I'd post over in the Porches & Decks forum on THS! Here is a link that might be useful: Porches & Decks

I had a greenhouse many years ago. It had a redwood frame and corrugated fiberglass panels. The panels were not transparent, but the plants got enough light to do well. The problem was the heating costs. The thin, single panels didn't hold the heat at all. And it was blown apart in one of our famous 'noreaster' storms one winter. I had a temperature warning alarm in the house if it fell below 40 degrees F, but I was away that night. When I got home, one whole panel was ripped off and others were barely attached. I lost everything! My biggest loss were more than 30 species orchids that had been collected from felled rain forest trees in Mexico and India! I would recommend a temperature alarm that you can hear in the house, and placing the greenhouse close to the house so you don't have to shovel a long path. (Mine was too far away.......had to shovel over 100 feet!). Try to site it where it might have some protection from strong winds, and also not near or in the "wind path" of any trees that drop sap, debris or such. Also, think about having a water source close by, or even installing an underground supply from the house. I carried too many buckets of water, and in winter, a real hassle! You will also probably need electricity brought out. I'm sure he's happy to be getting a greenhouse. I went to the Farm Tek site and read the specs, and it seems like a good product. It has twin polycarbonate walls, which will help reduce heating costs. The frame is powder coated aluminum so it should look good for a long time. Overall it seems nice. I hope he enjoys it and wish you all the best!

Dixiedog and others, While I can't speak for Beverly, one interpretation of her statement might be this: when these forums were by subscription, if you chose to pay to belong to some of them, you were investing yourself and a commitment to those forums and you might be more likely to involve yourself with the other posters on the forum. Those of us who have been here several years might see a difference between "then" and "now." Folks who want to be involved with the Cooking Forum are very welcome and we hope to hear from you a lot and welcome your participation. Those folks who lurk but hardly ever post, you are welcome, too, and we would encourage you to post now and then so we can get to know you. Those folks who post a question and never return....well....we'll just never know, will we?

I'd read the thread before, but couldn't think of an improvement on jakuval's suggestions--I really like the one with the peninsula. That narrow hallway must be a pain, although I understand your space restrictions. I have a 30" opening from the LR to the kitchen, and I thought that was bad. Don't know if this will be real help, but the only alternate plan I thought of is to keep the plumbing on the right wall (I have the plan turned 90°) and pull the bases forward to accommodate the pipe. That would allow you to have a standard depth fridge, and give you more counter depth. You could also have deeper uppers (15-18") for more storage. I put a pull-out pantry beside the fridge, and 15" deep cabinets on the island. I was thinking you could use those for extra pantry storage by mounting shelves on the doors, to make canned goods easily accessible. I added a 15" overhang for seating, but it could be more shallow as your space is limited. With entries to the kitchen on both sides of the island, maybe traffic flow will be improved. I used the 30" range, which is out of the way of traffic, except when someone is coming in from the terrace, but there is space to pass behind the cook. If the window is lower than counter height, the small cabinet on the end can be installed at standard depth, and it could house the MW drawer--or the MW could be incorporated into the upper cabinet beside the fridge. The shelf might need to be the same depth as the fridge box, to accommodate the pipe. I added a shallow cabinet in the corner, just inside the door. That could be a broom closet, command center for a message board and calendar, charging station, or extra pantry storage. Thanks, jakuval, for the templates.