My Greenhouse Construction Thread (picture heavy)

[MoonShadows]

After several years of wanting to build a greenhouse but never getting too it, last Spring we decided, too late, to buy a greenhouse. (8 x 16 Mt. Rainier Redwood Greenhouse) It arrived on a huge tractor trailer from the other side of the country in late May in 11 huge cartons and sat on our front porch until we moved the cartons under our back deck and covered them with tarps for the winter. Another season without a greenhouse!

But, we did get the area for the 6x6 foundation dug and added the crushed rock, although it wasn't too smart piling up the dirt and rocks right next to our construction site.

You can see what I mean about piling the excavated dirt and rocks so close to the work site! Guess I should have planned this out a little better.

Now this next picture is what happens during the winter when you leave all this dirt next to the site, and your chickens like to scratch and take dust baths. Here are a few of them taking a rest on the 6 x 6 fundation beams.

So, now it is March 8. We are finnaly getting some decent temps where we can start to work outdoors, but we don't have much time if we want to use our greenhouse this Spring, and between one of us commuting to NYC everyday and the other working part time and running our home business part time, there never seems to be enough hours in the day.

So, this thread is to document the construction of our looooooong overdue greenhouse, and to provide even more motivation for us to get it done....since you guys will hopefully want to see progress and pictures on a regular basis.

So, sit back, relax and watch!

 

[Denim Deb]

Of course, if you wanted the chickens to do that, you know they wouldn't.

 

[MoonShadows]

Hahahahaha, Deb. You are so right.

Well, I went out yesterday afternoon to begin moving the two mounds of dirt, but never even got a shovel full moved. The wheel barrel tire was flat; so flat I could I couldn't get it filled. So, I decided to take the tire off and bring it to the hardware store and have them put a tube in it. While I was at it, I decided to take the two wheels off the tiller and get tubes put in them. As luck would have it, the first tiller wheel came off easily, but no matter how I tried, I couldn't get the 2nd wheel off. I finally decided there must be some rust holding it on. After a prolonged search for the Liquid Wrench (why are things never where they are supposed to be?) I bathed the axle in LW. I'll try and see if that loosened it up today. Nothing will get done today or tomorrow since I am driving the school bus, and Friday I have to make a couple of deliveries and pick up product supplies, so Saturday will be the next day I can work at moving that dirt. I'll drop the wheelbarrow tire off at the hardware store today.

 

[sumi]

 

[Mini Horses]

Those "jobs" we have really get in the way of doing the work we WANT to do, don't they??

It's Saturday, so I'm hoping you will have nice weather & a day full of work at home! I had a list but, you can't do roof work in 25MPH winds. I'm on my "other" list.

 

[MoonShadows]

Those "jobs" we have really get in the way of doing the work we WANT to do, don't they??

It's Saturday, so I'm hoping you will have nice weather & a day full of work at home! I had a list but, you can't do roof work in 25MPH winds. I'm on my "other" list.

Sure do! I can't wait until I can be home full time just working my home business and doing what I want to do around here. No work today. I had to travel into NY to see my 99 y/o mother. Tomorrow, they are predicting rain and snow. I will have to work a least 3 days this week, but I'll be off Friday and all of Easter week. I'm making sue my camera has batteries!

 

[MoonShadows]

What a tease this thread is so far! I keep posting, but not making any progress on the greenhouse!

Just found out I have to work 4 days this week, and Friday will be an order filling day for my business.

BUT...from Saturday on, the weather is looking mild (50's - 60') during the day, so Easter week should be the week!

The hardest part is going to be leveling the 4 - 6" x 6" Tamarac wood beams (2 - 8' long and 2 - 16' long) as the base/anchor to the whole set up. You can't tell from the pictures in my first post, but the land slopes down over the foundation area by a few inches towards the shed pictured there. It will be a matter of adding/subtracting crushed rocks until we get it right. I don't relish having to pick up/put down those heavy beams over and over again until we get it all leveled out. After that, we will drill holes in the foundation beams in each corner at a 45 degree angle and pound 3' rebar through them to anchor the greenhouse. The greenhouse itself will then be anchored to the beams. This won't be too easy either since the ground is extremely rocky right underneath. The easiest part should be the construction of the greenhouse. As always the preparation is key to any project.

I promise the next time I post, there WILL be progress and new pictures!

 

[sumi]

 

[Denim Deb]

 

[MoonShadows]

Well, today is the first day neither of us had to work at our "regular" jobs, and since we were off yesterday (we both work in education), we were able to make our Saturday deliveries yesterday. We finally made some headway on the greenhouse area. We moved about 3/4 of the dirt. The spirit was willing to move all the dirt today, but at 60 y/o each, we hit the "wall" after about 3 hours. Oh, to be in our 20's again when we used to work like this from sun up to sun down.

Some of the dirt we dumped down the hill behind the chicken run where our raspberries are growing; some we saved for a few new raised gardens; and, some we threw in front of the old tool shed which had seen a lot of soil erosion as the water runs down that way and washes the soil through the old stone foundation in areas.

Tomorrow is Easter, but we hope to work for a few hours in the afternoon before our Easter dinner. We are hoping we can finish removing the rest of the dirt, add another inch or 2 of stone dust. Instead of trying to level the 6" x 6" beams on the stone dust, we are going to level 12 concrete blocks and then rest the beams on them. Should make the leveling job easier. I'll update you all tomorrow if I am not incapacitated with sore muscles. (I'm getting too old for this!)