Yes, you can and here is a great way to recycle the old style windows.
The following is a basic guide on how to make a greenhouse out of windows.
What You Will Need
1- Plan to collect two pair of equal sides of windows.
Look around for some old windows and save all of them that you can. Whenever you have a lot, lay them down and then try to match both sides with the same size windows. If you have holes of about 2 or 3 inches then don’t worry about it, you can easily cover it with some wood. If you have smaller holes they can easily be replaced with smaller cuts of glass or either you can fill them with something else. Make sure that on one side you leave a space to put the door. And one of the other side for a fan.
2- Shape the frame
With the windows you have, create a guide and construct the frame for each of the four walls. Always just some decent wood for this. This is what will hold all of the weight from the windows. A good idea is to use some 2 by 4s for the studs and some 4 by 4s for the posts on the corner. Use a length that will let 14” of the stud to be inside the ground to support all of the weight.
3- Brace the walls
To brace the walls, you need to start putting up the walls. Be sure you are bracing them well enough so that they will not tip over. Make sure they are level also.
4- Secure the foundation
Just so you can advert those silly building permits that may be needed, think about building the foundation low enough and the shed height too, so that you do not need to pour any concrete. One idea that you could use is to use some cinder blocks to help secure the 4 by 4 posts.
5- Place the windows on
To place the windows to the frame, use some deck screws. This will let the removal and replacement be easy if it is needed.
6- Make the floor
Use some rocks or stones for the floor. They are good a draining and storing heat.
7- Construct the roof
When trying to make a greenhouse out of some old windows, make sure you are using some lightweight and waterproof material. Always keep in mind that you need to have open ventilation and to build with a slanted roof at 4 degrees. If you do not, then the rain will not come down properly.
8- Adding the shelf and the fan
Use something like a bench table and an old fan for this.
9- Paint and caulk the greenhouse
When you are ready to caulk your greenhouse, you need to make sure that you use outdoor caulk. Seal the holes and crack that are between the windows. You would next, paint the wood. This is protecting it from mother nature.
Any more detail on this, like a plan? All of the action steps here are mostly unquantified. As nice as the drawings are, “do this” doesn’t tell someone how or what parts they need or what proportions they should use to “do this”.
I am building a similar project. Its important to know that each greenhouse will be different because of the variety of windows obtained. It is impossible to give exact dimensions because of that fact.
We are about to do this. Been collecting the jigsaw of glass and doors. Best advice I read was to not work to an o itial specified size but work to the available glass… Matching two sides in size… But am wondering about foundation… Anyone use the cinder lock method? Concerned about rotting as you use as lot of water on there… Any advice?
We have windows but they are all different sizes. We are building a 10×8 with a cinder block foundation filled with cement to anchor it. Any suggestions on using windows that are ALl different sizes? We start tomorrow.
I am doing this right now I would just use a sheet of twin wall whenever you have areas that you don’t have windows. For the foundation I stacked stone with mortar but I set 1/2 inch bolts in concrete every 4 feet to tie it down since we have microbursts where I live. It’s annoying to use both mortar and concrete but worth it. You don’t want to use concrete as mortar or it will ruin the stone.
This is great. Wondering if we can use the double sealed glass without the frame.
Any more detail on this, like a plan? All of the action steps here are mostly unquantified. As nice as the drawings are, “do this” doesn’t tell someone how or what parts they need or what proportions they should use to “do this”.
That’s because it depends on the size of the windows you’re getting…
I am building a similar project. Its important to know that each greenhouse will be different because of the variety of windows obtained. It is impossible to give exact dimensions because of that fact.
We are about to do this. Been collecting the jigsaw of glass and doors. Best advice I read was to not work to an o itial specified size but work to the available glass… Matching two sides in size… But am wondering about foundation… Anyone use the cinder lock method? Concerned about rotting as you use as lot of water on there… Any advice?
We have windows but they are all different sizes. We are building a 10×8 with a cinder block foundation filled with cement to anchor it. Any suggestions on using windows that are ALl different sizes? We start tomorrow.
I am doing this right now I would just use a sheet of twin wall whenever you have areas that you don’t have windows. For the foundation I stacked stone with mortar but I set 1/2 inch bolts in concrete every 4 feet to tie it down since we have microbursts where I live. It’s annoying to use both mortar and concrete but worth it. You don’t want to use concrete as mortar or it will ruin the stone.
Can some of you guys post pictures of your greenhouse?
Do you have electricity going to your greenhouse? What powers your fan?