Help me plan my Colorado sunshed
Golden David
9 years ago
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9 years agoGolden David
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Can someone help me post my achitect's plans for my greenhouse?
Comments (11)Thanks so much for your responses! I agree. My experience has taught me that thinking these details out before construction is much more practical. Here are some answers to your questions: I live in central NJ. Zone 6-7. I have about 4 feet of height under the deck to insulate it. I was thinking of using "Tiger Foam". IÂve used it in my home before. This stuff is effective, but expensive. I would use some and fill the rest of the area with packing Styrofoam that IÂve been collecting. The greenhouse will be built against my home. The bedroom window above it would be blocked if I made it higher. I guess IÂll be growing dwarf bananas. I donÂt see that I have much of choice, unless you can see a way to configure this that I canÂt see. There is an area to the left where we can go higher, but that would make it a weird shape, and more complicated construction. I guess it isnÂt worth it. I looked over the full size plans and you are right, they donÂt have the overall dimensions. No wonder my township returned the plans for being incomplete. The floor space is about 7 feet by 15 feet, minus the cut corners. HereÂs where I stand now. The deck is built. The rest of the deck is finished. The supports for the green house are all in and there is durarock on the floor, in the greenhouse area, that is ready for a tile floor. I would love to use a floor drain that is set into the floor and runs the length of the space, but that would entail cutting away the supports. The surface that this is will be built on is above the surface in front of it. May be the drain could run along the front, out side the floor supports. I think my architect could work this out. If not, then wherever we put the drain, the floor would have to slope in that direction. The way it is built now, it slops slightly away from the house. I guess we could change that just a little with the mud when we tile. I think the architect put a knee wall in the plans. How should that be built? Will I be running things through it in the future? The ridge of the roof runs the short way, so it isnÂt very long in relation to the space. If you put in a ridge vent, how do you keep the hot air from escaping in the winter? HereÂs my main concern. IÂm not building the green house because I donÂt have room for my plant inside my home. IÂm building it because my houseplants donÂt do well in my home in the winter. They get plagued by spiders and disease and dry out. I have been very successful with outdoor gardening. I realize that I will still have to care for my plants in the greenhouse but I hope it will be a lot better for them than it would be in the house. I would really like to find out what kind of heating wonÂt make it too dry in there....See MoreOff Topic - Can Anyone help me plan my trip to Colorado?
Comments (52)Hi Pixie, When you posted about Little House on the Prairie I looked some things up and was planning to post but just haven't found the time! I'm glad you explained why you wanted to do the plains! At least now it makes sense! After you posted I looked up DeSmet on google Earth--to get the "lay of the land," and I think your daughter would be really disappointed with the "plains" we have out here compared to the terrain you'll find in eastern SD. The link I posted to a pic of "our" plains up above really is pretty accurate--there is simply nothing out there! If you do DeSmet I doubt that she'll actually be looking at "the land" very much when you do it, and she'll have all the Little House things, which is what she actually thinks of when she's reading the books. (Love it when kids are reading books!) So rather than taking her for a hot, dry, flat drive, and destroying her mental image of Little House, I now very definitely think you should skip the plains and enjoy the extra time in the hills! A couple things about the fishing if you're gonna stick that in. Wherever you do it you'll need a Colorado fishing license, so be sure you plan ahead for that so you're not disappointed. And if you do decide to go to the Poma Ranch near Pagosa Springs, you'd really need to stay there two nites to have time for fishing. Checkin is at 3:00, so that wouldn't leave much time on the day you arrive, and checkout is at 10:00, so there wouldn't be time on the day you were leaving. The Weminuche River that runs thru the ranch flows very gently and it could easily be fished wading or from the bank. Check out their Fishing page at the link below, and there's more fishing info on their FAQs page, including that they rent "basic" and "kids" fishing gear at the ranch. I don't really know anything about fishing so I'm not sure what all that would include, but if you're seriously considering it and have any questions, call the ranch and ask for Karen! Also, since the river flows gently--and is shallow (a "river" out here is not the same as a "river" in the midwest or east!) your daughter might enjoy wading around in it (probably with a pair of cotton tennis shoes or at least flip flops since the bottom will be "rocky")! But she probably wouldn't stay in too long since water in the mountains is COLD--it's melted snow--and the ranch is at 8,000'! Also, if you're seriously considering staying there, PM me and I'd be glad to send you some more pictures of the inside (and outside) of the Hideaway cabin! I've stayed there three times now so I have pics of the outsides of the other cabins too. This is a favorite pic! I couldn't help but smile the first time I drove in there and saw the Welcome Home sign! I immediately knew I was gonna love the place! (The sign is on the back side of the "bathhouse" building that has the "waterfall showers!") And before I got to the welcome home sign (on the small building on the right) I ran into this roadblock on the drive in! (If it looks gloomy, that's because it was raining on and off on the drive from Pagosa to the ranch the first year I stayed there! Then, right after I got there, the sun came out just in time for sunset!) This was a view heading out of Pagosa toward the ranch that year! The ranch is in them thar hills! I also highly recommend the "Cozy House" at Dolores for the Cortez part of your trip, and would be glad to send you a bunch of pics of that place too to help you decide if you're interested. One more thing since Zinnia brought up Dinosaur Ridge! Just a little further down the road, in Morrison, is a place called Tiny Town! Perhaps in lieu of Little House your daughter would like to see some "little houses"---and other buildings! I don't have time to live link these pages, but here's a copy/paste link to their site, and if you google for images of Tiny Town you'll come up with lots of pics of the buildings with people standing by them so you can get the scale. I haven't been out to this place since the late 70's when it was a run down (tiny) ghost town all overgrown with weeds, but it's been all spiffied up and is back in business, and this could be a real fun Kid Thing! You could plan your whole last day to do Red Rocks, the dinosaurs, and Tiny Town, and then head to the airport for your last nite's lodging! http://tinytownrailroad.com/ Out of time for tonite! I can't wait to find out what all you finally decide to do! Skybird Here is a link that might be useful: Fishing on the V. A. Poma Ranch!...See MorePeek at my blueprint and help me plan my dream kitchen (remodel)
Comments (4)Houseful-thanks for all the detailed pictures! So cool how you have transformed that space! This house is in Arcadia, we are currently in the East Valley. So...one thing we are playing with is the idea of keeping the original flooring. That requires moving as few walls as possible to keep repairs/replacements to a minimum. So that is informing the following ideas: I am currently toying with the idea of having a doorway from the library to the kitchen that lines up with the doorway to the dining room. With both the kitchen/library and kitchen/dining walls being half walls opened up above the lower cabs, if that makes sense. So I could see out the dining room windows at a sink and the library window at a cooktop possibly. Lining up the doorways would direct traffic through the kitchen but maybe that would be okay since my work area would be all on one side of the doorways? If we did this you would be able to see the backyard from the library and view out the front from the dining room... Rosie-the garden room was not built according to the plans and is just a room with a huge skylight...I was thinking of keeping it, but with half walls so when you enter the house you can see through it to the back windows...I was thinking of making it a small play room with a couch under the skylight. (Skylight is quite long and narrow along the wall opposite the door). A friend of mine has a reading couch under a skylight and it is magical to stretch out and read there during rainstorms... I like the idea of the kitchen in the middle, I think...Now, it is desirable to do less for the flooring reason, but I want to think big and I would love ideas that grab space from anywhere, really. We are mere days into months of planning so my initial thoughts may change dramatically. I would love to tear out as little as possible but I am open to considering it nonetheless!...See MoreHelp me plan my Colorado sunshed
Comments (3)So I've completed the rough construction And I'm in the process of installing insulation and ventilation. The insulation is a rigid foam R-13 with foil lining. I will literally cover every non glazing part of the inside structure with this eventually and seal all seams with caulk and foil tape. A photo below but more at http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2811423/help-me-plan-my-colorado-sunshed I settled on a 1250cfm powered thermostat roof fan and I purchased about 600sq inches of louvre vents. The idea is to have vents that will seal easily in the winter with foam cutouts. Am I making any mistakes by not automating the intake vents? Would a passive flap lifted by the exhaust fan be inefficient ? Will leaving the roof vent unsealed during winter be a problem? I was thinking I could automate only one third of the louvre vents during the winter and that 200sqin would create a passive convection with the uncovered roof vent to keep the power fan from kicking on most days. Thanks for reading I may have worked this out by writing this post but as always I welcome any feedback....See Moredavid52 Zone 6
9 years agoGolden David
9 years agoGolden David
9 years agotreebarb Z5 Denver
9 years agodavid52 Zone 6
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoGolden David
9 years agodigit (ID/WA, border)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agodavid52 Zone 6
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoapg4
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agobillie_ladybug
9 years agoGolden David
9 years agobillie_ladybug
9 years ago
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Golden DavidOriginal Author