DIY Greenhouse Building Guide

Building a do-it-yourself greenhouse is actually quite a simple task and if you are a keen DIY enthusiast, you will find that adding a new greenhouse to your home is relatively easy and not as daunting as it may seem at first glance.

The following is designed to provide a general guide to the process of setting up a new DIY conservatory, and while it is not intended to be a detailed construction guide, it should give you the basics.

1) CONSERVATORY BASE

You have two options regarding the type of greenhouse base. You can select a traditional excavated base or you can use a prefabricated steel base which will speed up the installation process.

traditional basis

If you choose the traditional foundation route, you may prefer to hire a local builder to build the foundation for you, as the accuracy of the brickwork is vital to ensuring that your new greenhouse can be installed easily and efficiently. Your DIY greenhouse supplier will provide you with basic plans to suit your selected greenhouse and the foundation must be built exactly to these plans. Using an experienced builder to build the foundation should ensure that the foundation is built square, to the correct dimensions, and that the foundation is properly excavated. If drains need to be rerouted, your builder will have the experience to do it for you during the course of construction. Always agree on the cost before work begins, and be sure to check the foundation yourself when the builder is done to make sure you’re happy with the end result. It can be difficult to get a builder back on site once he has moved on to his next job and any discrepancies in the brickwork could cause problems during greenhouse installation.

You can of course build the traditional foundation yourself and many of our customers have done it, but it is very time consuming and very hard work so the savings you will get here by doing it yourself will need to be justified against the amount of time it takes. he has to do the work and his experience in building the foundations and laying the bricks.

steel base

Installing a prefabricated steel base is much quicker and easier than building a traditional base, as there is no extensive excavation required, so there is minimal disruption to the garden and no drains need to be moved. These bases are usually made to order, delivered in kit form, and are fairly easy to set up by two people over a couple of days or so. If your conservatory has dwarf walls these will normally be delivered as steel cassettes with a variety of external finishes including brick tiles or alternatively delivered ready to plaster. The base itself is fixed to the wall of the house and sits on adjustable legs that sit on concrete pads, making it much easier to level the floor, which is normally supplied with insulation and often comes complete with flooring. . A steel foundation can be a cost-effective alternative foundation for your new self-build conservatory, especially when you compare construction times and the fact that there are few interruptions to your garden. Once completed, these factory built greenhouse foundations are often very difficult to tell apart from a traditional built foundation. You could even take the conservatory with you when you move house!

2) INSTALLING YOUR NEW DIY CONSERVATORY

Most DIY conservatories are supplied complete with installation instructions which are designed for the novice installer and will cover fixing the conservatory walls, installing the conservatory ceiling and glazing the conservatory structure.

Generally speaking, these instructions will guide you through repairing the French Door, Welded Sill, Greenhouse Windows, Corner Posts, and Greenhouse Roof. The most important factor to continually check when installing a greenhouse is to ensure that the frames and sill remain plumb and level throughout construction. All screw fixings and their positions must be in accordance with the guidelines provided by the supplier of the DIY conservatory.

The roof structure will include an eaves beam that will sit on top of the window and door frames, a ridge beam or wall plate that will attach to the wall of your home, and glazing bars that will connect between the ridge or the wall plate and the eave joist. All components should be supplied factory cut, marked and pre-drilled ready to fit and aside from trimming the gutters to size, you should not need to cut any of the roof components. The roof layout plan will allow you to identify which component and which glazing panel should be installed in which position. Where the conservatory meets the house, you’ll need to install lead flashing to form a weather-resistant seal.

3) COMPLETION OF THE INSTALLATION OF THE GREENHOUSE

With the greenhouse walls and roof installed, your next task is to glaze the roof. If you have chosen polycarbonate roof glazing, this is a relatively simple task and involves snapping the glazing into place and tapping the PVCu covers to form a tight seal. The roof plan will indicate the required position of each panel. If you have chosen a glass roof, the process will take longer due to the additional weight and the nature of the material.

Inexpensive DIY conservatories can be supplied with factory glazed windows and doors, but bespoke conservatories are usually supplied with unglazed windows and doors. Not only does this help to ensure that the glass does not break during the installation process, but the windows are usually delivered for much longer to provide thinner visibility and there could be health and safety issues if the frames were supplied glazed due to to the considerable weight of a glass. window.

Most windows and doors are now internally beaded using a “knock-in” glazing bead and the glazing process should become relatively easy once you’ve glazed a couple of openings. Glaze packers are used to hold and pack the glass so that it is square in the opening and the glaze trim is tapped into place with a rubber mallet. If you are glazing during cold weather, it is a good idea to soak the glass trim in warm water, which will help make the trim more flexible and easier to apply. Your installation guide will detail the exact process used.

Finally, silicone sealant will need to be applied to all joints according to your installation guide and PVCu internal trim will need to be installed on the roof eave joist, ridge joist and glazing bars.

Your new self-built conservatory should now be structurally complete and watertight, ready for the final internal touches.

You will find much more information on installing a DIY winter garden by visiting our website.