Backyard House

Sheet A-3 / A-4 · Conservatory run · Section & plan

Shelldon’s Conservatory Run

A heated 4′ lean-to along the sunny elevation of the house — 18′ long, 72 SF, open to the ground with no floor except wooden mulch and a small soaking pond. Keeper entrance at the front end. Because the shell, frost skirt, glazing, roof, and wiring are all built to permanent sunroom spec, nothing here is throwaway: the day it becomes a sunroom you lay a floor over the earth and pull the lamps.

4′ × 18′ · 72 SFOpen earthen floorLean-to shed roof off the main overhangBaseboard + basking heatSoaking pondConverts to a sunroom

Cross-section — through the house wall and run

Cut looking down the length of the run. Roof ties in at 9′ under the main overhang and slopes to a 7′ eave over a 2.5′ insulated knee wall.

insulated lean-to roof · extends the main overhang · R-30 + vapor breakHOUSEgreat room · living sideshared wall built as asealed insulated exteriorwall + vapor breakviewingwindowinsulated glazing (blocks UVB — hence the lamps)2.5′ insulated knee wall · R-154″ wooden mulch (open earthen floor)6″ gravel drainage + filter fabric2″ rigid-foam frost+ heat skirt, fullperimeterfrost line ~42″buried 1/2″ hardware-cloth dig guard, 18″ down + 12″ inwardsoaking pond · 45 mil EPDM liner · ramped climb-out edgeUVB + basking clusterT5 HO 10.0 UVB · halogen + CHE on separate thermostatsguarded, damp-rated, GFCI · ~88°F hot spot on the stonedamp-rated panel / baseboard heat, 8″ off gradeambient ~83°F · line-voltage thermostat · GFCIShelldon4′-0″ clear width7′ eave / 9′ at house

Plan — the run along the house side

Pond at the rear end (coolest, wettest), basking mid-run under the lamps, keeper station just inside the entry door at the front.

HOUSE — great room / living wallsealed + insulated + vapor break5′ viewing windowSoaking pondPlanting / grazeBasking platformOpen roamingKeeper stationouter knee wall + glazing · 1′-6″ roof overhang beyondkeeperentrance2′-8″ · front18′-0″ along the house · 4′-0″ deep · grid z 13′ → 31′

Climate targets

TargetSet pointHow
Ambient day83°FDamp-rated panel / baseboard heat on the house wall, line-voltage thermostat
Basking hot spot88°FThermostatted CHE + halogen over the stone, guarded, 18″ clear of anything
Night floor72°FBaseboard setback + CHE only — no visible light at night
Humidity70–80%Pond evaporation + misting line on a timer; vent to shed excess
UVBLamps requiredGlass and polycarbonate block UVB — T5 HO 10.0 fixture over the basking zone

Ground build-up (no floor)

  • Cypress / hardwood mulch4"
  • Screened topsoil bed6"
  • 3/4″ clean gravel drainage6"
  • Filter fabric over subgrade—

Perimeter: 2″ rigid foam (R-10) frost/heat skirt carried below the ~42″ frost line, plus a buried hardware-cloth dig guard.

Zones along the run

  • 0.8–4.3′Soaking pond30" × 42", 8" deep, ramped climb-out edge
  • 4.3–7.5′Planting / grazeDandelion, hibiscus, mulberry in pots
  • 7.5–11.0′Basking platformFlat stone, ~88°F hot spot under UVB + CHE
  • 11.0–14.5′Open roamingMulch, hides, cork rounds
  • 14.5–18.0′Keeper stationFeed slab, hose bib, tool hooks — inside the entry door

Husbandry non-negotiables

The six items that make or break a heated, open-ground tortoise space through a Long Island winter. Contractor: items 3 and 6 are structural — please price them in, not out.

  1. 01

    UVB comes from lamps, not the glass

    Glass and polycarbonate block UVB. The glazing gives warmth and daylight only — a T5 HO 10.0 fixture over the basking zone supplies the UVB his shell and bone need. Replace the lamp every 12 months even if it still lights.

  2. 02

    Heat has to be a gradient, not a number

    Panel/baseboard heat holds the ambient at ~83°F; a separately thermostatted halogen + ceramic heat emitter creates an ~88°F hot spot so he can thermoregulate. Every fixture is damp-rated, guarded, mounted up off the floor, and on GFCI — this space is wet, mulched, and electrified.

  3. 03

    Insulate the ground edge or you're heating Long Island

    An open earthen floor bleeds heat downward. A 2″ rigid-foam (R-10) skirt around the full perimeter, carried below the ~42″ frost line, is what lets the baseboard actually hold temperature. Single biggest efficiency item in the build.

  4. 04

    Drainage under the mulch and the pond

    A 6″ clean-gravel layer over filter fabric keeps the bed from going swampy and anaerobic. The pond gets a 45 mil EPDM liner and a ramped shallow edge so he can always climb out on his own.

  5. 05

    Dig guard

    Yellow-foots burrow. 1/2″ hardware cloth buried 18″ down and turned 12″ inward along the whole inside perimeter, or a course of pavers, so he can't tunnel out under the knee wall.

  6. 06

    Protect the house wall

    70–80% humidity pressed against a shared wall is a rot and mold risk. That wall is framed, insulated, air-sealed, and detailed with a vapor break exactly like a proper exterior wall — because functionally it is one.

Sunroom conversion path

  • Shell, frost skirt, glazing, roof, wiring, and heat are all built to permanent sunroom spec — none of it is throwaway.
  • To convert: pull the mulch and soil, remove the pond liner and dig guard, add 6 mil poly plus 2″ rigid foam over the gravel, and pour a 4″ slab or set sleepers and a floor.
  • Leave the gravel drainage layer in place — it becomes the capillary break under the future slab.
  • Basking and UVB fixtures unplug from the same damp-rated GFCI receptacles that later serve sunroom lighting.

Where this shows up elsewhere

  • Schematics — the run is drawn on the floor plan.
  • 3-D walk-through — modelled as a glazed lean-to; you can walk into it.
  • Materials — filter to the Conservatory phase for the Home Depot run.
  • Timeline — sequenced with the main shell.

Schematic concept — not construction drawings. Confirm side-yard setback before locating the run.