Building A Low-Cost Greenhouse With Recycled Materials | Great Home Ideas

Have you got a thriving yet tired little greenhouse? Nothing that a little bit of TLC won't fix. Hey Charlie, when did the figs start growing on these things, man? It's going to be a long day. How good is this? These old casement windows. I'm in vintage heaven. Sure, it's a bit run down, but I reckon this greenhouse has got bags of potential. You talking about me again? I am. What have you got planned for me? Look, we've got a bit of a greenhouse reno. All these shady plants, they're doing really well, but take a look at it. We can do better than this, can't we? Yeah, definitely. And it's about using things that you might have in your shed, underneath the house, or even finding on the side of the road. Like this owner has here, the treasures are amazing. Yeah, look, some people call it hoarding, but you can find some absolute gems. And the best part is it's going to cost you next to nothing. Come on, let's get all of this out so we can see what we're working with. So Ads, what I want to do with this space is it's got to be functional and practical, mainly because it's a greenhouse, but it needs to look beautiful as well. Yeah, definitely. Well, it's a great size. So with everything cleared out, it's fantastic. So what's your idea about, like, what do you want to do up here? Well, this frame's probably all right. Can we get a bit more height out of it though? Yeah, so pitched roof going all the way through, working off this gale pipe, and then I can work in between these panels and maybe incorporate those old treasures that I found, the old windows, the old doors, keeping that rustic feel. So we can get rid of the nasty old lattice. But what I really want to do at this end is make it more like a conservatory. So we've got a bit of shade and a bit of sun. Love it. Do it all in glass, but we could have a sink and maybe a potting bench as well. It'd be great. So organisation's key. Organisation, practicality, but still looking beautiful. Yeah. Like yourself. Like us, yeah. I like that. With this area cleared out, you can really see what we're working with, and it's a great size. I'm lucky enough to have this sleeper that runs the whole length of our greenhouse. So I've just put a post bracket in, and I'll slip the post into that and fix it off. Then for the wall frames, I'm going to be making them up in prefab sections. So what have we pulled out of the greenhouse? Well, we've actually got a real bounty of plants. This is what I love about gardening, growing things that you like that are personal to you. Take this. We've got a Calathea here. We've even got some Tillandsia, some ferns, some philodendrons. Whether you've got a greenhouse or not, now is the perfect time to give your plants a bit of a health check. The weather's a little bit cooler, so it takes the whole stress of the heat out of the process. For us, it's our potted plants, but I'm just going to nip off the dying leaves and take out the old flower spikes. I've got some seaweed solution. I'm just going to dunk each plant in there until the air bubbles disappear. It's just going to promote some more growth. Now, to save a bit of money, I'm making my own potting mix, but that's not the only reason I'm doing it. These plants like quite a free-draining soil, so it's allowed me to put some perlite and some gritted sand in there. Just mix that up with some coir, and it's good to go. Now, because I've used off cuts of timber that I found in the shed, not all the pieces are the same, but Charlie, I reckon it adds to the look. Exactly. The thing I like the most is we've gained a bit of extra space as well. This is the exciting bit. The hidden treasures get to go in. Just better fit. No pressure. Oh, mate. Perfect. You know what the best part about using second-hand material is? You can either get it for dirt cheap, or if you're lucky, you can pick it up for free, but I think it just adds instant character. Yeah, it's awesome. I love the glass, because you know how we're having this whole end as a conservatory? It's just going to make it so much more practical. Delicate plants can go in, but also it's going to extend the growing season, so your tomatoes and zucchinis, they can be bought on at the end of winter. All right, let's screw it off, mate. My laser eyes are telling me it's perfect. This is the best-looking window we've got. That's the lightest one too, isn't it? It is the lightest, and that is why I'm going to leave you with it. Cheers, mate. Beautiful. This is a beauty. Look at it. Look at that. It's like a glitter. And to add to that character, I've got these old recycled boards that I'm going to be putting on to clad the whole outside. I think Charlie will be happy with this. It's all coming together. Rather than totally enclose our greenhouse, I thought it'd be nice to have a spot for the hanging plants. So I found this at the hardware store, cut the legs off and put some hinges on it. That's going to allow us to hang our pots on it. Not only is that going to look great, but the benefit is when it opens and closes, it's going to let air and light into the greenhouse. With the walls taking shape, we're ready to start on this roof. And the first thing I'm putting up is the ridge. Now, I want to get some height in this greenhouse, so I'm making my center point 700 high. Then I'll attach my rafters to the ridge and run them back to the wall. Once I've got the first one cut, I'll just repeat the same length all the way down. Remember, Charlie said this is the conservatory end, and that's why we've put these beautiful windows and doors, which will keep the plants happy. And to really close it up, but to still allow the light to filter through, we're just putting up this white polycarbonate sheeting. Oh, Charlie! Gonna have a toga party, but I figured we should probably reuse it. King Charlie! You like it? You're all wrapped up, ready to go. Okay. Let's do it. Well, that's the structure up, Charles. Yeah, now it's time to get on the inside and add a bit more character. You know, every good greenhouse needs a sink for potting up and washing up, and this is perfect, but... Wow! I'm feeling strong. It looks heavy. I'll tell you what, the owner here, they have done well. They've picked up some beauties. This is one for the team. That's a golden fine, and it's going to be perfect for our greenhouse. We want to use it to create a potting station, which means we need some more bench space. For that, I'm going to be using this tree-to-pine plinth to create a table, which is going to butt up against our tub. So, these are my two sides. Now, to join them together, I'll use the shorter bits to go in between, and then the longer bits will go on top. Look at that. All done. Now, just give it a lick of paint, and we're ready to put it in place. Whilst we're at it, I'm going to paint this old shed in a nice antique white. That's going to give the whole greenhouse a nice fresh look. And a touch of minty green for the doors. Ah, that's it. Clean it away. Scrub, scrub, scrub. Yes, yes. Are you done yet, or what? Yes, look at this. You wanted some bench space. Nice. You like it? But that's not all. There is more. A drop-in insert. That way, we could store potting mix in here. We can use this for potting up, for propagation seeds, even cleaning tools, something like that. It's perfect. Yeah, fantastic. And we've got the water, which is lovely jubbly. Because we're planting in the greenhouse, we don't have any soil, so we've got to use pots. We've got a fantastic eclectic mix that have come out of our old greenhouse. Take a look at these old copper ones. They're great. Now, some of them I'm going to leave in their natural patina colour, because I like them. That matte finish looks really nice. But I want to clean some up as well, so we've got a nice contrast. The easiest way to do it is with cleaning vinegar. Now, take a look at this. This one's been soaking. Look at that. Easy. I'll just rotate it, and that will clean the other half. Now, we've also got this brass pot that I've started cleaning up. It was a really dull matte finish, and I want a shiny luster to it. So we start with a polishing wheel. We just put some polish on the wheel, and then you apply it to the side of the pot. Once you've cleaned a lot of that off, you just swap over to the buffing wheel. I'll try it a little bit. Then you apply this to give it a really nice shine. Well, that can take a little while, so I will come back to it. But what if you don't have any antiques? Well, you can cheat the look with some new pots. All you need is a can of spray-on copper. Now, I always suggest a dark pot over the top, and don't completely saturate it. You just want to give the idea that the copper's there. Sometimes it's the smallest treasures that can have the biggest impact, like this gorgeous lead light window. I think it's going to be the hidden gem in this greenhouse. Some silicon and a timber bead will hold the paint in place. Now, that is gorgeous. That's got vintage class written all over it. Oh, perfect. That's what I've been looking for. They look good, don't they? No, you need this pedestal. Look at this. But to save me from cleaning this, can we just throw soil in it and pot it up? A planter ready to go. Perfect, mate. Do you want to do some potting or not? I'll give it a red hot crack. I don't know what's going to happen, but... It's as simple as that. Don't forget to tickle the root. Mate, you've been listening. I have been listening, Charlie. You see, you're tickling... I take this job very seriously. Oh, my love, my darling, I love you. So we've got everything potted up. We've got character inside and out. The only thing left to do is bring this jungle to life. All right, guys, in we go. Come on, let's green this up. All right, don't yell at me if I get the position wrong. You just bring them in, lads. OK. I'll place them, you bring them in. What started out as a jungle of plants in a rundown old greenhouse has really taken on a whole new character. And I think the plants are going to love it. Making it up as you go. Oh, there's a method to your madness. I'll let you in on a little secret. Here we go. You just make it up as you go along. As long as everything's got space to grow up, you can't go wrong. Beautiful. I like it. Now, these plants are going to be much happier in this stand. They've got airflow, they've got water, and they've got space to thrive. The plants for our hanging frame are a combination of ripsalis and monstera. It just gives us this lovely green wall of texture. And like I said before, when you open it up, you can give them as much sun as they need. I think that looks pretty nice. Well, lads, things are coming together nicely, but these windows have got a little bit too much character, if you know what I mean. Ah, mate, some TLC will fix that. You going to throw that out? You betcha. Good scrubber, boy. I know. You warmed it for me. Someone could have cleaned it before we put them in. Oh, that would have been good thinking. Oh, Charlie, that is squeaky clean, mate. Looking much better, isn't it? All right, now just another 50-odd to go. I'll leave that with you, brother. I'm happy that you actually used the aerated soil in this one. Well, I know you've got some muscles, mate, so it's all right. This came up great. Oh, it's better than cleaning it, that's for sure. It is, mate, it is. This little ripper, oh, look at that. It's going to climb up here, catch on to this, climb across the top and just add to that jungle feel, which is pretty cool. That is cool. Here we go. Let's start it off. Very nice. Any idea what this plant's called? Yeah, it's a copper pot. Good plant. I've got no idea. Philodendron rojo conga. Yeah, I like it. That's beautiful. Look at this, the organised jungle. Oh, it's good, isn't it? Yeah, it's beautiful, mate. It's amazing, though, that like 90% of this was already here. Yeah. Recycled heaven. Yeah, that's right, and it's recycled. I mean, you can either get it for next to nothing or even free, if you're lucky. Yeah, it's great. My favourite part, though, is that potting bench. Yeah. It's got everything you need. It's perfect for a greenhouse. And this existing structure was here. We've just raised the roof. It feels much bigger. We've got more plants than we had before, but it feels like we've got less, because everything's got space. It's got, you know, room to grow, room to improve. Yeah. It's amazing. It is. It's shabby, it's chic, it's vintage, it's antique, it's everything I'm not. But it is charming. Yeah, that's perfect.