My HFGH and the benefit of reading forums first

[CanadianLori]

What is a habitat store?

 

[Philphine]

i don't know if they do it up there, but there is an organization called "habitat for humanity" that builds homes for low income folks. there may be more to it than that, but i'm not sure.

anyway, they also have what are called "habitat restores". it's kind of a cross bettween a second hand/thrift/goodwill type store and a home improvement type store like a lowes or something. people and/or companies donate building materials, home appliances, various construction type stuff, nearly anything you'd see in a home improvement type store. there are three in my city and i stop by whenever i'm near one just to see what they've got in.

 

[CanadianLori]

I see. Yes, we do the habitat for humanity thing too. Just looked and we also have some of those stores. I'll need to put visiting one of them on my things to do out of curiosity list.

Thanks for the heads up on this!

 

[Philphine]

hey, hope you're still around 'cause I'm finally getting around to working on this.

I've only just built the frame of the floor, and I'm wondering if I can set it in place yet, 'cause it's already pretty heavy without the flooring, let alone the house it's self. it's looking like I need to have it where I want it, or scrounge up enough willing people to lift it into place later (not that easy for me).

I want to put it where the back of the green house will be pretty much right against the back wall of my garage (on a guess there will be about 6" or less between them). are you able to build it from the inside at all, or do you need to be able to walk around the outside on all four sides? thanks.

 

[Arielphf]

hey, hope you're still around 'cause I'm finally getting around to working on this.

I've only just built the frame of the floor, and I'm wondering if I can set it in place yet, 'cause it's already pretty heavy without the flooring, let alone the house it's self. it's looking like I need to have it where I want it, or scrounge up enough willing people to lift it into place later (not that easy for me).

Hi!

I am around and I think I can help you. Try building the greenhouse on the frame - it will be much easier, or have you already built it?

I built mine with it'so back up to the railing. Anything I had to do, I was able to from inside. Hope that helps.

Ariel

 

[Arielphf]

Ok, going to reply a bit more completely now - I was on my cell phone and you know what it is like typing on one of those!

So, you built the frame, right? Do you have it all together or just the base 4 frame pieces? I'd recommend getting it in place before you put the panels in. Moving it risks racking the frame so I'd do it before the panels so that you can square it up if it shifts in transit.

As for accessing the back of the greenhouse once it's in place, I found that I could move the whole greenhouse and base with small pieces of PVC under the edges of the frame, kind of the way the Easter Islanders were supposed to have moved their statues (I watch too much educational TV), but if that isn't an option for you, do the back wall first so that you can reach around each panel from the inside. If you are planning on using caulk instead of the clips, you could do this easily. If you are planning to use the clips, it might be tricky to get the last ones in. You will have to see what is easiest in your situation.

I'm going into my third winter with my little greenhouse. I found my pool cover so I will reinstall it this winter. We raised the greenhouse an additional 12 inches to give me a bit more headroom, but I haven't yet rebuilt the door. That means I still have a bit of a step up to get into the greenhouse.

I haven't yet replaced the door - hopefully I'll have time this winter to build a nice one out of oak to match the fan frame (pictured in an earlier post). I'll be cutting out the 2x12" board at the door and reinforcing the sides before putting the doorframe and door in place.

I tried something new this summer. Since the greenhouse was essentially empty over the summer, I was hoping to reduce the UV degradation of the polycarbonate by covering it. The dimensions of this greenhouse mean that a 4x8' sheet of foil backed insulating foam cover both the sides and roof planes of the greenhouse! I bought two of them, taped them together at the peak (leaving a bit of space for them to fold like a tent) and dropped it onto my roof! It covered really well and the duct tape I used to form the hinge between the pieces held the front, back and sides of the little foam tent onto the roof. We had some pretty wild weather and it never came off, though by the end of summer, the UV had taken its toll on the tape's adhesive. Made it easy to take off at least. Both foam panels fit inside the greenhouse against the north wall and will hopefully provide some insulation this winter.

The other addition I made was to the floor. I tried sealing it, but really can't get to the bottom of these boards now that I've raised the greenhouse. The boards are pressure treated so hopefully, they will not rot away too quickly. This past winter we had some wicked winds and the insulation I put under the platform obviously has fallen away from the boards so that wind came right up through my nice floor! This winter I will be better prepared. I went to the feed store and bought a couple of stall mats - those heavy ones that are made of recycled tires - and put those on the floor. With a tiny bit of trimming of the length, two of them cover the floor quite nicely!

The fit was tight when I installed it, but the mats shrink a bit when it gets cold. I might have to do something about the gap between the two mats (duct tape?) to keep any drafts out as the temperature drops, but the fit in the corners is tight enough I don't think we'll have any leaks!

I've just put the porch plants into the greenhouse and started using the heater at night. This is the time of year when you have to alternate between a fan in the daytime and heater at night, LOL! But at least I can keep a bit of my green, green! Happy gardening and hope this post helps.

 

[Philphine]

thanks, sorry for the delayed response. I'm not on the 'net that often now.

I was meaning I just have the wooden floor frame built, with no decking or anything on it as the floor. I built up that part in my gazebo (as level a place as I could find to do it without having to move it from even further away later), but since it was already getting heavy and needed to come out sideways I drug it out and started wondering what more I could do without knowing if it needed to be in a permanent spot first. now that I know I can build it from the inside, I can start working on the floor again. thanks.

 

[Arielphf]

thanks, sorry for the delayed response. I'm not on the 'net that often now.

I was meaning I just have the wooden floor frame built, with no decking or anything on it as the floor. I built up that part in my gazebo (as level a place as I could find to do it without having to move it from even further away later), but since it was already getting heavy and needed to come out sideways I drug it out and started wondering what more I could do without knowing if it needed to be in a permanent spot first. now that I know I can build it from the inside, I can start working on the floor again. thanks.

Oh, no worries!

OK, so now I understand what you mean. Yeah, they do get heavy fast! I built mine in place and try not to move it unless totally necessary.

If I can offer some advice, once you get the base done, put it into place before building the greenhouse on it. Also, try to get it as level as you can before beginning construction. These are forgiving structures, but you'll have far fewer issues if you start level, especially as you said you got it from a Habitat store and you were worried there might be pieces that are missing.

Don't forget to share pictures once you have it up!

 

[Philphine]

I need some home internet again. everything about posting seems harder than it should be.

one thing I'm realizing is I want to figure out some other type of floor than you did. the floor dementions are just so that I can't buy decking to fit without wasting about 2' off each board. the floor is about 6' 2"x8' 3", so I either get 8' boards or 10' boards. plus with what you were saying about cold air from the floor, I think I'm going to try a couple sheets of plywood. still deciding on it.

 

[Arielphf]

I need some home internet again. everything about posting seems harder than it should be.

one thing I'm realizing is I want to figure out some other type of floor than you did. the floor dementions are just so that I can't buy decking to fit without wasting about 2' off each board. the floor is about 6' 2"x8' 3", so I either get 8' boards or 10' boards. plus with what you were saying about cold air from the floor, I think I'm going to try a couple sheets of plywood. still deciding on it.

Depending on where you are building this, the dirt makes an awesome floor, if you can manage it. No leaks and it's a great heat sink. I put mine on my porch (one flight up) for ease of access, but I am paying for it in not having much of a heat sink to rely on. The new rubber mats help some, but I imagine dirt or stone would be a far better floor than what I used.