My Greenhouse Dream Came True - Timberframe Style

My love for plants came from my Momma. Growing up Momma always had houseplants and we had a veggie garden that we all worked in. We had some flowers in front of the house, but Momma swore she couldn't have anything for us. It either got mowed down, run over by the cars or chewed up by the dog. I was always curious about flowers and trees and bushes that bloom. One of my chores growing up was to water the vines in the house and the flowers in front of the house. I used to love taking care of the plants and I knew every bud, and flower on them. I loved picking bouquets and I was always getting in trouble for taking all the blooms. We used to talk about how fun it would be to have a greenhouse and be able to have all the flowers and veggies you want and a seating area so we could hang out with friends. The fascination with blooms and their smells never left me and I am so thankful that I never gave up on my dream.

My Momma passed away in 2007 so she never got to see my Greenhouse or help me with the plans. I like to think that she would dig it as much as I do. We completed the build of it last May 2017 and I worked on the inside the remainder of the year. This year I will be working on the exterior plantings and taking care of all my plants I will have inside.

Here is how the plan unfolded.
I started out by keeping pictures that had things I liked or would definitely want in my Greenhouse. I would collect quite a few pictures and then I would clean them out. I would go thru and cut things out and tape to the picture or write notes, etc. I did this for nine years. In the end there was one picture I had ripped from Southern Living Magazine 2008 that remained with me until the final stages of planning. It was more of a Dream Garden Room, but this picture was just like I would see my greenhouse in my dreams.

Picture Source

This is the type exterior I wanted but to leave natural.

Picture Source

Once we had picked our Architect for our house I began discussions with him about my dream. I took him the pictures I saved and we began planning. We knew we were going to use timbers from our land for the greenhouse build too, so immediately it made sense to build the greenhouse alongside our house build utilizing the equipment on site and having the timbers cut and delivered at the same time. I gave the Architect a list of must haves:
I wanted to be able to have two large wooden shelves on each side to sit plants and work space. I would like a walk thru the middle big enough to roll a wheelchair thru. My husband and I have both been in wheelchairs and it sucks knowing you can't go somewhere cause you won't fit. I also wanted to have one of the ends open so I could have some chairs or a bistro for a comfy spot to relax. I wanted big windows that slide open and a double door on one end so it is easier to navigate in and out. My Architect was so good to work with. We spent time in the beginning talking about things that we really like and styles and colors. This put him in the right direction for the design phase. The work had already begun to clear some trees for our House. Once the timbers were cut, our excavator graded and stacked each tree according to length and species.

We were able to use White, Red and Chestnut Oak in the build. There was one Sourwood Tree that was used in the Lodge Room and a Black Gum Tree the architect wanted to make a wood mallet out of. The logs were delivered to Streamline Timberframes where they would cut the sideboards, sort by length and stack.

After firming up the windows and what size doors I wanted we ended up with a 16x24 space with Sliding windows all around, a double door in front and single door in the rear. My instructions with the two pictures I provided the Architect were "I want this look pimped out timber frame style". I think He nailed it!

It was time for the magic in the wood shop at Streamline Timberframes. We kept all the sideboards that were cut off the timbers and we were able to use those in our Mud Room, the Barn Door to our Master Bedroom, Downstairs Bar and siding on the inside of the Greenhouse to cover insulation. The guys at Streamline don't mess around. They wrestle those big logs, cutting, whittling, sawing, and spit out a masterpiece.

They cut each piece according to the plan and put it together like a puzzle. They mark each piece and then they disassemble and stack for delivery. The Timber Frame is completely made with wooden pegs. No screws or bolts are used. It should be here a very long time, I hope :)

The Wood Mallet you see in this picture is what they will make out of the gum tree from our property.

My Husband @qberry began grading the spot we chose for the greenhouse and dug the footers. Getting the concrete truck out seemed like weeks, but he doesn't disappoint in his work, so I waited kinda patiently.

Setting the timbers for both builds requires a crane or high lift. We used the white oak that was cut for our house site to complete all of my greenhouse. That was such a great feeling to be able to use those trees for both builds. We also planned to use the sideboards cut from the timbers to panel the inside of the greenhouse. More on that in Part 2.

The main timber frame was up in two days.

Then the snow came and then it melted and more snow came and then it melted and well you know it seemed like a year went by before we got back to work.

As soon as the snow calmed down, the guys were right back at it. This was in January 2017.

I really didn’t deviate from the Plan once our Architect had it on paper. We did add an overhang on the front so it has a little porch and we had to put braces on the roof timbers as a precaution to hold the heavy polycarbonate panels.

Once the window frames were completed the window install went quickly.

We had the stone masons add the same Eldorado Stone we used on our house around the bottom exterior of the Greenhouse.

We had gutters put on and the Hubs (@qberry) ran drainage pipes to the thousand gallon water tank he buried. We plan to to catch and hold enough water for the greenhouse and our garden. He installed me a water hydrant inside and one outside for watering. Eventually we may add some automation for the watering. We had Propane ran to the Greenhouse for heating and Electric ran to the Greenhouse for lights, pump for the water tank and ceiling fans.

I am working on the exterior landscape around the greenhouse this year. I tried vegetables last year in the ground and in pots and the Deer ate me out of house and home. Hoping to have better luck with some herbs and moving some Holly Trees from the woods. I was blessed to be gifted two truck loads of plants, bulbs and flowers. I am already going to be able to divide some of those this year.

If you enjoyed reading about my Greenhouse then Stay tuned for My Greenhouse Dream Came True - Finishing the Inside.

Happy Gardening!
Kimberly