Window Greenhouse: Our 1 Year Anniversary

 

Here’s a post I’ve been meaning to write for some time. I’m coming up on the one year anniversary of my old windows greenhouse build at Terrain VagueNo. 1 (and 2 year anniversary of having the lot) and I realized I never shared this project on the blog. I’m still not done with her, but I thought I’d catch up with a post about her birth and her first year. My hope is to do more greenhouse update posts this year. Well, actually my hope is I’ll get her finished soon.

Building a greenhouse from old windows has been on my to-do list for decades. In my old life (pre-divorce), I saved a barn full of beautiful, old oak windows which, sadly, I wasn’t able to retrieve. So, around the time I got the TVNo1, I started scavenging windows from the curb or cheap from the Habitat Restore. I stored them until the day I finally decided I had enough to the job (I ended up with way more than I needed).

Next, I selected a site and prepped it for the build. And that’s when procrastination set in...again. See, I have rudimentary building skills and I had no idea where to start. I watched some videos on building greenhouses from windows and some on building sheds, but I struggled with confidence. I just couldn’t get the courage to begin. This is where my then new boyfriend stepped in and said, “Let’s just do it!” 

And, with that, we framed it in together using my vision and that was the push I needed to do the rest myself. And, the relationship with my poor guy survived our first project together!

It took me over a month to get it to a point I could use it. It also wasn’t cheap, however, it was far less than a new build would have cost, mainly spending for wood, greenhouse roof panels and screws. I also can’t say it was easy; I had issues ranging from cuts and bruises, shitty screws, broken windows and rain...so much rain! I used my living room as a wood shop (lacking a garage or electricity at the lot) and I had wood dust everywhere. 

  

And, fortunately, there were many elements I did find on the frugality side, such as a can of exterior paint in grey for $9. I found a lovely vintage louvre door that made up part of the north wall for $12 at a local Salvation Army. The door was so heavy I nearly couldn’t get it in, but my 13 year old son helped. It allows for perfect summer venting. I also found some glass bricks at Restore for around $2 each and I used red bricks left behind from the old house that sat on Terrain Vague for flooring. I even found an eclectic “Y B Normal?” Sign that fit a gap perfectly.

This greenhouse has been a labor of love and I can truly say I really enjoy spending time there. The other day I was watering some overwintering fig trees I have stored inside her and I noticed it was 76 F whilst it was just 48 F outside. It doesn’t quite warm up at night or on an overcast day just yet because I still need to finish the top part and fully enclose it for winter. We are Zone 7a and probably micro-climatic in this urban environment to 7b, so it’s usefulness is between  November to April and this year I’m going to try more seed starting there. I wasn’t organized enough to try cool crops this year, so I have  autumn plans too.

Well, this is just a quick update so I can now bring the greenhouse into some future posts. Here’s a bit of timeline of the build. 

I still have a way to go on her, but I love this space and love spending time there. Building a greenhouse mostly alone was a great achievement and a jump out of my comfort zone. I can’t say I’ve learned to be a carpenter, but I did learn I can accomplish my dreams if I just get out and do it. Who cares if there are mistakes and imperfections? To me, it’s perfectly mine.