In the LMB household, one of our favorite things to do is going to flea markets and antique shows. The vendors we meet, the friends we run into, and the atmosphere of the whole experience has us addicted. Countless times we come across standalone windows, stacked up in the corner at a great deal. As you have seen in my previous post, DIY Window Cabinet and DIY Floor Window Cabinet, I like taking old windows and bringing them into the house to be used. For this DIY I decided to build something for the outdoors, and since the warm weather has finally arrived in Michigan, I decided to build a DIY Window Greenhouse. Here is how it turned out.
This has to be the easiest DIY build yet. The hardest part about this project is finding the windows, but once you have a set, the entire project can be done in less than 15 minutes. First screw three of the window together at 90 degree angles, ultimately makes a “U”.
I ripped a 1 x 4 (really 1 x 3 1/2) right in half making it roughly 1 x 1 5/8 (accounting for 1/8 inch blade) I had this in scrap, if I were to buy, a 1 x 2 would be perfect. I used these two strips to help maintain a straight and more sturdy structure and placed them across the opening of the “U”. For the third window, I installed hinges on it and mount it to one of the adjacent windows.
The roof was constructed from some old ceiling tin, that LMB was selling at The Found Cottage. No cuts were needed for the tin, to form the roof, place a 1 x 4 piece of lumber over top of the tin, step on the wood and bent over the tin to make a nice straight crease for the peek of my roof.
The roof was mounted to the windows by installing little roof truss’s on the inside of the greenhouse. Rather than cutting angles, I decide to drill a single screw on the center of the board, to act as a pivot point for the strips of wood. At the base of the strips of wood, anchor the make-shift truss’s by screwing them into the windows. Place the tin over the truss’s and pre-drilled 4 holes on the tin to allow for the screw to go through and hit the truss. Just like that your done, paint any new wood to color and put your plant inside.
Tools.
Drill
Drill Bits
Measuring Tape
Miter Saw (or hacksaw)
Materials.
4 windows close in size
Hinges
Screws
(1) 1 x 2 @ 10
That’s all it took to make this DIY Window Greenhouse, really easy and really simple. An idea I have for this green house, to change it up down the road, would be to install chicken wire in the roof truss gap. I would like to grow a vine type plant and let it grow up and out of the top, but that will be for another post. Be sure to head over to LMB to see how she styled it and If you have spare windows, that are similar in size, give this try and share how yours turned out. Find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Thanks.
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