Lean-To Greenhouse Review – Minnesota

A dear customer of ours in MN. sent us a wonderful story about his greenhouse experience. If you are interested in building a lean-to greenhouse this is a must read!

“The knee wall is 4X6 pressure treated lumber.  It is a higher level of treatment from a local high quality lumber yard, not your standard self service do it yourself store.

I started the foundation wall right after I placed the order with Sunglo and took my time getting a good base packed below the timbers.  I dug out the black dirt down 12 inches and put in 8 inches of gravel, packing it as I went and kept it level.  When I put the timbers on top of the gravel it took lots of adjusting to get it level and square.  I measured kitty corner both directions many times. Then let it sit a few days and did some more adjusting after it rained and settled the ground some more.  I used a 2 foot level first and after I thought I had it right I borrowed a transom to make sure, and it was nice and level.  If I had to do it over again, I would get a transom before I started.  It would have saved me some time.

Mounting the vertices upright and ridge header on the steel pole building wall was a challenge.

I waited for the greenhouse to arrive to prep the building to make sure I cut the steel in the correct place.   I knew I had to cut the corrugated steel to mount the greenhouse to the building wood frame.

I used a hand held high speed grinder with a cutting disk to slot out the steel siding about 3 inches wide. I inverted J trim on each side of the uprights and under the ridge header to finish the look. I put flashing on the top side of the ridge header. I also installed additional 2X4 framing above and below the ridge header to reattach the steel siding on each side of the slot.

My largest mistake was to assume my building was plumb. It was only 6 years old and I was very pleased with the quality so I assumed it was plumb. I found out differently when I tried to install the first overhead truss.  It didn’t reach!  When I checked the building I found it was leaning away by 3/4 inch from the top to bottom of the greenhouse. This delayed me a day removing the vertices uprights and ridge header to shim it plumb and reinstalling things.

It took me awhile to assemble the greenhouse because I’m not good at puzzles, so I went slow. I had planned to do so up front.

I only worked half days because it was August on the south side of a steel building and it was hot!  I made a few mistakes but it was easy to drill out the rivets and correct them.

I was mostly done after a week and I was able to do it all by myself, except for mounting the ridge header and the first gable end panel.  My wife held things in place until I secured it.

During the assembly process I appreciated Sunglo’s customer service in discussing and solving the challenges I encountered. I am now enjoying learning how to grow plants in a greenhouse. I have lettuce, spinach, radish, chives, tomatoes, onions and strawberries already growing.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lean-to greenhouses are wonderful for limited or confined space. Sunglo offers 2 sizes of lean-to style greenhouses. The 1700 series – 8ft width is shown above and we also carry a 1500 series – 5ft width for even smaller spaces. With lengths from 5′ to 100′ we can help you find the right size for your space. To read another lean-to greenhouse review – click here.