Well, it's been quite a few months since I up-dated this thread. We had such a mess for so long that pictures were pointless.
The attached photo was taken at the end of Sept. soon after we put turf in there. My hubby has always wanted grass in this room. I figured he was crazy because it would be too hard to cut it around obstacles. But it was his dream when he built the room years ago and we are setting it up in such a way that he shouldn't even need a whipper snipper when we are finished and there really won't be that much grass. And I am really thrilled with it because until this was installed, there was fine dust everywhere just from walking and getting on all the orchids and even into the house. Now there is more humidity and the air is fresh and lovely. It's really hard to stay out of there and stay off the grass so it can get established
We didn't do anything in here all summer as we have lots of yard work and spent a lot of time working and relaxing at the cabin. But now that fall is here, the project is back on the burner!
The shelves with my orchids on them in the left of the photo are temporary until the tiled ledges are built. We have organized things a wee bit more since this picture and I will take a few more in the next few days. We haven't really started building and tiling again yet. Hubby had to tune up and sharpen his old push mower and modify a grass catcher bag for use in here. He has been hanging onto this old mower for many years for this very purpose!
I love the idea of having grass in the greenhouse ! That's a very nice veranda you have now!
Thanks! It is unique for sure. I like that it smells so nice and I can spill water if I want. I do have to be careful not to get too many bark chunks or leca balls lost in the grass or it will cause grief to the mower. We are hoping it works out and that in the middle of a cold snowy winter, we can sit in there and have coffee on fresh growing lawn!
Looking great silken. What minimum temperature do you keep it at during the winter? Also how much does it cost to keep at that temperature for the winter? I lived in Saskatoon for 2 years and dang winters are cold haha.
Looking great silken. What minimum temperature do you keep it at during the winter? Also how much does it cost to keep at that temperature for the winter? I lived in Saskatoon for 2 years and dang winters are cold haha.
In the winter we keep it at 65F in the day and 55F at night. It's really hard to give you a number as to what it costs since we have been heating it for many years. It has an energy efficient natural gas furnace like in many Canadian homes and that furnace heats 1/3 of our house in addition to the greenhouse. The other 2/3 are hot water heat in the floor. It is an older home (1956) built as a slab with the hot water heat. That is provided by an energy efficient Polaris radiant floor heater and domestic hot water. The 1/3 heated with the greenhouse was added on many years ago without the heated floors.
The windows in the greenhouse are all triple glazed low E except for the patio door which is double glazed low E and our roof is triple glazed poly carbonate. The wall of the house that it is attached to has a lot of windows so I guess the house would require more heat if the greenhouse wasn't there. It seems when we compare heating bills with others, ours aren't much different. I know that's not a very good answer but as accurate as I can be! The concrete wall and floor are heavily insulated with thick foam below grade also.
Saskatoon cold??? Probably not much different than where you are now! Ha ha.
Here are some more pictures of our project as it is today. Still a bit of a mess, but it is coming slow but sure: The first picture is of the door that connects to hubby's large garage/workshop. The left side near the patio door is finished with tile and stone look vinyl siding on the upper left. I need to paint the garage door and we will pull down the old stucco on the right side and tile and put siding similar to the other side. That box on the lower left is a lovely hinged box that houses a large squirrel cage fan that draws air from outside thru wide pipes that are ran all the way to the back of the yard and about 5 ft. deep in the ground. These cut in when the exhaust fan does and brings in very cool fresh air to cool things down. http://www.orchidboard.com/community...1&d=1350684344
The 2nd picture is just a bit of shelving on the house side for some of my orchids. It will be there over the tiled ledges when we are finished for extra space: http://www.orchidboard.com/community...1&d=1350684724
Number 3 and 4 are an over all view down the length. Hubby set in some of my rhubarb leaf stepping stones and the big plywood box is the energy efficient forced air furnace that heats this room and a1/3 of our house. It will be covered with the stone look siding and tiles to match everything else. It is on heavy duty hinges and swings open to allow for complete access for maintenance and (shudder) replacement: http://www.orchidboard.com/community...1&d=1350684934
Pictures 5 and 6 are starting from the far end of the greenhouse and along the house side. You can see the exhaust fan in the upper left. we also have to sheet that in and put a bit of the siding there. The garden doors won't be blocked in the end but for now have shelves with my orchids. That's a spare bedroom that opens out to here. Further along are more temporary shelves for my orchids and my little warm micro-climate with heat mats and shiny mylar which keeps the heat in and reflects it and light. You can see the duct work along the wall behind it. That is where we will box it in and build ledges that are 2 feet deep and have storage under them for all the gardening and potting supplies that are making things look messy now!http://www.orchidboard.com/community...1&d=1350685834
The 7th picture is going along that wall further. It shows another door into this room from our family room and more ductwork that will be boxed in and tiled ledges.http://www.orchidboard.com/community...1&d=1350685967
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