So we just started building our second glass house. If you search under my user name you can find pics of the first one. We moved even before we got to finish that one so the new owner got a great perk with the house :) Got the foundation and floor in this weekend (now have to run down and get the building permit!) and am waiting on Home Depot for 2 16 foot beams I need for the top sides. This one will be 12 x 16 with 10 foot high walls and and an 8 foot ceiling peak. The first greenhouse was 8 x 12 with 8 foot walls and a ceiling height dictated by the windows I had. This new one will have a metal roof so we will have a much steeper pitch. I went to pick up some windows from a lady on Craigslist and she also threw in these 2 great old french doors - really narrow and tall. They will be the focal point of the building. Can't wait to get the walls up. It's like putting a puzzle together. Someone on my facebook page said:" You know you can build a pvc hoop and plastic greenhouse for about $250." I said it wasn't really going to be used as a greenhouse and I wanted something a lot nicer looking than that for my glass garden house. It has to fit in with my 1780 colonial.

You did a beautiful job on the new GH. Love the paver floor too, the whole thing looks great. I wouldn't worry too much about insulation properties of the glass, my GH is all glass and not hard to keep above freezing at all. Having said that, I do live in a milder climate than you do (I'm assuming) since we only get a snowstorm like that about every 40 years here in West Texas. We had one this winter though and my little 'hideout' was cozy all through it. Cheryl

Mark: The water that goes into the floor drain is connected to a sump pit under the sink that also drains into it and is pumped out with a standard basement sump pump. The sump pit connects to a grey water line about 100 ft. long, the same way any basement sump is drained, at least here in an area that just 200 years ago was a vast tallgrass (wetlands) prarie over a lot of peat and saturated clay. So the only perf pipe is in the long grey water drain line. All of the pipe inside the GH and leading out, is solid. If that seems excessive for ordinary GH use, please understand that my GH is actually a fish room and when I water change, I may drain as much as 300 gal. of water within a few hours, and as we calculated that I could release about 200 gal. an hour before the gray water line became overloaded, I rotate changes on the big tanks, to make sure it doesn't. But with just plants and reasonably permeable soil, all you might need is a dry well. If so, it's just a deep hole to below your frost line, some large plastic pipe for a liner, large stone to fill and a screen under a removable grate at the top, to prevent solids from clogging the well. I am always amazed that anyone would construct before they know what is UNDER what will be their foundation, but then, we are no longer an agrigulcural society, so unless they are farmers, most people don't know that dirt isn't just dirt, and that they have a Soil & Water Conservation District to call on, but that is where you will find the soil maps for your property, along with soil experts, courtesy of the feds. Once you know the permeability and structure of your soils, calculating the perk rate is easy, and you can plan your drainage needs from there.

Karen, I m p r e s s I v e !!! and Wow! A well thought out location, and all the room anyone could wish for. And it looks like you have it well on the way to being full with a well rounded mix of plants. (I would have had it packed full of orchids, but that's me ☺) Bunti, take notice.....lots and lots of good information contained in these three photos. The house is on a lot with hardwood trees (most smaller and not close enough to drop limbs on the house) ...that means free shade in spring, summer, fall, and sunshine in winter when you really need it. A large house which means lots of captured air, which makes climate control much more efficient. A large volume of air, once brought to the desired temp. will hold that temp. longer than a smaller volume. this equals saved money in heating and cooling costs. A well engineered house: reinforcements where needed, but the ceiling and walls are not cluttered with a bunch of framing to get in the way of tall growing plants. The climate control systems (fans, coolers, and heaters) appear to be simple well placed, and probably connected to a simple to operate and reliable control system. A serious growers dreamhouse. Bill