Building a Greenhouse with Zero Experience...What I Learned

In our adventure into self-sustainability and to keep up with our business ventures, we decided that we needed to build a greenhouse. Despite our building skills being very little, we decided to proceed anyways. The reason for this was because, not only will we be able to grow food and medicine and plants for our customers year-round, but we will also be able to build up our knowledge of constructing structures. We always try to learn as many skills as we can on the homestead!

We started by ordering a greenhouse kit online. Now, we live in the southwest desert where wind gusts can exceed 50 mph sometimes, so we needed something sturdy. We found a greenhouse kit online that was wind tested and could withstand winds up to 45 mph. We received the two boxes it came in - one for the polycarbonate panels and the other for all the metal frame that holds it together. We decided that we would build the greenhouse two weeks after receiving it so the whole family could be involved in its construction.

The day finally came to build. It was a Saturday and boy was it windy! But we tried to press on anyways. Our kids were having a water gun fight so Hannah and I (Jason) tried to build it on our own so the kids could continue playing and having fun outside. The construction of the greenhouse was...interesting to say the least. The instructions called for building the front and back walls first and building the side walls last. Unfortunately, that meant that there would be no stability from the wind. We pressed on anyways. We started to build the front wall and one person had to hold it up to brace it from the wind while the other person put the pieces together. All the meanwhile we had to prevent our instructions, polycarbonate panels, and whatever else from flying away. At one point the wind got so bad it actually broke the bottom corner piece of the front wall. After working on this for some time (and failing) we decided to dismantle the project and start again tomorrow.

Sunday comes and we are determined to build this thing. We look at the weather and it's supposed to be clear with a little bit of a breeze but no hard blowing winds. We wake up early, drink our coffee, and prepare to get to work. The first thing we have to do before anything is fix that broken corner. So after a Home Depot run to get a soldering tool, we are ready to get to work. But this time we need all hands on deck. So we recruit the kids to help and also get help from two of our friends that happened to come into town that day. We get started building.

We are more easily able to follow the instructions this time due to the lack of wind. But we still skipped around a bit for stability. Despite the instructions calling for the front and back walls to be built first, we at least added a top frame to the side wall after building the front and before proceeding to the back wall build. This added some stabilization so everything was able to stand on its own. Before our friends arrived we had one kid and one parent working on the construction of the framing metal pieces and the other kid and parent worked on putting those pieces on the actual frame of the greenhouse.

Some projects need the involvement of everyone.

Having friends or neighbors that will help you with things is what makes homesteading possible.

After all was said and done, and we had the side walls built, it was time to construct the roof. We were able to do so but not without complications. We probably constructed then dismantled this roof and almost this entire structure 10 freakin times before we finally got it right! But once the frame was put into place, we were finally able to start sliding the panels in and building our gutter system. We were stoked but definitely burnt out after spending 8+ hours in the sun building this thing. After installing the panels we were able to put the finishing touches on the greenhouse. We were able to install reinforcing metal pieces on the windows and walls. Then we added more support by hammering more legs into the ground for stability. Now we have a beautiful greenhouse with opening windows for ventilation and a locking door! The next step: Putting gravel on the floor of the greenhouse and constructing tables made with cedar wood posts and cinder blocks. Do you want to know the best part? We did this all OURSELVES!!!

Greenhouse Roof Construction 101 with Hannah.

So what did we learn? First off we learned that if it's too windy to construct something, just cut your losses and try again when the wind dies down. We also learned that determination is what will get the job done. It would have been very easy to be disappointed and frustrated that things didn't work out excatly as planned, but we sucked it up and tried again the next day. We learned that instructions can be good and you should follow them to a T, but it is also okay to skip around or modify if it best suits your needs and situation. You should also read, re-read, and re-read AGAIN what the instructions are telling you so you don't have to dismantle your project as much as we did. We learned that some projects must include the entire family and even friends if not deemed a "one-man project." But most importantly, we learned that, depsite the hardship, there is no better feeling than looking at that structure and being able to say, "WE built that!" So never let your frustrations be your downfall and learn from the mistakes you make. In the end, you will thank yourself.

All that hard work paid off and now we have a beautiful greenhouse!

Created: 3/26/25