Friday 29 May 2015

A Cold and Rainy Day Friday May 29th

What to do when it’s raining outside

(and you have holes in your greenhouse roof!)

Obviously working in the garden is out of the question, especially when the rain includes quantities of ice (hail and almost sleet)! (I hope my seeds are okay – it’s the end of May and still almost too cold for sowing things).

So it’s been a day indoors, and running out to the greenhouse and back to take some more measurements. Sadly, it has all been numbers, so there are no photos to show, but I have added a picture showing a similar bench to the ones I will be constructing.







So it’s official: the internal measurements of the greenhouse are – 3035mm from front to back x 4100mm side to side. The metal frame (angle brackets) which form basis of the long bench under the window is (should be) covered with boards 150mm x 635mm. To cover the whole of the top with boards I will need 27 of them, which should leave a small gap at one end for the vine trunk.

I need to make two other benches for the end wall and back wall. The bench on the end needs to be 2400mm long x 635mm wide; the bench on the back wall needs to be 3600mm x 635mm. I might need to make an adjustment on the length to allow for the old brackets for the window openers, which I don’t want to remove from the wall.

There are two ways of making these benches and I haven’t yet decided which is going to be better. I think it is only a matter of cost, so the decision might well be made on which way is cheaper. If anyone has anything to advise about one way being better than another, I’d love to hear it.

So, the two ways for making the top: 

  1.  Make a box frame, 365mm x 3600mm. This will be attached to the four corner posts. Add another long length down the middle between the two sides to support the slats which will run the short way from front to back. Two or four more posts can be added along the length, as the bench is so long.
  2. Alternatively, make a box frame as before and add supports across the width at intervals. Then run the top slats lengthways, from side to side. 

I am not sure there is anything really different about these two methods structurally speaking, but as I said, if anyone knows why it should be one way rather than the other, please let me know.

Finally, the window frame is calculated to my satisfaction. The outer frame will be made from two lengths of 4085mm and three uprights (one at each end and one in the middle) of 892mm. This takes into account the difference in thickness between the wood I am buying and the size I was expecting.

Between the end and the middle will be two further uprights, four in total (two each side of the centre), measuring 892 x 95 x 19mm, giving three window areas to be glazed, so six altogether - three each side of the centre. Each space measures 646mm wide x 892 high. The glass will be that measurement minus a little for easing (usually around 3-6mm.

The glass will sit against an inner frame made from wood that is 70 x 14mm. Again, this frame will take the form of a simple box and will be attached to the support boards. The frames for the windows will be 646 x 868mm.

Once the frames are made and in place, then they will be painted with some exterior, wood preserving colour (probably pale green) and then the glass will be added. I am still not sure whether I want wooden beading or putty to hold the glass in place yet. But plenty of time to sort that out when I get to it.

And the best news, I went to check the inside to see what support I will need for the roof beams – and I don’t need any whatsoever. The front of the roof is attached to a beam (which will need replacing before I do the roof) that crosses the whole of the front of the greenhouse and is attached to the wall at either end. In addition, the two centre rafters are attached to the metal brackets from a bygone era (see the picture on a previous post) and these are attached to the wall below the window. So none of the window frame touches the roof at all. Woohoo!


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