Cold Frames
The first step in building a cold frame is to acquire glass.
People give away and throw away glass all the time. You can find it in recycled building materials stores like EcoStores Nebraska located in Lincoln, Nebraska, or in similar stores near you. You can find glass on Craigslist under building materials / windows or doors for your location. Friends, neighbors, and acquaintances will be happy to give you glass when they remodel. You can also find it at garage sales.
My first glass came from a throw-away pile after a neighbor's garage sale: two 3 foot by 6 1/2 foot sliding glass patio doors (minus the door frame). You should know, however, that glass varies in its usefulness. The best glass is thermal pane which is made with double-pane glass that has an insulating pocket of air or argon gas between the panes. Chose this kind of glass if you have a choice. Once you begin collecting glass, you'll soon have more than you can use.
Once you have glass, you can design and build the frame. I have used both 2 X 6 and 4 X 6 dimension lumber. My first frame was built from four 4 X 6 boards I found abandoned at my in-laws acreage. Miraculously, they had sat out in the weather for years and had not warped or twisted.
Three examples of cold frames:
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