Building a new Greenhouse - Part 2 - Six on Saturday

Following on from our Part 1 post last week, this is where we left the project.

The first post described the process up to completion of the basic timber framework. 

The next phase was to transfer the glass panels over from the old to new greenhouses.  For the front, rear and sides, the vertical glass panels are secured by galvanised steel corner brackets at the four corners of each frame opening, and also smaller angle brackets at intermediate positions.  You can see this better in the post from the original greenhouse build, by following the link at the top of the Part 1 page.

I still had a good handful of these brackets in the shed, left over from the original build, so I fixed these new items in a few positions and relocated some of the glass panels, which allowed me to reclaim further brackets from the existing greenhouse framing - this process continued until all the vertical panels had been transferred.

As we removed each glass panel from the old greenhouse, we gave it a good clean and checked for damage.  But all the panels were in great condition, and came up sparkling after a good wash and polish.

The panels are secured to the brackets using aluminium blind rivets (aka 'pop' rivets).  It's first required to drill through the steel bracket holes into the aluminium panel sides at each location, and then the pop-rivet gun is used to fix them in place.

To seal the roof panels, I'd ordered 15 metres of 30x10 mm self-adhesive neoprene rubber strip, which was cut and stuck down in position on the roof beam flanges after the paint had been allowed to cure for several days.  

The glass roof panels were then lifted into place, and secured by screws down the sides of their aluminium frames.   This is exactly the same method we used seven years ago for the old greenhouse, and we'd never had any problems with leaks from the roof in all that time.

fully glazed, still a lot of finishing touches required ....

There are still a lot of minor jobs to finish off, including reconnecting the greenhouse electrical supply.  I've already relocated the angle-iron mast that carries the overhead power, and then re-tensioned the cable, but it still needs re-terminating at the isolator inside the new building.

power cable mast relocated ...

There's also the slatted shelving removed from the old greenhouse which needs modifying to suit the new.  And the meshes etc to cover the ventilation openings - I'd ordered new aluminium louvres for the three large vents at the rear, but I'm still waiting for them to be delivered after over a week.

Some of these items to complete may also require additional materials & hardware etc, but there are no DIY shops open at the moment.   However, I'll first try to adapt whatever I can find in the sheds or workshop, or else buy what I need on eBay.

On the other aspects of the project, as soon as the new greenhouse was glazed and the power supply cable mast was relocated, we set about demolishing the old greenhouse.

We had a grapevine in there that actually has its roots in the ground outside, behind the retaining wall (in the link, it's the Chardonnay vine which is still going strong, now with a thick rod that we kept trained and trimmed to suit the length of the greenhouse).  There was an opening in the back wall of the greenhouse through which the stem entered the building.  

The rear panelling and structure needed very carefully cutting away to move the vine outside and clear of the building.  For the moment, it's just tied to the hawthorns at the garden boundary -  I might make a trellis or similar framework to provide better support, but the vine's now out in the open and will have to take its chances with the weather.  

grapevine tied to the hawthorns, for now ...

It's just coming into leaf and should certainly survive outdoors, but I'm not sure if it will bear fruit any more - it's a shame, because the last couple of years we've had very good crops of grapes.

Anyway, the greenhouse was eventually demolished, generally by first removing all the fixing screws where I could, and then by just ripping through the ends of each timber using the cordless reciprocating saw.  It was quite a long job, and took more than a full day to reduce it to manageable pieces and then fully clear the area.

With the old greenhouse cleared from the base, I had access to pull up the remaining section of the old wooden retaining wall behind, which was rotten in several places.  I then rebuilt the wall using new timbers, tying it into the other new length I'd replaced earlier in the year.

the old retaining wall now accessible ....

and the new wall built, ready for painting ....

Behind this retaining wall, I levelled the ground and re-laid the existing paving stones.  This pathway had previously provided access behind the greenhouse for maintenance and hedge cutting, but now it will make an extra shelf for larger plant pots.

We'll finish off with a picture of the devastation !   I'll keep some of the used wood that's of a reasonable length and in sound condition.  Most of the rest will be cut into fire-sized chunks for burning in the future.  There are a few pieces which are quite rotten, and in more normal times I'd have bagged them up and taken them to the tip, but both such facilities near here are closed as part of the coronavirus restrictions.  I might just add the rotten wood to the compost bins. 

a little tidying up required ....

But we'll crack on with the job - I think there's still at least another week in the project so maybe there'll be a Part 3 to follow !

In the meantime, head over to The Propagator to see what's been going on this week in other gardens around the world.