Choosing the Right Shape for Your Greenhouse

Written by Lee Wyatt (last updated January 16, 2023)

Have you ever stopped to think about why there are so many different shapes to greenhouses? After all, one shape is pretty much the same as another, right? For the most part yes, but there are a few caveats. Here are a few guidelines that you can use to help you when choosing the right shape for your greenhouse.

  • The purpose. Shape really does have an impact on function, and as such is something that you should keep in mind as you consider your options. For example, if you are trying to get trees started, or want to have several shelves, then you really need to have a shape that will support that.
  • Location. It should go without saying that the location of your greenhouse is going to be important. After all you don't want to place it in a spot that will receive either too much or too little sunshine. Furthermore each style of greenhouse will have a different space requirement as well. Choose the location you want carefully, and keep it in mind as you consider your options.
  • Lean-to. In many ways this particular type of greenhouse is also the easiest one to make, and the most traditional. The reason for this is that this greenhouse is often added on to the an existing building in a lean-to manner, and thereby offering many of the amenities that come with the house to the greenhouse.
  • A-frame. An a-frame greenhouse often looks like nothing more than a smaller house, and is another particularly easy one to build. Often this style and shape of greenhouses can be built in sections working from the ground up, and usually looks rather square in general shape.
  • Span roof. In many ways the span roof greenhouse has the most agricultural look to greenhouses due to them looking like a barn. This particular type of greenhouse is often used to not only help protect plants, and promote their overall growth, but also to help store various gardening tools and items. For example, many of these types of greenhouses will have a larger door so that you can easily push a wheelbarrow, riding mower, or other large piece of equipment in.
  • Gothic Arch. The Gothic Arch greenhouse gets its name from how it looks. The frame of this greenhouse looks almost exactly like the Gothic windows that you can see in cathedrals around the world. This particular type of greenhouse is commonly seen in professional nurseries, and serious armatures that want to have several rows of plants, as well as shelves and hanging plants in the same work space.

Once you have chosen the specific shape that you want for your greenhouse you still need to build it. Make sure that you have complete blueprints or plans, that you have enough space for the building, and that you can actually build it. If you can't build it yourself, then you will need to hire someone to do the work for you.

Author Bio

Lee Wyatt

Contributor of numerous Tips.Net articles, Lee Wyatt is quickly becoming a regular "Jack of all trades." He is currently an independent contractor specializing in writing and editing. Contact him today for all of your writing and editing needs! Click here to contact. ...

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