A backyard glass room you can actually use all year
Sit in it, eat in it, grow in it, and stop worrying about whether it will still be standing next year. Watch the walkthrough before you spend a dollar.
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The cheap end
Thin aluminum, about $2,000
A frame that flexes when you lean on it, and every big storm is a night spent wondering whether it's still standing.
The custom end
A custom build, $35,000 and up
An architect, a contractor and a season of your life. Roughly three times what a Nordwood costs.
What we built
The Nordwood collection
Real timber and tempered glass, made like a permanent building but delivered as a kit you can raise over a few days.
Four shapes in the collection
A glass room you can use all year for a third of a custom build
Wind and snow protectionRated to 115 mph winds and 3 ft+ of settled snow, on a roof pitched to shed most of it first.Strong frameBuilt from pressure-treated Nordic spruce. The treatment keeps rot and mold out of the wood.Strong glass4mm tempered glass that shrugs off hail. We tested it on camera with a baseball.Solid warranty5-year limited warranty on the frame and every glass panel.
A frame that ages gracefully, protected from the elements
Beams of Nordic spruce at nearly 4 × 2 inches, carrying real structural load. The same timber Scandinavians build their houses out of.
You put it up once. The pressure treatment keeps rot and mold out of the wood, so there's no repainting every spring.
You sleep through storms. It's rated to 115 mph wind and over three feet of settled snow.
You never climb up to clear the roof. It's pitched steep enough that snow slides off before it can build up.
It was engineered for Norway, where winter is a design problem rather than a season. Your weather is easier than the weather it was built for.
"The beams are strong enough to carry real structural load. Your pet elephant on the roof is okay."
2. The glass
Tempered, and we'll prove it on camera
4mm tempered on every panel. Not acrylic, not the thin polycarbonate that comes in cheaper glass-looking kits, so it never clouds or yellows.
One owner was shoveling next to his and caught a panel with the blade. The panel stayed exactly where it was.
Blocks over 95% of UV radiation, including the UVB and UVC that burn skin and stress plants. You can sit in it all afternoon.
Baseball-sized hail, fired at it on camera. Watch the test in the video above.
If a panel ever does go, tempered glass crumbles into small blunt pieces instead of shards. Sweep it up, tell us, and a replacement panel comes out to you.
"Everybody claims their glass is tough. So we stopped claiming, made some hail, and threw baseball-sized pieces of it at the roof."
3. The ventilation
It vents itself while you're at work
Roof windows on every model, plus a single or double door depending on the model and size you pick.
Those windows come manual or automatic. The manual ones you open by hand. The automatic ones sense about 70°F and open themselves, with no power and no app.
Take the automatic upgrade. Heat builds fast under glass, and you're rarely home when it does.
Airflow is what lets one room do both jobs: comfortable enough to sit in with friends, stable enough for plants to actually crop.
"With the automatic openers you're not out there managing ventilation every time the weather shifts."
4. The look
The part people don't expect
Timber reads as architecture. Aluminum reads as equipment. This is the one you put in the most visible corner of the yard, not behind the shed.
It's bigger inside than it looks from the drive. About 6.5 ft at the door, nearly 10 ft to the ridge inside. You stand up, walk around and put a dining table in it without ducking.
Long dinners, a studio with light on four sides, tomatoes and lettuce in the same room.
Guests ask about it. Owners mention that unprompted, usually before they mention anything they grew.
"It's the thing you want to see from the kitchen window in the morning. Our customers keep telling us they've never seen anything like it."
We started making greenhouses because the ones we bought kept falling down
Gustavs built his first greenhouse with his dad, after two store-bought kits didn't survive the winter. That memory stayed with him. We build greenhouses so more families can put food on the table from their own backyard, instead of depending on the store.
So we started making them properly. Heavier frames. Real tempered glass. Warranties we'd still honor a decade later.
— The YGH team
Building since 2011
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a building permit?
Most of our models don't require one. Rules vary street by street, so check with your HOA or local authority before installation rather than after. Take the footprint of the model you're considering with you: the collection runs up to 214 sq ft.
How does it arrive?
As a complete kit — every glass panel, the full timber frame, and an assembly manual. Standard delivery is 16–20 weeks and free across the continental US, curbside. Two paid express windows are available at checkout.
Do you assemble it for me?
No, we don't offer installation as a service. Most owners build it themselves over a few days, or bring in a friend or a handyman to help. Plan on two people either way — glass is a two-person job, and don't set it in wind.
What foundation does it need?
A concrete pad, a deck, or a paved surface. It fixes down with screws and needs no ground anchors. Get that base flat and level before anything goes up — it's what decides whether the doors still close properly in ten years.
What about sun and UV?
The tempered glass blocks over 95% of UV radiation, the UVB and UVC that cause sunburn and stress plants, while still letting bright natural light through. That makes it comfortable to sit in, and most houseplants do well. If your plan is serious food crops, our polycarbonate line is built for that job — Nordwood is built for enjoying the space.
Where is it made?
In Europe, from FSC-certified timber. Demand is high enough that units ship out as soon as they're finished rather than sitting in a warehouse.
Can I add heating or lighting inside?
Yes. Run a power cable and socket while you're setting it up — it's far easier then than later. Anything you plug in needs to be rated for outdoor use.
Will the glass survive hail?
It's 4mm tempered, so yes. Rather than ask you to take that on faith, we shot a paintball gun at a panel and then threw a baseball at it on camera. Both clips are in the video library above.
What's covered by the warranty?
A 5-year limited warranty on the frame and glass panels against structural defects under normal use. Register within 30 days of delivery to activate full cover. Returns are 30 days.
