One of the most common questions I get is why I built the greenhouse first rather than the house first and then the greenhouse around it. All else being equal the decision is easy – the greenhouse first. Given our cold wet winters and springs in the Pacific Northwest everyone working on the house is happy to be dry under cover and about 5-15 degrees F warmer than outside.

The folks who think the house should come first fear the greenhouse will be damaged during the house construction. Honestly, I’ve never been concerned that the greenhouse will be damaged during the house construction. But if it was going to happen on my project, it was most likely when raising the house’s north wall or the livingroom’s south wall. Not gonna lie, those were too stressful for me to watch. Fortunately it was captured on GoPro and now you can watch too on YouTube.