The Vail A-frame greenhouse stands as the undisputed workhorse of the Prospiant lineup, thanks to its toughness, reliability, and ability to perform season after season.

While it’s best known for its role in crop production, its strength and unmatched versatility make it a natural fit for a variety of uses, not all of which involve growing plants.

Some of our customers have transformed the Vail into a multi-use structure for storage, retail, play, and even wastewater treatment. It’s proof that a strong, straightforward A-frame greenhouse design can do more than you might think.

1. Convert Your Vail A-frame into a Warehouse or Headhouse

Our customers commonly convert the Vail A-frame structure into a functional headhouse or warehouse by cladding it in metal decking.

This upgrade strengthens the structure and makes it possible to add insulation to the roof and walls to better control interior temperatures and lower utility costs.

Metal decking has an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. It has corrugated ridges and grooves that run lengthwise to add structural integrity without excess weight. That lighter weight can also lead to savings in freight and shipping.

Durability is another big plus. Metal decking requires minimal upkeep, though we recommend regular inspections for corrosion and rust as a preventive measure. If you need to replace a panel, the process is typically quick and straightforward.

Choosing to build a metal-decking-clad Vail alongside your greenhouse project also saves you money and time.

With integrated sales and engineering support, Prospiant saves you the hassle of managing multiple vendors. One manufacturer and one crew handle the entire project, which streamlines coordination and reduces labor costs.

We design these buildings to connect directly to your production or retail greenhouse, with all necessary flashing included. They’re also easy to expand or gutter-connect in the future.

Whether installed in caissons or atop footings, a Vail structure covered with metal decking can easily fit into your operation for a variety of uses.

2. Create a Covered Drive-Thru or Display Area

A Vail A-frame greenhouse with metal decking on the roof and open sides makes a great drive-through area or a sheltered spot to protect merchandise and equipment you display outdoors.

You and your staff get a dry, comfortable space for loading, unloading, or performing daily tasks that keep you out of the rain and away from harsh sun.

At garden centers, packaging on merchandise displayed outdoors can easily fade or break down from too much weather exposure. With an open-sided setup, you can keep items in better shape while still making them easy for shoppers to see.

You can also use that space to create a welcoming, comfortable space for customers to wait, load/unload, or pick up their orders.

3. Create a Gift Shop or Host an Indoor Farmers’ Market

Lowe’s Greenhouse in Chagrin Falls, Ohio has several Vail greenhouses that support its popular garden center. One of the best features at Lowe’s is a fabulous gift shop and floral department seamlessly integrated into the garden center among the greenhouses.

The gift shop is a Vail structure clad in metal decking and gutter-connected to the surrounding greenhouses.

Along with its many functional benefits, metal decking can be painted, which makes it easy to incorporate brand colors, add a logo, or simply bring in a pop of color to liven up a space.

The gift shop displays at Lowe’s Greenhouse stand out for their size and visual appeal, without making the space feel crowded. The Vail’s tall gutter heights and open-span design provide ample overhead room for hanging lights, signage, and display features.

Lowe’s recently added a new Vail A-frame greenhouse to expand its retail space and create an indoor/outdoor event space. The new space will become the new home for the local Farmers’ Market that Lowe’s hosts each year.

Lowe’s needed a multi-use greenhouse this time around, one that could flex with the seasons and the schedule. During business hours, it had to feel like a natural extension of the retail space. However, it also needed to transform into an inviting venue for after-hours events quickly.

The greenhouse design delivers. With sliding doors that can separate the greenhouse from the main store and a dedicated exterior entrance, the space can operate independently whenever needed.

The new house also includes three glass-panel overhead doors that open onto a beautiful, paved patio. These doors not only create a seamless flow between indoor and outdoor events, but they also serve as a source of fresh air when ventilation is needed.

4. Add Kid-Friendly Play Areas and Weather-Protected Event Space

Goebbert’s Farm & Garden Center in South Barrington, IL, already uses Vail greenhouses for its garden center. Now, they’re adding more Vail structures to create covered event and activity spaces.

The farm plans to expand its Corn Box, a giant sandbox filled with dried corn, by adding two new open-sided Vail structures. The new 30’ x 48’ and 35’ x 48’ buildings will connect to the original Vail greenhouse built for the Corn Box in 2013. Each will feature 8mm white/opal roof coverings to provide visitors with shade and rain protection.

Goebbert’s also plans to add a freestanding 30’ x 24’ open-sided Vail with a 14-foot under-gutter height. It intends to use this versatile space for live music, performances, and vendor setups, adding even more flexibility to its event space.

5. Turn Your Winter Greenhouse Season into Pickleball Time

DeGroot’s Nurseries in Sarnia, Ontario, found a fun way to make use of its empty Vail greenhouses in the winter. 

The retail garden center teamed up with the Sarnia Lambton Pickleball Club to turn the space into a seasonal home for pickleball.

The greenhouse holds four pickleball courts. Club members use two of the courts, and the other two are available for anyone to rent.

Sarnia’s winters are cold but relatively mild. Average temperatures run below 40°F/4°C from December through March, which makes the greenhouse pickleball courts the perfect winter activity.

DeGroot’s Nurseries, Sarnia, Ontario

6. Use a Vail A-Frame for Wastewater Reclamation

The Vail A-frame greenhouse can also support innovative sustainability solutions like using the AlgaeWheel system for wastewater reclamation.

This low-energy and low-carbon solution uses rotating contactor wheels covered with algae. As the wheel slowly turns, it dips into the wastewater to absorb nutrients, then rotates into the air and sunlight to let the algae breathe and photosynthesize.

This cycle helps the algae thrive while naturally cleaning the water. The constant movement boosts oxygen levels and keeps the system running smoothly, which makes the contactor wheel a key part of this eco-friendly treatment process.

When housed inside a Vail greenhouse, the Algaewheel benefits from a protected, temperature-stable environment that supports consistent algae growth and improves overall performance.

The greenhouse structure keeps the system shielded from harsh weather while allowing natural light to fuel the photosynthesis that is key to algae health.

At the same time, the Vail’s clean, open-span design allows for easy integration of tanks, walkways, and support systems.

This pairing offers a smart solution for municipalities, private communities, and industrial process and environmental industries looking to combine wastewater treatment with sustainable infrastructure—all within a greenhouse footprint.

7. Try Aquaculture

Raising fish inside an A-frame Vail greenhouse with low-transparency coverings offers several benefits when you have the right setup, especially when managed strategically. Here are the main advantages:

• Temperature Regulation: Low-transparency coverings reduce direct sunlight, which helps to maintain stable water temperatures. This proves especially useful for species sensitive to heat stress or ones that require cooler conditions.

In northern climates, passive solar heat gain in the winter months makes the “greenhouse” environment easier to work in compared to outdoor production or dark warehouses.

• Algae Control: Less light penetration means reduced algae growth, which improves water quality and decreases oxygen depletion.

• Biosecurity & Protection: Greenhouses provide a controlled environment that shields fish from predators and contaminants like rain or runoff.

• Energy Efficiency: Reducing sunlight lowers cooling demand in warmer climates. Greenhouses can be designed to capture and reuse heat from other systems (e.g., waste heat or geothermal).

• Year-Round Production: Even with low transparency, A-frame greenhouses make season extension or year-round aquaculture possible, especially when paired with supplemental lighting or heating.

• Reduced Evaporation: Less sunlight and closed buildings mean lower water evaporation.

• Structural Longevity: We’ve designed our greenhouse frames to hold up to wet environments. Other building materials (like polycarbonate or shade cloth) are UV-resistant and often last longer than standard building materials.

Adapt It. Expand It. Use the Vail A-frame Your Way.

No matter how you use it, the Vail A-frame greenhouse offers you flexibility to grow your business your way.

Its sturdy design and adaptability unlock endless possibilities for everything you can imagine—plants or otherwise.