How to Build a Greenhouse Using Second Hand Windows- A Tutorial

Today, many people's standard response when they need something new is to go to the store or go online and buy it. And you can buy cheap, junky greenhouses made out of plastic that will fall apart in a matter of a year or a couple of years. So today I'm really excited for John at Old Reading Farm to show you how to build a greenhouse out of doors and windows that were being thrown away. Being able to build a greenhouse nearly for free or for free that's sustainable and will last a really long time to help you grow more of your own food. Here he is. What's up everybody? My name is John and I'm from Old Reading Farm. I live here in southwestern Connecticut with my wife Catherine, our two dogs Pepper and Peanut, our five alpacas Mocha, Marshmallow, Pumpkin, Linda, and Macy, as well as our flock of chickens and a few honeybees. And today I'm here to show you a little bit about how we built this beautiful greenhouse. It sits right on the edge of an old stone patio that we have. It is a 12 foot square, mostly. You know, I am not an expert at anything, so I did my best to make sure this was as square and even as possible, but sometimes I can't do that. So all of the windows that you see along the walls here are recycled. We didn't purchase any of these brand new. We were able to source a lot of it online through either Craigslist Free or the Facebook Marketplace. Our local Buy Nothing group had them also. In fact, the only windows we actually paid for were these stained glass ones on the front, and those are actually reclaimed from a church in Texas that was being torn down for some reason. So we purchased all of the lumber and the things used to frame everything out. This is all 2x4s and 4x4s because we wanted to make sure that the structure was sound. You know, windows don't provide any structural integrity, so we had to make sure that the whole skeleton surrounding it was strong enough to support the weight. And we also used Tuftex corrugated plastic roofing for the roof. Again, we thought about using windows or even recycled greenhouse glass, but because we live in an area with such high concentration of trees and because we need to support a snow load, we decided to go with something that was designed specifically for greenhouse roofs. So we built the frame around our three biggest windows. This one right here, which is made up of three, is almost eight feet long. So we have 4x4 posts on either side right here and right here, and then there's another corner post over here. But so that way the weight of the roof, and if we have a snow load on there, gets transferred to the 4x4 posts instead of actually sitting on the windows. Like I said, windows have no structural integrity, so it's important to support everything as opposed to just having a bunch of windows sitting on top of each other. So when we put this all together, the first thing we did was put in our large windows. We have three windows, all approximately the same size, on all three sides. And then we took a 2x4 and we got it in here along with the cripple stud right here, which again, it just takes the weight away from the window and puts it on these two 2x4s. And then on top of this 2x4, we have, let's see, one, two, three, four windows sitting on top of here. And we really just had to play a game of Tetris to just see which ones fit where. And there were several instances where we had to add things, like this is just a 2x4 that we added to block the gap. But once we got the window sitting on top of this 2x4, we would use thinner strips of a 2x4 to secure them in place. That also just serves as a means of closing the air gap, because when you have a greenhouse like this, it's really important to keep all the warm air in. Because what happens is the sun will heat the air inside the greenhouse during the day, but if it's all drafty, you're going to lose it all. So our goal was to make sure this was as airtight as possible. They are old windows, so that's not always a feat that's easy to achieve, but that's why we have these little blocks here, these little furring strips, to kind of cut the airflow. And as far as sealing up the roof goes, there's these little foam pieces that fit right in the ridges there. And again, that just seals everything up so that no air escapes, and you save all your hot air. So the whole reason why we wanted to build this greenhouse is because we live in southwestern Connecticut, which is zone 6b. It's a relatively short growing season, so we wanted a chance to be able to start our seeds early, especially things like tomatoes and peppers. And we wanted to also just kind of extend our growing season. It also afforded us the opportunity to build a lot more growing space, because we ended up planting a lot more seeds than we had room to actually sow. But, you know, we'd rather grow food over lawns any day, so we'll take it. So overall it took us probably about eight months to build this thing from start to finish, and that includes picking up all the windows, which was the the most time-consuming part. Just because, you know, we weren't buying it, so we just had to wait until the opportunity presented itself. And then, I'm sure some of you know, if you're on the free Craigslist section, some things are only up there for a few minutes, and you have to nab it as soon as possible. So we were on there, you know, checking a few times a day and sending messages as soon as we possibly can. And we actually started building this in November of 2019, because in October of 2019 we were getting our alpacas, so the first thing we had to do was build our alpaca barn, yada yada yada. So it was a little bit tough, because we had to build this thing in the winter months, and there was a lot of time when we had some trouble with ice, and in general it was just kind of cold, and sometimes it was just really miserable to be out here. But, you know, we wanted to make sure we had it ready for February so that we could start our seeds, so that was a good motivation. So about eight months time, including the time to procure all the windows, and then three or four months to build. So again, this is a 12 by 12 structure, and I think we had about 35 windows. So it really all depends on what sizes you get. We were really lucky. The largest windows actually came from a local contractor who was remodeling a house. We were just driving by, saw there was a bunch of windows in the dumpster, and we did not just jump right in. That's dangerous and unadvisable. We actually saw that the house was for sale, so we called the realtor. The realtor hooked us up with the for us, which was really nice because they are giant and heavy. But so again, so it's 12 by 12, and it really suits our purpose well. If you're planning out your own greenhouse, I would suggest remembering to plan for the tables. They actually take up a good amount of space in here, and you're going to want to have easy to use working space. All in all, I am really proud of this greenhouse. I'm super happy with how it came out. I think it looks great. It makes me feel nice to have taken a bunch of stuff out of the landfill. Super glad we were able to use a bunch of recycled materials, and I hope this inspires you to build one of your own. If you feel like you'd like to try to build your own greenhouse made out of recycled windows, I totally encourage you to do it. I am not a carpenter. I'm actually a graphic designer, and I have a full-time job. We built this in our free time over the weekends, and honestly, I learned a lot doing it. There's a lot of information out there on how to build these types of things, whether it's, you know, recycled materials or not, and only good things can happen by trying. That's how you learn. I hope that you found John's example as inspiring as I did. I know the first time that I ever heard of the concept of building a greenhouse out of windows and doors that were being thrown away, I was pretty excited about it. So, I hope that many of you will actually put this into action and use it to grow more food. Now, if you are inspired, make sure to subscribe to John's channel. The links are in the description to follow him, and make sure to subscribe to this channel where there are many more educational and inspirational videos to come, and if you want this video to get out into the world, make sure to like, comment, and share it with people. I love you all very much, and I'll see you again real soon.