SELECTING A SITE
You may want to check to see if there are any restrictions on greenhouses in your area - for example, local subdivision, county or city Planning and Zoning Departments may be consulted on this matter. Also, neighbors may be informed and, hopefully, will support your efforts and even benefit from your excess produce.

Usually the Green House can be classified as a temporary structure, as it bolts together and unbolts if you choose and does not need a concrete foundation. Here are some factors to consider when choosing your site for the Green House.

Solar horizon: Preferably unrestricted to the south, east and west - in that order of preference. You can approach a solar architect in your area if you have questions or need advice. A solar pathfinder is a useful tool to borrow. If you have a lot of sun in the summer this may cause overheating problems. Deciduous trees may be helpful as they lose their leaves allowing solar gain in the winter while still providing shade in the summer. If you have to choose between morning sun or afternoon sun, the plants prefer the morning sun to get them off to an early start. The Green House site needs to have a minimum of 4 to 5 hours of clear sun for the Green House to perform effectively. If it has less than this, the Green House will still perform but you need perhaps to add auxiliary heat in the winter months.

Shelter: Choosing a location sheltered from the wind is useful in order to reduce heat loss in the winter, and also reduce stress on the vents during high winds.

Soil: It is preferable to start with a level site. Otherwise, use a slope to the south. The site needs to be leveled, and usually owners choose to excavate the high side in combination with building up the low side often using a retaining wall made of landscape timbers or rocks.

If your soil is poor and rocky you may choose to excavate down a foot or two, remove the poor soil and bring in good top soil, or build up on top of the existing soil. It is strongly advised to remove all perennial weed at this juncture, as removing them later is a proverbial pain. Many Green House owners have regretted omitting this step (including myself). Also remove creeping weeds with underground rhizomes to a distance of a couple of feet away from the Green House, as they can creep under the wall and right through the insulation! If you have gophers or burrowing animals, you may want to cover the floor of the Green House with hardware cloth (galvanized metal screen approx. 1/4" mesh.)

Services: You can install electricity and water supply, although these are not necessary for the Green House to function and can be added later if you choose. Your plants will enjoy the extra CO2 produced as well as the heat. The larger Green House have a cooling fan can be provided for hotter climates for an extra cost. Growing Spaces can give you personal advice on your particular location and we are more than happy to consult with you on any aspect of installing or maintaining your Growing Green House

• INSTALLATION
  
  Foundation Information For The Growing Green House
  There are a number of foundation options for the Growing Green House. Essentially, the structure is very light; the ground loading is 10-50 lbs/square foot. The purpose of a Growing Green House foundation is basically to secure the Green House to the ground and anchor it. The water tank, being bolted to the foundation wall, also helps in the anchoring process. Obviously, a complex foundation will significantly add to the overall cost of the Green House, therefore the simpler foundation options are recommended unless there are other important deciding factors. The following factors need to be taken into consideration when deciding on the type of foundation:
  
  BUILDING CODES: Because the Green House is a structure designed and used for agricultural purposes, as well as easy assembling and dissembling, many building departments waive the requirements for permits and permanent foundations, while others are more stringent. This is obviously an important factor if you choose to consult with them when installing your Green House. In remote areas, some Green House owners have proceeded simply and built their Green Houses.
  
  TERMITES: In the presence of termites makes it necessary to have a concrete foundation with a termite barrier.
  
  SEVERE WINDS AND/OR SNOW LOADS: In areas of exceptionally heavy snowfall or extreme wind conditions, the Green House structure, although very strong in original design, would benefit from a concrete foundation.
  
  
  The following are the foundation options we recommend:
  
  Low cost: The Green House sits on a circular ring of compacted gravel. The blue board undersoil insulation is installed vertically with the gravel packed on each side, or horizontally outside the Green House then covered with gravel. All Green Houses have their own foundation walls as part of the kits.
  
  Intermediate cost: This foundation has concrete son tube piers at each of the vertices of the foundation (15 or 20) with landscape timbers in between, or the foundation wall fixed to the piers. This is an excellent foundation for very soft soil conditions.
  
  Higher cost: A plywood formed and poured concrete foundation is one option; an insulated concrete form type foundation is yet another option. Both options makes a strong yet well insulated foundation. Insulated forms consist of an inner and outer layer of polystyrene foam board with connectors. The foundation blocks are cut to the corner angles and fastened together. Re-bar is placed inside the forms. The foundation is then poured with concrete.
  Drawings are available upon request.