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kuvaszlvr

little brag

kuvaszlvr
9 years ago

Just to let you guys see how I've been spending my Saturday morning. I'm expanding my greenhouse from 8' x 26' to 16' x 26'. Yeah, I know I have swirl marks in the concrete, but heck, I'm not a profession. The guy that delivered and poured the concrete told my husband that he liked me, a woman that worked with the men (him and my husband) laying concrete. :-)

Pam

Comments (19)

  • Mecdave Zone 8/HZ 9
    9 years ago

    Looking good Pam. The swirl marks are there to keep folks from slipping on wet concrete, right? ;)

  • DMForcier
    9 years ago

    Oh, you'd have gotten along great with my mother. One of her favorite things was carpentry, especially framing. Poured her share of concrete too.

    At 72 she fell out of the tree she was trimming and decided it was time to stop climbing trees.

    She moved to GA and built my garden room and potting bench, then came inside and built the cabinets in my dining room. Mostly with hand tools.

    When she got sick she had just finished installing a tongue and groove oak floor and new bathroom in her house.

    But she didn't like spicy hot food. Oh well. Insisted that I would eventually burn off my taste buds.
    --

    Now that's a serious greenhouse! How are you with a saw and a nail gun?

    Dennis

  • kuvaszlvr
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Wow... that's great! I like your mother. Although, I'm a woodworker, I don't like carpentry work. I've got a nice table saw, a nice band saw, my radial arm saw is toast, got a nice jointer, planer, and a few routers. I don't have a nail gun, I'm extremely accident prone and my husband won't allow me to have one, I've injured myself one too many times with my saws, a few trips to the ER. ;-) I want a nail gun, my husband jokes, "watch out dogs!" anyway, I prefer screws to nails, and I've got 2 Dewalt power drills, one dewalt electric drill, and one dewalt driver, so I'm covered (and about 4 battery packs).

    Hey Dave... good one... yep, that's to keep me standing up when the floor is wet. :-)

    Pam

  • ottawapepper
    9 years ago

    A little brag?????

    A 16 x 26 greenhouse sounds like a BIG brag Lady ;-)

    Nice.

    Signed: Envious in Ottawa

  • tomt226
    9 years ago

    Now, THAT'S a heat sink! Good pour. You coulda used a push broom to finish it after it set up a bit too. Did'ja remember the steel & remesh? ;-)
    You gonna make it open span or leave some of that existing wall for support? Enquiring Minds Must Know.
    Nail guns don't work that well on polycarb anyway. The cracks are unsightly and leak. Unless you use SS nails in that kind of environment, they'll rust.
    Did ya'll put both yer hand-prints in it and the date?

  • kuvaszlvr
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks Bill.

    Honestly though, I'm starting to regret this... last year I had to put up plastic to divide up the greenhouse cos it got too cold to heat the entire room, now I'm doubling it in size... I think I made a big mistake, I want to go back and just not do it yet. Now that it's too late I'm having a lot of second thoughts. plus, the thought of all the work that lays ahead of me... not to mention all the cost. :-( But, I do like to play in concrete. ;-)

    Tom,
    Yeah, I thought about a push broom, but naw, my shoulders were already killing me by the time I got it finished. No rebar, I'm not that heavy. ;-) just concrete on dirt, about 3-4".

    I'm going to leave the uprights, I plan to put pvc tables on either side of the uprights, so I'll leave them for support. I will cut one or two out on the ends so I can walk through easier, especially when carrying flats.

    Yep, polycar, gotta drill a hole first, then I use nickel washers or wood strips.

    haha, no hand prints, just my name and the date. After screeding the hubby left to go mow, so I did all the finishing work - but that's my favorite part.

    Pam

  • judo_and_peppers
    9 years ago

    I've done my fair share of concrete work in my day, but I'm better with wood and drywall.

    I once watched my best friend nail his foot to the floor with a nail gun, straight thru his toe. and the best part was it wasn't even 2 minutes after being told he needs to keep his finger off the trigger.

    that's gonna be a nice size greenhouse. also have you considered adding another heater in there? that seems to be the easy solution.

  • woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
    9 years ago

    Nice job, Pam. I'm jealous of the space.... too bad it's located in OK. ;P

    So, what? 5000 plants next year?

    Is that a huge pile of compost in the background?

    Kevin

  • northeast_chileman
    9 years ago

    Assuming below correct it would make a great "hardening off" room.

    Wouldn't need heat!

  • kuvaszlvr
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Sorry, nope, west is pointing straight at the camera, you're look straight east. North is left. Plus, we sit on a ridge, so it gets cold. Last year when it got really cold I had 5 heaters going (had plastic up to cut it down to 16' x 8') and still lost a few plants. I guess I'm going to splurge and buy a big propane heater like Tom has... I just hate spending that kind of money to heat a greenhouse.

    Thanks Kevin... NO WAY am I growing 5000, I've got my preliminary count at 3800 and I'm trying to get it under 3000... And nope, not a compost pile. we had a big maple behind the house, it had a diameter of around 4-5', but the last few years of drought took it's toll and it died, that's some of it's remains. I had the guys leave some of the chips for me to use as mulch... :-( I'd rather have the tree.
    Pam

  • tomt226
    9 years ago

    Pam,
    You might consider putting roll-up plastic sides on the whole thing. Looks like you got a stud every 16-24", so you'd have plenty of lateral support against the wind. A batten screwed to every other 2X would stop "bellying" when the northers hit. Some poly 55 gallon drums painted black and filled with water would act as a good heat sink too. Hell, even a dark painted floor would do it.
    Here's a pic of the roll up/down sides of my GH. I use clamps screwed to the floor every 3' to keep it in place. 1" EMT laid horizontally supports each area between the 8' columns. The poly rolls up on 1" PVC cut to 25'. Easy to roll up and down and it extends the life of the covering.
    Keep up the good work. Yer an inspiration for the rest of us old farts out here... ;-)

  • seysonn
    9 years ago

    Nice project, Pam.
    I love projects having to work with wood. I am not a carpenter, but a kind of handyman/craftsman.

    Talking about cold and high energy costs:
    If I had such an orientation situation, I would make/frame the the North side as a solid wall and insulate it too ; just like a residential wall. North exposure would not make any net positive contribution and to the contrary, it will lose a lot of energy if made clear (Glass, plastic, poly ...).

    Good luck with the rest of your project.

    eysonn

  • tomt226
    9 years ago

    If the slab can take it, a concrete block wall filled with sand and painted a dark color would absorb heat and radiate it back into the structure. Trouble is, it gets hot in Okie just like Texas, so it'd do the same thing in the summer.
    Damned if you do, damned if you don't...

  • kuvaszlvr
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Not a bad idea seysonn... only problem (and the same issue with Tom's set up with plastic, I have all the polycarb from the existing north wall, so I'd planned on putting it back up on the new north wall. Seems a waste not to use it, since it's only a couple of years old.
    Pam

  • tomt226
    9 years ago

    I'll give you a $1 a sheet, delivered. Make sure it's clean too...

  • stoneys_fatali
    9 years ago

    Very nice pam!

    Stoney

  • kuvaszlvr
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks Stoney... and good luck on that Tom! ;-) But then, they might not be worth anything after the storms that are due in tonight and tomorrow. I need to get out and put something on them to hold them down.

    Pam

  • oldfixer
    9 years ago

    Greenhouse. And how big is your bedroom? Or other rooms?

  • tomt226
    9 years ago

    Pam,
    Yep, know how that is. Been cuttin' dead trees near the fence lines so they won't blow down and wreck the fence anymore than it already is. I could build a damn greenhouse outta logs at this rate.
    Gawd, I hate to stretch bob wire and field fence...

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