Hi there! I'm brand new to the forums, so please forgive me if I say/do something stupid. My wife and I are looking for an affordable building for our backyard... I've shopped around a little bit already, looking at the usual suspects like Home Depot and Amazon. But I was wondering if anyone else in the (northwest) US has any advice or tips on where and what to buy. We're looking for a greenhouse that can double as an artist studio, as our green thumbs could use a little work. Something that allows plenty of light, and will give us room to grow some tomatoes and herbs, along with my cactus collection, and maybe lean an easel or two. I'm semi-handy, so shouldn't have any trouble putting together some kind of kit-set structure, but that's about the limit of my ability! Our budget is about $4-5k Any thoughts?
Where in WA are you? (Not looking for a specific address) Are you on the I-5 corridor? If you are I'd try some of the Feed Mill places Olympia and further south. I've noticed some pretty innovative ideas in some of them. OR - you really might want to contract with somebody to build you something that could be expandable
Hi Islandlife, thanks for the quick response! We're close to the I-5, and can make it to Olympia, though it's a bit further than I was hoping to go for now. I'll definitely take a look online, if you have any websites that you could recommend? I'm open to working with a contractor to put something up, but I would guess that I'm looking at more than double my budget for that kind of work... From a quick search, it looks like average costs are over $10k. http://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/outdoor-living/build-a-greenhouse/ I've started doing more research, so I'm sure I'll have more questions as time goes on! (I do love the idea of something that we can expand though. Will do some digging.)
Here is a garden studio which doubles as a greenhouse. This example may give you some ideas about the deign you'd like.
Nice one Eileen! That is a nice design for sure. Do you know any brands that sell that kind of structure?
There is "Del's" and "Kipperts" in Olympia / Tumwater. They have bullet boards where lots of locals post things they built & sell. Was more thinking if you went to some of the different Feed Mills in the more rural areas you might find sellers there of locally crafted greenhouses/studios. I know Kipperts feature different things outside their place that are locally made. There is also a new Farm/Tractor store just off exit 108 that might have the same idea. Am thinking these are the type places that would have locals who do this kind of work OR who make pre-fab for installation.
Sorry Jack I have no idea about brands in the US that sell these types of structures. I know that, here in Scotland, the cost though would be well within your budget. Hopefully you'll find a company, or individual, that could build one to your requirements at a decent price. Do let us know how you get on.
Thanks so much Islandlife! Great tips! I'll take a drive down and see, as soon as I can. And Eileen, I've done some wandering around online and have found a few pre-fab kits that look very similar to what you've shared. I'll also ask around to see what custom builds will cost. Thanks so much for guiding me in that direction.
Something else you can think - once you've established basically what you want to build (the design) you can start searching out and gathering building materials from the various and different "ReStores" or "Habitats for Humanity" type stores. If you give yourself some time before construction starts and go often enough to these type stores you can sometimes pick up some really decent second hand building materials or the over runs from large building projects real cheap. Often small lots of flooring from larger building projects are donated to these type stores but they're absolutely idea for what you're looking for and can save you considerably My suggestion would be to figure out your backyard area (where is afternoon shade/morning sun), where are there clearances to put the building, how many square feet (the footprint) do you want it to be etc. Then you can start to figure baseline you'll want 1 front door, 1 lock set, 1 or 2 windows, shutters for either side of the window etc. If you know the approximate square feet you want to build i.e. 10' x 12' you can look for shingle lots & floor lots slightly larger than this These type of materials can often be found really cheap and if you have them already collected to use it makes it easier for the actual Builder/Contractor to know what he has to work with (course they usually want to buy new material because they can charge you a percentage of the cost of the material which is just extra profit for them) Best of luck with this
Just remember most construction goes in multiples of 4 Never plan a 7' span Best of luck with your project
LOL.. I love to tell my story....I have 2...You should start looking on Craigslist.org. I paid 250. for my first one.. I added used cement block and bought new gravel for the floor. My hubby put it together, thank God....Didn't have a door so we found a 6 foot slider to put in for free....See the brick patio? Free .....I added a furnace for I live in cold weather and some fans...You need to move the air......It is a 25,000 greenhouse now....When I relocated it to my new house I decided to replace most of the glass and I still didn't hit your $4k . I also have one attached to my house with my hot tub in it...it is on the cement patio on the back of my house....I had to rent o truck and go 5 hours to get it....it was $175. Well worth it.....LOL They are both Jenco greenhouses....just go look for them......and be patient....if you are a worker and have the ability to build things craigslist is the place to be....
Barb, I would love to have that one as a sunroom off the kitchen. drool! We just bought another hightunnel. need to go take it down, move two of our old ones and put this one in place. 26x96... I think my head is going to pop.
Don't now if I am allowed to do this but go here" https://seattle.craigslist.org/est/grd/5998307362.html https://bellingham.craigslist.org/grd/5979778487.html You would have to ask them to send you pics...
@ Waretrop - Those are MY kind of ideas too If you take your time and start to assemble and find your parts and pieces you can get things super cheap Most of my outside stuff is second hand (+ work to upgrade/fix up/modify) but you can't tell once I'm done. (Sweat equity R us )
