feet boards, Pressure treated. 2 pieces (for the bottom of the front and back walls where it will touch the ground)

12 foot aluminum ridge cap

25 feet of rolled aluminum flashing (used to flash the gambrel transition in the roof.

8 bags of cement and some threaded rod. We dug several holes, poured cement and placed threaded rod through the bottom of each wall to secure to the ground and keep level.

30" Door. We purchased a basic screen door and attached plastic to it. We will remove the plastic in summer for ventilation. We also purchased a 32x18 vinyl window for ventilation off the back wall.

Framing Nails for your nail gun or 2 1/2 sinker nails for framing

A piece of particleboard for the gussets. A 2ft x 4ft piece is more than enough.

White Exterior Paint

Let's Get Started!