The Greenhouse

We looked a several styles and types of greenhouses. Our selection criteria:

• Must withstand high winds. We've recorded wind speeds in excess of 60 mph. High winds are common, especially before storm moves into the valley. 
• Size: must be less than 250 square feet, and cannot be over 12 ft high at the peak. Anything bigger or taller would require zoning approval.
• Powered ventilation. Ridge vents were deemed too risky with high wind.
• Must tolerate heavy snow, or have a steep pitch so that snow will not pile up on the roof. Some storms have dumped up to three feet of snow in 24 hours. 

After searching through the web I landed at ACF Greenhouses (www.littlegreenhouse.com). This site turned out to be extremely useful for calculating heat loss, finding speciality parts, and for providing an easy place to compare greenhouse models and features.

Several greenhouses seemed too flimsy to withstand the weather. We finally settled on a Cross Country Cottage model. I liked the classic look of the Cape Cod, but the pitch would have put the roof peak over 12'.

We settled on a 10' 8" wide by 14' 9" long. Total height was 12' accounting for the 16" knee wall. I choose single pane glass but a polycarbonate roof, as the polycarbonate is a bit stronger, hail and snow resistant, and provides a little more insulation than glass. 

The greenhouse was actually built by BC Greenhouse but resold by ACF. Same price from either vendor, but ACF greenhouse included several extras.

Lead time was about 6 weeks. I placed the order in early October, 2010, and the greenhouse arrived on November 23rd.

The total weight was over 600 lbs. It took my wife, neighbor, and the delivery guy to get this off the truck and into the garage.

I thought I could get this up quickly - maybe 1-2 days with a few friends. Ha! It took almost a month, due to bad weather, a part-time carpenter, and work.