A Mini Greenhouse

Here is the completed greenhouse. It still needs to be screened in at this point. 

The next step in relocating the bioconversion process to Gram's was to build a little greenhouse that would be converted into the fly house. I bought this little 8'x6' greenhouse last spring, and it sat in Mom and Dad's garage while I debated where to put it. So after the barn wall was repaired, we began the process of clearing a space in front of the barn to begin greenhouse construction.

My uncle Kevin graciously cut down the pine tree that had grown too close to the barn wall. Next up: clean out the weeds and create a level platform. We discovered plenty of large rocks under those weeds that we maneuvered strategically to outline a footprint a little bigger than the 8'x6' foundation needed.

The area to the left of the barn door is the chosen location for the greenhouse. Chad and I started at 10 am on Memorial Day. 

After we pulled back all the Virginia creeper and other weeds, we got to the big rocks and started scoping out which ones would fit where in the platform wall

The pine tree stump got cut down a hair more to provide enough clearance for fill

Use a tractor when you can

After we got the main foundation rocks in place, we stared hard at that stump. It didn't seem to be low enough. And it was close enough to the edge to cause problems later. So after some debating...

...we got the chain and the big tractor out. I did some dry stack rock assembly between the large rocks while Bill and Chad cut and cut at the roots of the stump. I only cursed a little during that process. 

Bill: I could use the little tractor but I already know what will happen.
Me: So why don't you get the big tractor?
Bill: [sigh] Ok

The stump came up without too much struggle. This is the "Proud Catch of the Day" pose. Chad and I knocked off as much of the dirt as we could. Less dirt on the stump now, less fill to shovel later

Then after we ripped out the pine stump I found another small stump that needed to be destroyed 

At the end of the day, the sun had come out and the sky cleared and the greenhouse platform was ready for fill. And we were ready for the little cookout at Gram's. I believe I consumed 3 hot dogs and 2 burgers...at least.

Side by side of the before and after

I came back a few days later and made a little drainage channel to the left, and Bill brought down two buckets of fill dirt for me. I tamped it but a good rain fell a day or so later to get it all settled

For the next step, I needed another big assist. Chad has a pretty sweet hydraulic trailer and our schedules magically aligned so that I could meet him over at Pennycoffs. One scoop of subbase didn't seem like quite enough and I asked the backhoe operator to load another scoop. Two scoops of subbase is a heavy load, which wouldn't have mattered too much on a day when it hadn't just rained. But it had just rained. Maneuvering the truck and trailer to get into position took some time, and I'm so flippin' grateful that my cousin is patient and likes doing this stuff. He seemed pretty calm when truck and load started sliding down the wet grass even though the wheels weren't rolling. (Goal: back up a trailer as good as he can.)

Trailer positioned

Tamping the subbase. This is about half of the load. The rest Chad dumped off to the side to fill in the greenhouse frame after it was constructed

Next step: the wood foundation. The 2"x10"s we used were part of an old sheep pen in the barn.

Treated 2"x10"s that were in the barn

I looked everywhere for a large, flat L bracket that was pictured in the instruction manual. I couldn't find anything larger than 6" which hardly felt substantial enough to hold the frame together. I asked Dad how we could make our own in a cost effective and time efficient manner. He suggested the scrap steel bin at Surplus City and then we can use the drill press to make holes. I found 4 smallish steel pieces, all roughly $3 a piece. We drilled holes, Dad cleaned the rust off of the steel and I coated it with black spray paint.

Our homemade "L" brackets 

The 4"x6"s came from Your Building Center (Hey Mike!) since I was unable to scavenge that particular size. And because we are fancy, we made lap joints for the 4x6s.

Here I'm cutting the notches for the lap joint with the circular saw

Wood frame complete and bolted down and ready for the rest of the subbase

So if you look beyond my lovely face, you'll see that there is another 2x10 at the end of the foundation. That is due to my math. Ultimately the added lumber in the foundation frame will add to the ballast, so it's not a terrible mistake. Dad's quick thinking fixed my error. 

Subbase filled to the brim of the 4x6s of the frame. Then the frame construction began.

Wall partitions then went in

Figuring out the vented windows required some creative interpretation of the instructions and 5 people to figure out. [Not pictured: Bill]

So now I have this lovely little greenhouse that I have to create screens for both vent windows as well as the doorway. The flies should move in as soon as I get the screen door engineered. I'll do a separate post for that and the fly release.

Greenhouse: complete. That wasn't so bad, ha