I might be moving up north from florida and hate to think about no more citrus. I was looking into greenhouses and got an email from Costco, on a Rion 8' x 16' Prestige Garden House 8' Of Overall Head Room Inside Garden House $3,699.99 (with delivery and instal). Is this worth it or is there a better/cheaper way. I don't mind the money if this is a good idea. I'll be moving to Pa. The costco link is below. I just don't know if this is more for show type of green house or a good product or is there a better product. I could build one, but the wife agreed to a greenhouse on the condition that it looks nice to go with the house. I'm not the best builder so she's afraid of having something I build in plain sight I guess.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11192673&cm_mmc=BCEmail_192a-_-Outdoor-_-21-_-RionPrestigeGardenHouse_BCEmail_192a

I've been in the greenhouse business most all my adult life. A greenhouse that is only 8 ft. high will be very hard to cool, even with all the vents open. The reason commercial greenhouses are 16 - 20 feet in height is to provide a cool atmosphere at plant level. You will additionally have to provide a heating system, electricity and exhaust ventilation. Lastly, automatic vent openers (temperature controlled) probably cannot be adjusted to allow you to set a desired maximum or minimum greenhouse temperature.

Millet
Carl Linnaeus 1707 - 1778
300th Anniversary of his birth

Obviously you need to address several concerns. The most important concerns are whatever your wife believes is a concern! I went thru this same phase a few years back. The eyesore factor should definitely be a huge consideration. What you are trying to grow and accomplish. Your zone..PA is like Ohio where I am...damn cold in winter and hot in summer. Budget...figure the largest structure you really want, then add to it. I guarantee you that if you believe an 8'x16' greenhouse will suit your needs, you will regret the decision before you are finished with the construction. Go as big as your budget will allow. Don't forget to factor in costs such as the items Millet mentioned in his post. They add up. I agree with Millet as well that you need a higher ceiling.

My wife, God bless her, was very indulgent of my wants and needs for this project. It was her that finally suggested to raise the budget to make the greenhouse not only functional for my needs, but pleasing to the eye as well. There are some nice "kits" so to speak out there..some will even customize things for you. Being in Ohio, I felt that a plain old greenhouse type structure would not be good enough for our winters. I went with a glass sunroom attached to our home instead. Double pane, insulated glass. Very tight construction, solid.

Believe me, I know money is a huge factor here. However, adding some more to the budget can get you your greenhouse as well as something that looks very nice with your home. My only regret? I COULDN'T GO BIGGER!!!!

Be careful with wife's involvement.

Well, I always wanted a sunroom made of glass, to house some of the pricey bananas, and with the wife's suggestions, it has turned into 2 room extensions but with oversized windows overlooking the garden instead!

The total project cost quadrupled from the original simple sunroom estimates.

I still brought in my potted clemenules every winter and that is the only compromise that I get...

Thanks, I'll look into something else. I saw the other postings on 10x12 foot cheaper greenhouse and that looked interesting. I wont be able to get past the eyesore factor but she doesn't care as long as it isn't homemade. I dont have a house up north yet so really can't be sure how big I can go, but I think it makes sense to buy as big as I can afford/fit. I thought that one I mentioned might just be a show house and not practicle. If you all have any websites to direct me to for purchasing whole(or parts to build). I could get away with a house I but together, I am just not allowed to build one from scratch (wood building). I'll probably be on this forum more once I switch over to greenhouses and potted citrus. Hard to think of not being in Florida!

Knepper3, my own personal opinion is that I would never buy a greenhouse kit. I built a 3 season sunroom addition on back of my house ...looks like a room addition, even siding matches. I bought everything on sale. It cost about $7,000. dbl insulated windows open in summer & I have ceiling fan. Rm is 16 X 18 ft & 12 1/2 ft ceiling with skylites & very large south facing windows. To heat it, I open thr Fr. doors leading to it from kitchen so it gets house heat. In the long run, it is cheaper to spend more on the room & save $$ on heating it. Floors, walls, & ceiling are well insulated. There are times I add extra lighting depending on where sun is. Wish I had more/ bigger skylites though. BTW, I also put plants outside in summer so I can use the extra space to lounge, or have a party.

Millet
I understand completely what you are saying about the problem of cooling a greenhouse. Everything that I have read tells me that you are dead on when making this point but I have a question and as always would appreciate your advice. Let me first identify what I would like to do.
Location
My best location is on the south side of my shop and I would like to build a “lean to” structure behind it that where it would receive good winter sunlight from the south. The slant roof would be 10’ at the side of the shop sloping down to 8’ at the end. The greenhouse would be 12’wide x 24’ long and located at the south west end of the shop.
Usage
What I would like to do with the greenhouse is grow vegetables in the winter and protect citrus and tropical during the winter. Also I would like to germinate and start plants for planting in the garden in the spring. I do not plan to grow anything in the lean to during the summer months.
I would like to use “metal roofing” for the top of the house and have 8’ tall polycarbonate or poly sheeting on the walls. This would give me a lot of area for sunlight to enter but is it enough? I am counting on the winter sun being low on the horizon anyway.
I got this idea from Atlas Greenhouses. They only ship there greenhouses with clear Poly film if requested. The sides and top of their greenhouses are sold with white Poly which blocks over 50 percent of the sun. The ends are shipped with clear Poly
Here is the link http://www.hobbygreenhousekits.com/easygrow.html

Karl, sounds like my first greenhouse. I built a lean to greenhouse on the south side of a garage. My first greenhouse was 12 feet wide and 24 feet long. The roof was solid and well insulated which helped greatly to keep the structure cooler during the summer and warmer in the winter. By putting vents (every 4 feet) at the bottom of the south facing glazing, and exit vents on the roof an up draft of cool air comes into the greenhouse and the hot air exists out the top. I also added a mechanical exhaust fan that was used during high temperature days. Because Colorado is very cold during the winter months, I made the east and west ends solid and insulated. Against the back wall of the greenhouse I stacked black 15 gallon plastic carboys filled with water, which absorbed the winter sun, and gave off heat to the plants during the night. I also purchased 2 inch thick polyurethane double silver sided insulation foam boards which I laid against the glazing at night and removed in the morning to retain the heat. The heat bill, even in Colorado, was almost nothing. Everything inside the greenhouse except, the carboys of water, was painted white to reflect light to the plants. Lastly, there is a proper angle to set the glazing depending on the greenhouse's latitude in order to obtain the maximum light during the winter months. You might be able to find this information on the Internet, under a heading relating to solar greenhouses. - Millet

Thanks Millet
My original idea was to put clear polycarbonate sheeting on the roof but I do believe that would have created a solar furnace.
The roof will have 8 metal sheets so maybe replacing two of them with clear skylight sheets would help. They could be easily covered during the summer.
Karl

Millet and Karl:
I am very much following your conversation and I am jotting, saving the info you two said. I have a plan to build one but not a greenhouse but just top cover same thing 12 x 24 just to protect my plants and bananas from the elements. Anyway itis just a plan. I am studying the aesthetic form because my wife has to approve it first.
The one that I have now she did not like because they are just temporary shelter for my plants during winter time.
The one I have in mind is more or less permanent.

Benny, I believe that the only thing that the wife will approve is a glass house or a sunroom. So be prepared to shell out about $15K for the area that I saw last time. But if you do it yourself, you can scout for cheap glass house kits and assemble it yourself, price could be less than half.

Joe:
I think you are right but where can I get or find something like that assemble yourself. I don't mind. I have 3 helpers who are willing to help.

Benny
You may want to consider Skeeter’s idea of using used patio sliding glass doors. I believe that he found four of them at a bargain and used them as a wall. I think this is a great idea since you can just open the doors for ventilation. They should make a decent looking greenhouse
I have only been able to find one door so far, but Skeeter is helping me on my shopping techniques.
Karl

Thanks Karl.
I will be looking at all the angles.