The siding and trim will finish the exterior of my reclaimed window greenhouse. I love how well the pallet boards worked as the siding. Not only did it give it a cute cottage-type look but it was very cost-efficient. In the first video of the Greenhouse Build series, we showed you how we made the foundation. The second one showed how to do the framing. The third covered the roofing. The Fourth was the windows. This Fifth shows the finishing of the siding and trim.
Trimming the Front of the Reclaimed Window Greenhouse
trim the front
I began this portion by trimming out all the front windows. First I put a small piece of trim along the edge of the plywood then I trimmed over that joining with a 1 1/2″ trim board. This will better protect the plywood from the elements and give it a more finished look. You can buy trim boards but for a project like this, I just rip down a 2×4 to about 1/4 of an inch. Choosing 2x4s with fewer knots will make better trim pieces.
I also trimmed along the edges of the roof and the corners. I waited to trim out around the door until after I installed the frame.
I painted mine all white but if you really wanted the trim to stand out you could paint it a different color.
Shed Wall
sheet the interior wall
We then put up the plywood on our interior wall. I wanted this to match the front of the greenhouse so I constructed it similarly.
caulk cracks and nail holes
Before I could paint, I caulked all the nail holes and cracks between the boards to make them less noticeable.
trim interior wall
I also trimmed the shed wall, leaving a 3-foot opening for access to the loft.
Loft Ladder
extra blocking for loft ladder
I added some extra 2×4 blocking to one side of the shed wall. I placed these every 12 inches. This gave me a secure location to screw my ladder rungs into. I actually ended up adding a second block right next to the first one since the rung’s securing pieces were so big. This did make it strong enough that even my husband can climb it without any issues.
install loft ladder
Before putting up the rungs I painted that portion so that I wouldn’t have to paint around them later. Because the temperature was below freezing I didn’t want to do the whole wall yet. Painting is really done best at the right temperatures.
Electrical
have electrical work done
We added a number of different lights and outlets to our greenhouse including up in the loft and around the walls. I do recommend making sure that the outlets are above the level of your grow tables. We have one that is above and two that are lower and I really like the higher one.
My husband has a lot of experience with electrical work but if you don’t you might want to get a trainer profession in for this portion. (The most important thing is to turn off all electricity in an area before working in it.)
Caulk Interior of the Windows
caulk interior of windows
With the electrical all done, I was able to bring in a heater and get the internal temperature above freezing so I could caulk. I caulked around the window itself as well as the board that holds the window in. I used a fast-drying caulk due to the outdoor temperatures.
Loft Banister
add banister
We decided that we needed a railing to contain all the important things in the loft like blankets, pillows ... kids. The posts also gave us somewhere to attach handholds which we will show in our next video. We just used 4×4 posts and then a 2×4 for the top railing. We put in willow branches for our spindles but that is in our next step as well.
Wood Details
add details
We added some wood appliques which are just a fun extra detail for the greenhouse. Later I will paint these so they stand out a little. Mine had been broken so I had to doctor them up a little but you can’t even tell at this point.
Front Interior Wall
sheet interior of front wall
With the electrical done we were now able to cover that wall. We used 1/8″ wood that we had from some hollow doors but any thin plywood would do. This was really easy to cut for our electrical boxes. Then we trimmed this wall out as well.
Paint
paint
Now that the walls and trim are all up it is time to pull out the paint. I painted the whole loft area, the plywood walls, and around the windows on the inside. I like the white-washed look of one coat but I did an additional coat on the trim to make it more solidly white and have it stand out more.
Pallet Siding
pallet board siding
The pallet board siding was relatively easy. I just used the same width for each level and worked my way up from the bottom with a 1-inch overlap.
top pallet board siding
The peaked portion was a little harder. I put a small strip of wood in rows every 8 inches and attached 12-inch boards along it vertically. This gave a 4-inch overlap and provided some variety on that end of the shed.
To finish the look I used 1x4s to trim out the roof, windows, and all of the wall edges.
Finishing the Siding and Trim
weatherproof the wood
Finally, I weatherproofed all the wood with Thompson’s water seal. This will help protect the wood from the elements. You could use polyurethane but I was afraid it would yellow too much.
caulk all exterior cracks
I then caulked around the windows and door as well as any other location that could possibly have a crack. (We used like 30 tubes of clear caulk but we wanted it to hold the heat well.)
Now that the siding and trim are done, the next step is finishing the shed and loft portion. (Watch for our next post.)
For helpful videos, check out our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCClHdEfsiSI8nmUbUoa6lKQ
To see how to make a root cellar, follow this link: https://wisdompreserved.life/root-cellar-part-one-excavation/
