Green Bug Ltd - Blog from a greenhouse builder

Bristol top

6/10/2024

This was a bespoke build to fit an existing base measuring 3.3m wide by 4.6m long with 5 side opening windows and 4 auto openers in the roof. I also fitted it with removable shelves and a robust potting station. The cold frame had to be custom built to fit a wide base - so I made the lids hinge to the sides so they are easier and lighter to lift and can be left open.

Top for Manchester

3/9/2024

Bristol again - top for an existing base

21/8/2024

My customer employed contractors to build a base for his greenhouse and then got in touch with me to design a top to fit it - with some clear ideas already on what he wanted which always makes things easier.

As it turned out, I was building a greenhouse not far away so I came by with the timber wallplates and bed them down in mortar and then took final measurements. I then carried on building the greenhouse back home and ordered up all the glass.

My greenhouse - one for home

16/8/2024

Finally got around to building a greenhouse at our home, despite already living here for 6 years. The first challenge was trying to level off the ground where we want it. The top right hand corner is virtually level with the ground but it rises by almost 1 metre to the far corner so I chose to build a plinth (which was a useful place to dispose of hardcore at least).

I'm also, slowly, building a walled garden from cheap bricks - they are end of line bricks, and old stock so there's lots of variety in the finished walls, which I enjoy.

The tall wall at the back of the greenhouse is a useful place for me to store materials, and it's where I work out the gable ends for each job.

Back to Bristol

1/8/2024

It's brilliant to see the greenhouse fulland being so well used - I was away from this job for a couple of weeks and it's full of plants on my return. I love the design of this garden where the greenhouse is on a lower level from the rest of the garden. This one is 7m long by 3m wide with a long raised bed on the internal back wall and cold frames to the front. The whole is from Accoya which carries a 50 year guarantee.

"Mark" in rural Manchester

19/7/2024

I'm building the base for a "Mark" greenhouse this week in a very nice location in the outskirts of Manchester. My customers wanted some additions to the standard design - by having one long cold frame along the rear wall instead of two small cold frames by the porch. They also asked for a couple of extra bricks courses to raise the wall height a little.

Stable door greenhouse in Sheffield

28/6/2024

From: Elizabeth
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2024 4:21 PM
To: Robin McGregor <[email protected]>
Subject: A Greenhouse for Elizabeth.

Hi Robin, I hope you had a good journey home. My Greenhouse is Magnificent !!!!! I absolutely Love it. When I came on the road I could see the lovely cresting and the finials. The shelves , potting bench and tray are brilliant and all just the right height. Thank you for all your hard work over the past couple of days especially in the heat. Though probably better that it pouring down like last time. Thanks once again. It is my dream Greenhouse.
Best wishes
From Elizabeth

Rhos on Sea greenhouse

21/6/2024

Delighted to get back to another local job with a week of brilliant sunshine. This is another full accoya greenhouse - even the finials are solid accoya (I hand lathe those from stock timber back at the workshop) together with everything else.

Thanks again for my lovely new greenhouse Robin.
All the best
Robert

Sheffield - base build

31/5/2024

Over to Sheffield this week to build the base for a relatively small greenhouse - but which will be very tall and packed with features. My customer loved the "Greenhouse for Bob" video of another one I built over in Sheffield many years ago and this will be similar.

Digging out the base was tough going - so much rock you couldn't get a spade in at all. I dig out the whole area with a mattock and my hands. So glad it was only a small base. It took me the whole first day of around 9 hours just to lay the foundations.

I built the internal floor level up. I set some edging in wet concrete to retain the path and give the level point then filled with hardcore, sand and terram sheeting to stabilise before laying setts in a dry sharp sand cement mix.

Rhos on Sea, N Wales

23/5/2024

Heavy rain again for most of this week - and the gazeebo once more comes out to save the brickwork. I'm building this one to fit the space of the previous greenhouse after removing the steel base. The whole area had been filled with a fine grit, which my feet kept sinking into. I laid terram sheeting over the whole lot and put a tonne of compacted crusher run down to stabilise the ground before laying a pathway and 20mm gravel. I also added an internal raised bed for tomatoes.