Building a Greenhouse?— Facts to Help You— w. R. Cobb, 



New 

 York 



YOU want to build a greenhouse, not 

 a large one but just a simple little 

 flower room — not too small to be 

 impracticable, but just large enough 

 to putter around in and yet show good 

 results ? How shall you determine just 

 how to go about it, where to place it, etc.? 

 Of course circumstances will largely control 

 many points, but there are certain basic 

 facts that the builder should know, and to 

 which other things must be adjusted. 



The greenhouse must not be shaded by 

 any trees or other objects in the winter 

 time. It may be attached directly to a 

 dwelling, garage, stable, or other building 

 or it may stand by itself in the garden. 

 When attached to some building having a 

 cellar, it is possible to save the expense of 

 digging one for the boiler of the heating 

 apparatus. 



Leanto greenhouses are the least ex- 

 pensive to build and give good results, but 

 are not as good as full span houses. 



The ideal width for a small greenhouse 

 is 18 feet. This width gives ample space 

 for three plant beds or benches, one on 

 each side and one in the centre. Good 

 results a-re however obtained in houses 

 16 feet and u feet wide. The narrower 

 houses cost more in proportion, and the 

 atmospheric conditions are not as good as 

 in the wider houses. The smaller the house 

 the more the attention needed in ventila- 

 tion, watering, etc. 



The length of your house depends on the 

 room available and on the amount you care 

 to spend. The longer and wider the green- 

 house, the less it costs 

 in proportion. Twenty- 

 five feet is a good length 

 to start with for real 

 efficiency, and you will be 

 surprised at the quantity 

 and quality of flowers that 

 can be grown in a house 

 of this size. This makes 

 the ideal width, then, 

 18 x 25 ft. 



It is usual to build a 

 concrete, brick, or stone 

 wall as a foundation to 

 support the sides and roof, 

 this wall to extend about 

 2 feet 6 inches above the 

 inside J floor level of the 

 greenhouse. It is possible , 

 however, to dispense with 

 the masonry walls. In 

 this case, the rafters of 

 the steel frame are carried 

 below the surface of the 

 ground and embedded in 

 concrete. The side walls 

 from the ground level to a 

 height of 2 feet 6 inches 

 can then be built of board- 

 ing covered on the outside 

 with shingles or clap 



Eighteen 

 width. 



feet is the most practical greenhouse 

 It spaces to advantage in all directions 



boards. Frequently, a concrete wall 4 

 inches thick is substituted for the wood 

 construction on the sides. In either case, 

 the stability of the greenhouse does not 

 depend on these side walls — they are sim- 

 ply mediums to keep out the weather. 



The roof and sides of the greenhouse 

 should preferably be built with a steel frame 

 lightly capped with wood. This costs but 

 little more than all wood, but is far lighter 

 and more enduring. In fact, it ought to 

 last a lifetime. 



The curved eave type presents a graceful 

 appearance but gardeners generally concede 

 that it does not grow any better flowers 

 than a greenhouse with straight eaves 

 having a cast iron gutter at the junction of 

 the side walls and roof. 



The best glass is what is known as "A 

 quality, double thick." Fix this with the 



Add a little greenhouse to your dwelling and defy the seasons! For such a situation the 



leanto is well adapted 



12 



end of each pane lapped over the one below 

 a quarter of an inch. The glass is simply 

 bedded in putty and not back puttied as 

 in an ordinary window. This makes a 

 tight roof and leaves no putty on the 

 outside to be torn away by rain and ice. 



One line of ventilating sash at the ridge 

 will answer in houses up to 18 feet wide. 

 Larger houses should have two of these, 

 each to consist of a line of glazed sash about 

 30 feet wide hinged to the ridge and extend- 

 ing the entire length of the house. The 

 most satisfactory way of operating these 

 ventilating sash is to use the simple but 

 effective apparatus made for this purpose 

 by builders of greenhouses. 



The plant benches may be built entirely 

 of wood, a combination of wood and steel, 

 entirely of cast iron, tile and steel, or steel 

 and slate. The all wood bench is the 

 cheapest; the only advantage in using any 

 other type is in the lasting qualities. The 

 benches should be arranged to hold about 

 six inches of soil. This allows you to plant 

 directly in the beds, just as you would in 

 the garden; or you can omit the soil from 

 the beds and set the plants in pots on the 

 benches. 



Hot water, because of its more uni- 

 form heat and less intensity, has proved 

 the best medium for heating a green- 

 house. The pipes should be placed un- 

 der the plant benches on the sides and 

 connected to a hot water boiler located 

 in the workroom cellar, or in that of any 

 adjoining or nearby building. The size 

 of the pipes should not be less than two 

 inches and may be in- 

 creased to four inches 

 according to climatic con- 

 ditions and the require- 

 ments of the plants. The 

 proper heating of a green- 

 house is most important, 

 as upon this depends, to 

 a great extent, its success. 

 It is- really the province 

 of a greenhouse engineer 

 to arrange this detail. 

 Different plants require 

 different temperatures, 

 but the average is 55 

 degrees to 60 degrees 

 when the thermometer 

 registers zero or below at 

 night, as frequently during 

 bright days the sun fur- 

 nishes all the heat re- 

 quired. 



Houses for growing 

 fruit, large palms, aqua- 

 tics, etc., require special 

 treatment. The green- 

 house manufacturers 

 employ a corps of experts 

 and they are always at the 

 service of any one who 

 contemplates building. 



