Greenhouse And Potting Shed Ideas – ‘Cecile Brunner’ climbing rose arches over the garden entrance. The barn has recycled doors and windows that let in lots of light.
Garden shed or greenhouse? The structure pictured here, a charming focal point in a backyard in Exeter, California, is both. But owner Connie Featherston prefers to call it her garden playhouse.
Greenhouse And Potting Shed Ideas
“I had to put a clock in there because I’m having so much fun, I’m literally losing track of time,” he says.
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Good times aside, the creation of the warehouse was also practical. “The real reason I decided to build it is because I grow all my seedlings in the kitchen window and I’m tired of cleaning potting soil out of the sink,” says Featherston.
An 8- to 10-foot greenhouse/shed hybrid sitting on cement foundations fits his needs perfectly. She likes to grow her seedlings here (heirloom flowers and vegetables are a particular favorite) and she likes to overwinter her orchids.
Positioned with a door facing the back patio, the barn was designed to allow for plenty of daylight while minimizing prolonged exposure to direct sunlight during the Central Valley’s very hot summers. Featherston directed it slightly off a direct east-west axis and kept the westernmost wall strong.
Prefabricated siding covers the wooden frame; asphalt tiles cover the roof. (“A glass roof was out of the question in this climate,” says Featherston.) The windows and doors are all recycled; Featherston took them from the main house, where he removed them to make way for new ones.
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“Old windows are perfect for a barn,” he says. “I told my carpenter friend who did most of the building that all the windows should be opened. I want as much ventilation as possible.” It’s good for me and the plants.”
Inside the shed, portable shelves and storage containers – made of moisture-resistant galvanized metal or stainless steel – wide enough to hold pots and flat seedlings, are placed near the windows. The coffee table sits firmly against the back wall; on its bottom shelf, galvanized metal barrels hold bagged potting soil. The horizontal frame of the shed serves as an additional shelf for storing vases and small dishes. There is no floor – a thick layer of gravel is enough to absorb water spills.
On the edge of the shed, Featherston is a small field surrounded by stones and ornamentals where he grows many flowers and vegetables that he starts from seed. He experiments with color themes here.
“One year I filled the area around the shed with cardreus flowering plants,” he says. “Another time I went with plum purple. The unity of colors brings the whole garden together.”
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Bright and airy, Featherston’s garden cottage is a place any gardener will love. “The shed allows me to grow everything I need, plus lots of plants for my friends,” he says. The best part? It took only five days and $2,000 to build.
Durable furniture and well-organized tools and supplies are key to a small but efficient workspace. This is what makes Connie Featherston’s greenhouse/barn so enjoyable to spend time in.
Fixtures: The table is from Costco, the shelves (freestanding and hanging types) are from Home Depot. The metal stool is an antique find. Long-handled tools, trowels, and other hand tools hang from metal hooks attached to the top shelf in galvanized metal bins.
Temperature control: Good ventilation helps keep the greenhouse cooler in the summer. Featherston uses an oscillating fan and hoses down the gravel floor for evaporative cooling. When the temperature is too hot, he moves the plants to his shaded patio; on cool winter nights, he uses a small heater. So you want to pour pottery? You have come to the right place. Your options are to build it to my dimensions – 8’x10′ base, with walls extending to 8′ where a gable roof sits at a 45° angle. You can also adjust this to your preferred dimensions, and I’ve tried to note the changes that can be made to do this where possible. Keep scrolling!
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This may seem like an obvious step to add, but ideally, if you’re going to use it as a greenhouse, you’ll want a flat and level part of your yard that gets at least six hours of sunlight a day. If you plan to use it for more work and tool storage, a shadier spot works. We took the extra step of laying and wiring an 8’x10′ concrete slab to easily wire lights, fans, etc. let’s connect. shed and many other DIY guides and professional builders will build a shed on flat ground. In the end, we went for the shade option because New Orleans is very hot most of the year. With ample shade, we thought we’d increase the number of days we could use this space.
Before you actually start building, you’ll want to gather all the windows and doors you’ll be using so you can make accurate plans for the structure. If you’re using windows and doors from a salvage store like we are (expensive and durable!), you’ll base your frame measurements on the windows and doors you find, not the other way around. If you plan to buy new windows and doors for it, you have a little more freedom to decide how you want everything to be placed. We sketched out what our ideal pottery barn would look like, went to the salvage yard, and tried to find the windows and doors closest to that vision. We then used those items to make our frame measurements.
Once you have your framing plans ready, install four 8′ long 4’x4′ corner posts that will act as the main support for your structure. We recommend having a helper for this part as the posts are heavy and can be difficult to maneuver on your own.
Now, depending on how permanent you want to install this potting shed, you can install the posts in one of three ways:
The Potting Shed: Plans, Inspo, And Progress [diy Backyard Greenhouse & Potting Shed] — Probably This
Figure 2 | Notice that the 2x4s are laid flat on the foundation where they are screwed into the concrete with masonry screws. The 4x4s are then screwed to the 2x4s at each corner.
Now that your corner posts are securely in place on the base, it’s time to attach them from the top. I staggered two layers of 2×4 boards screwed to each other and to the corner studs (refer to the top right corner in photo 3 below) or see photo 3.1 for the amazing pattern I used as seen from above. This pattern helps distribute the weight of the roof in all directions by shortening the long side and lengthening the short side or vice versa. Note that the small spaces in Figure 3.1 are for simplicity. Boards must meet in your project.
To attach the beams, first cut eight 2x4s to the correct length using a circular saw or miter saw. Place the first four 2x4s on top of the corner studs following the lighter outline pattern shown in Figure 3.1, making sure they are flush with the edges and evenly spaced. Next, use metal brackets or wood screws to fasten the beams to the posts. Repeat this with the next four 2×4 beams above, following the example of the darker rectangles in Figure 3.1.
Here’s our favorite part, and the step most responsible for the way this thing looks: we’re using old mismatched window sets that we saved from our own house when we updated the windows last year, or salvaged from various local stores around town. . Some of our favorite places in New Orleans to shop for antiques like this are Ricca’s, The Bank Architectural Antiques, and The Green Project.
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The best thing about this project is that the windows don’t need to be installed like typical functional windows because we don’t really need them to open. Trust me when I say it will make this DIY less average friendly. Or maybe I’m just tired of normal window installation.
Find windows that are similar in size, but don’t knock the old ones out there – choose ones that match the style of your barn and let in the perfect amount of light. Make sure you seal them properly to keep out unwanted critters. You don’t want to share your potty with a family of raccoons.
Rafters must be connected to the ridge beam, which is the board at the center and highest point of the roof. But you can’t just start with the rafters – the ridge beam must first be in place so that there is something to connect them to. But if the rafters are what hold up the ridge beam, how do you do that?
Temporary support! Attach the front and back beams, dead center, and two 2x4s