Some people buy a summer house in order to relax in nature or to do landscape design, while others - to grow organic vegetables and fruits for themselves or for sale. To receive a crop year round, build greenhouses. However, it happens that the site is too small to accommodate even a small greenhouse structure. You can get out of this situation by hoisting it on the roof of the house. This option is suitable even for owners of private houses or garages in the city.

Roof greenhouse

It is recommended to erect a roof greenhouse for several reasons:

1. To save space on the site.
2. In the absence of a suitable site in the territory or with a shortage of space.
3. To embody an interesting architectural solution.

Such buildings can be used without heating, insulation, automatic irrigation and with minimal modernization of the roof for growing seedlings and use in the spring-summer period. If you plan to use the greenhouse in winter, then you need to seriously approach the installation and cladding of the frame, heat and moisture insulation, equipment with high-quality ventilation, automatic watering and a convenient entrance. If you are tempted to build a greenhouse or a greenhouse on the roof of a house or an outbuilding (garage, bathhouse), then you need to know all the advantages and disadvantages of such an undertaking.

Did you know? In the county of Cornwall (Great Britain), the world's largest greenhouse building with an area of ​​22 thousand m² was built. There are 2 rooms and several domes with different climatic zones. The greenhouse holds about 1 million crops growing around the world.

Benefits

• The benefits include:
• Saving materials and funds for the construction and conduct of communications for the supply of water and light, ventilation.
• Increase the thermal insulation of the house.
• Appropriate use of heat loss.
• Saving the yard.
• An opportunity to unload window sills from seedling.
• Lack of contact with the soil, which prevents freezing of plant roots, damage by rodents and pests.
• Continuous sunlight.
• The ability to grow various types of plants: peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, flowers, seedlings, mushrooms.
• Good ventilation.
• The house with a greenhouse on the roof looks original and beautiful.

Disadvantages

• Not without an idea and disadvantages:
• In such a greenhouse, it is not always possible to achieve the necessary microclimate (temperature and humidity), since it is warmed up more by the sun.
• Sudden temperature changes are observed day and night, which is detrimental to some plants and requires additional connection of a fan heater at night.
• Difficulties in accessing the greenhouse, when lifting into it everything you need to care for crops.
• Difficulties in caring for plants.
• High humidity.
• The need for additional measures to protect the roof from moisture.
• The need for good ventilation equipment.
• The inability to cultivate vegetables on ordinary beds with fertile soil.

How to make a greenhouse with your own hands on the roof of the house

The easiest way to make a greenhouse is if you use the roof frame as the hull of the greenhouse. In this case, you need to dismantle the roofing material and replace it with polycarbonate. It will be more difficult if the construction of a greenhouse structure is required, starting with the creation of the frame.

Preliminary work on the roof

At the preparation stage, the following steps must be performed:

1. Decide on the shape of the greenhouse.
2. Decide on the type of materials for the hull and casing.
3. It is good to measure the dimensions of the base of the roof.
4. Consider attaching the frame to the roof.
5. Draw a drawing, marking the location for the transom.
6. Calculate the amount of necessary materials and tools.

Important! Materials for the frame and sheathing should be taken such that they withstand the supports and overlap. Profile pipes and polycarbonate are much lighter than wood, metal and glass. There is no weight limit if the building is brick and covered with reinforced concrete slab.

Wireframing

The frame can be made of wood (if overlapping allows), profile pipes or aluminum profile. The most budgetary and small in weight will be the frame of profile pipes from 20 × 20 mm to 40 × 40 mm. First you need to pull and fasten the arches with a distance of 1 m, then fix them with screeds, then collect the ends and attach the transoms. The frame is mounted directly on the roof overlap or for it is made of brick, block masonry.

Frame cladding

The frame can be made in the form of an arch or a house so that the snow goes well from it. It is necessary to sheathe it with polycarbonate sheets 4 mm thick and thicker.

To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Cut the polycarbonate of the desired size using a jigsaw or a metal file.
2. Fasten honeycomb sheets to the frame using galvanized tie straps or self-tapping screws with thermal washers. Sheets should be lapped. Attach polycarbonate to doors and transoms.
3. Seal the joints with sealant or aluminum tape.
4. Treat metal fasteners with anti-corrosion agent.

Important! The height of the frame should not exceed 3 m.

Features of construction technology

Even at the project stage, it is necessary to think about how the plants will be watered, how to avoid water leaks into the house, and how to circulate air and heat.

Water supply

The best water supply option for the building in question is automatic drip irrigation. Otherwise, you will have to install a tank with water and fill it manually or with a hose, which is quite difficult.

Waterproofing and ventilation

A greenhouse on the roof is always the risk of flooding in the event of bays and water leaks, so you should take care of the roof waterproofing, covering it with bitumen mastic or other waterproof coating. Sometimes the floor in the greenhouse design is made with a slight slope, so that in which case the water drains into one place.

Since the greenhouse installed on the roof will heat up more, it is imperative to conduct good ventilation. For high-quality and large-scale construction, transoms and doors cannot be avoided, you need a ventilation system that works using automation.

Important! It is recommended to install a polycarbonate greenhouse at an air temperature of + 10 ... + 12 ° C. When installed in cold weather, plastic may bend, in the heat - expand, which will subsequently affect the joints and attachment points, require additional sealing.

How to position the greenhouse on the roof

A room for growing plants can be equipped in the attic with a gable roof. In this case, you do not need to spend money not only on the foundation, but also on the construction of the frame. Leaving the frame, the roof just needs to be covered with glass, transparent slate or polycarbonate. The best option is a direct roof. These are usually found in garages or bathhouses.

Greenhouse construction can be done in any form - in the form of an arch or a house. You can hoist and fix the finished arched structure, offered on the market. Its package already includes parts for the case, mounting materials, doors and transoms.It will only be necessary to additionally purchase polycarbonate and consider the moment of attaching such a building to the ceiling. By the way, since multi-story buildings also have a flat roof, you can also build a greenhouse on them, and of any shape and size.

Technologies for growing plants in rooftop greenhouses

In the described version of the greenhouse design, plants can be grown in several ways: hydroponic and in containers. Conventional beds with fertile soil for these purposes will not work because of the large weight.

Did you know? The first large greenhouse for the construction of which forged steel was first used is the Palm Greenhouse, or Palm House (UK). It was built in 1844-1848. It contains 70% of all palm trees that are known to scientists today.

Growing in pots and containers

Under this method, it is necessary to equip special multi-tiered structures or raised pallets in which containers or pots are placed. With this cultivation, space is greatly saved and abundant yields are obtained. However, at the same time, the risk of attacks by harmful insects, which are very difficult to fight, increases. In addition, potted plants often need to be watered, fed and changed soil.

Hydroponics

The hydroponic method involves cultivating plants on a soil substitute (expanded clay, agroperlite, crushed stone, vermiculite, mineral wool, coconut substitute) with drip irrigation. Such a substrate is poured into polyethylene troughs mounted above the floor, or in pots, boxes, PVC pipes. When cultivating plants in this way, care must be taken to reduce the differences in day and night temperatures.

For example, by installing water tanks, which will be heated from the sun during the day, and cooled down at night and give off heat to plant crops. Building a greenhouse instead of a roof is not an easy task, but feasible. You just need to correctly calculate the dimensions and dimensions of the structure and possess the necessary building skills.