I'm currently in the process of buying a house that has a large garden with an unusual shaped greenhouse. As this will be my first greenhouse, I hope I'm able to find out more about it so that I'll be able to use it to its best advantage.
The greenhouse has a base area of about 10' by 8', and has two sloping sides (the long sides slope inwards towards the top), what looks like a hardboard 'skirt' around the bottom 18", and there is no base. It is currently sited on grass with a big piece of lino laid to kill off the grass and weeds underneath.
Are greenhouses with sloping sides used for any specialist purpose? Or is it designed like that for stability? Do I need to consider a solid base for it?
It is made from aluminium and glass.
I would be grateful for any help.
Thankyou.
Squashboxer

Hi @Squashboxer and welcome to the forum.

Can you post some pictures so we can get a better idea?

Here is a photo of the greenhouse. Thanks for the suggestion, MoonShadows.

Hi @Squashboxer,

Looks like it was just designed that way...not for any special reason that I can think of, unless it adds to the wind resistance. I have seen similar. What I don't like about the sloping walls is you can't plant right up against the walls if you are growing anything of heaith, since it will hit the sloped panels.

Is there a frame under the hardboard? If it was me, I would probably elevate the greenhouse onto some 6 x 6 rot resistant frame...like pressure treated wood rated for ground contact or if you can find a local sawmill, you could see if they have some rot resistant wood like locust. I would also take out the linoleum, and if necessary, dig down 6-8 inches, put down a good quality weed barrier cloth and fill with gravel of your choice. (If you raise it up on a base, there will be minimal digging since you already have an additional 6".) This would help with drainage. If you don't like the gravel, you can always apply some slate or cement walking stones on top of the gravel.

If you raised it up onto a frame, make sure you anchor the frame into the ground. The easiest way to do this is to put 2-3' rebar pieces, 2 in each corner, driven at an angle (either inward toward the greenhouse or the opposite direction from the corners) into the ground. Then, anchor the greenhouse to the ground frame. Angle irons which you can buy in any big box store can be placed every few feet with screws. The greenhouse may seem heavy, but I have seen many greenhouses that have not been anchored blown all over the place.

Hope some of the above is helpful.

Hi MoonShadows

Many thanks to you for your detailed and helpful reply.

That's a great idea to lift it off the ground with treated timbers. I've yet to establish what the wood is around the existing structure and whether it needs replacing. There's going to be a trip or two to the timber yard.

I'll make sure that the structure is secured to the ground too. The garden, though flat itself, is located on the side of a hill, and it may be a windy spot.

I'm excited to be taking on the garden with its distinctive glass house!

Thanks again.

My pleasure. We love pictures here, so make sure you keep us updated with your greenhouse upgrades and plants. Of course, we're always here to help out, too...as much as we can.

It's called a "Dutch light" greenhouse, meaning it has sloped sides. It's is a bit more stable, since it has some characteristics of a triangle. And it admits more light to the outer areas of the floor, with of course a little more difficulty with access. And I think it's "cuter."

But also, (and I think this is really why makers like them) for the same roof size, Dutch walls let the maker call it a larger greenhouse. They always refer to the footprint. Yours would have to be advertised as 8x8 or less if it had vertical sides straight down from the eaves. The difference in the cost of glass is very little, nothing if the roof is a bit lower.

I always worry about winds. I once had a hoop house lift off. We can get some high winds, so my current greenhouse, has a section of utility pole running down that unusable space along the base, and the horizontal members are strapped to it. (Used the tractor to shove them in.) I happened to have the poles anyway. If the wind wants it now, it's going to have to lift 24 feet of very heavy wooden utility pole.

Never heard that term "Dutch Light". Thanks, Gerald. Great anchoring system you have there, too.

Squashboxer said:I'm currently in the process of buying a house that has a large garden with an unusual shaped greenhouse. As this will be my first greenhouse, I hope I'm able to find out more about it so that I'll be able to use it to its best advantage.
The greenhouse has a base area of about 10' by 8', and has two sloping sides (the long sides slope inwards towards the top), what looks like a hardboard 'skirt' around the bottom 18", and there is no base. It is currently sited on grass with a big piece of lino laid to kill off the grass and weeds underneath.
Are greenhouses with sloping sides used for any specialist purpose? Or is it designed like that for stability? Do I need to consider a solid base for it?
It is made from aluminium and glass.
I would be grateful for any help.
Thankyou.
Squashboxer

very interesting to see your ways of growing these plants