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OT' projects keeping me busy

18 years ago

We got the boat put back together and she purrs like a kitten. I didn't even carry an oar with me. Just took a xanax before we left since he didn't even try to crank it until we got to the lake and I was afraid we would have problems and he would be in a grouchy mood all day. That way I could just smile and say I love you honey and be all mellow, lol. It worked and ran well so I love him some more now. We are going to work on the greenhouse tomorrow. I had the frame and a pile of landscape timbers and Patty scrounged me up some screen doors for it today. We go get the wood to fasten the other parts to and the flooring tomorrow. Any other suggestions from any of you that have built your own? Oh and hopefully run the underground electric and water if my neighbor who installs sprinklers is in a good mood, lol. I have a misting system I had planned to use on the porch that never got mounted and picked up a fan and some tables at the guy next doors garage sale this morning can use that until I get a real exhaust fan. Would like to get a sink in there. Bet I can find one on craigslist cheap. Anything else? I have a couple light fixtures. Do I need them in there or save them for the garage? What plants would you put out there and which ones in the garage. I have decided to let them all grow all winter so I can get blooms earlier on the ones I haven't seen yet. I got a space heater with a blower and thermostat last year but didn't need it in the garage so it can go out there too. Anything else? Whats the best cheapest floor? I have one roll landcaping weedbarrier Not enough I'm sure and free access to sand and mulch. Ideas please. Hope to have the greenhouse panels on the roof so I can add vents later and double thick plastic on the walls for now and maybe do a wall at a time later or screen it in later. Am I forgeting anything?

Comments (15)

  • 18 years ago

    Let me suggest that you run two heaters set at different temps. Also gravel some of it and the rest I would allow planting direct, then there is the heat cables on can add to keep the soil warm and a starter box for your new babies. A thermal unit so you don't have to keep running back and forth to check the temp. One might have to add a fan just for air circulation. Are you having fun yet?? Photos please!!

  • 18 years ago

    Yes I might need two heaters for the very cold nights late in the year. I'll look into another one. I don't think I will be able to do direct planting beds in there. I have my garage full of plants and still have a lot more that need to go in the greenhouse and want to have room for tables and a sink for doing cuttings and propagation. I have one fan but plan to get the exhaust fans when I an afford it. I want to get it done in case we have another early freeze the best I can pretty fast. Its only the tall garage frame at the moment I will take pics as things progress. Gotta go get some materials. Be back later.

  • 18 years ago

    Congratulations John you did it...pass it on Kristy lol...I am SO SO happy that the boat is fixed!

    Just READING of all the work you are doing and going to do Kristy, I am exhausted lol

    Lucy

  • 18 years ago

    Kristy
    I am glad your boat is fixed, it frees John up to help with your GH, I am glad you are finally getting one, I can just see all the blooms in there, over the winter months
    lots of pics Great Job to both of you
    Elizabeth

  • 18 years ago

    Finally - the boat is up & running! Good for John!! Just reading your post - I'm suddenly very tired! :)) Now, before & after pics of the GH!

    Mike

  • 18 years ago

    You are a busy beaver. Buy a remote digital therometer from menards and put out there. The receiver part goes in the home. They have alarms in case in the middle of the night the electric goes out and your temps drop too low. They are not a lot of money. Better to be safe with all them plants than be sorry. Defiantely worth spending a few bucks. Check out greenhouse forum too. Lots of experts there to help. I know a few are from texas too.... Barb Yahoo another greenhouser...

  • 18 years ago

    Yay!! So glad the boat is fixed!! COngrats on the GH Kristy!! O your gonna love it!! I am so jealous! I cant wait to see pix pix pix!!!

  • 18 years ago

    I'll check it out Rosepedal. I have been lurking over there for a while now and got discouraged when I saw how much it was going to cost to build. When I remembered we had this thing and we put it together I was thinking this would be doable for a lot cheaper than building one out of wood or getting a greenhouse kit and much bigger for the money. I had to put it on the credit card to get everything I needed. I didn't realize until I got to Home Depot all the little things were going to eat up my money I had to spend on it and didn't consider the electric stuff and the plumbing stuff or that you can only use clear 100% silicon which was really expensive nor did I realize how much a roll of plastic for the sides was going to be do make it double thickness and that since the poles on the frame are round like chain link fence posts I had to buy a bunch of special stuff to attach the wood to it with and special screws for the polycarb panels and the list went on and on. Thank goodness I have a friend that is a manager at HD and he helped me find all the stuff and have me a discount on 10 of the sheets of polycarbonate since they edges were damaged but they are going to overlap anyway so it didn't matter. For all the electrical, plumbing, wood, plastic and panels it was about $800 for a huge greenhouse so I don't think that is bad at all. I saw a neat solar power exhaust fan that I want to get someday. My credit card bill will be a little higher but what the heck. I'm tired of doing without to save for it and something else always coming up and taking the money. Now its just got to get put together. They are running the trenches for the water and power lines tomorrow and it has to pass the pond so can tie in an outlet there for it and not have to look at extension cords all over the yard anymore either. Yippee! I am tired and haven't started yet. Patty was going to help me start building it tomorrow but I don't think John trusts us. He who refuses to check things for plumb and level, lol. At least will try to make it straight. Don't know yet if we will start tomorrow or wait until this weekend when Patty and JD can come over and all of us work on it. It would have been much easier if it was a normal carport structure with flat metal, lol. Oh well we will make it work. I have a thermometer someplace that you can read what the temp is outside from in the house. Gotta look for it. It doesn't have an alarm. That would come in handy if it got too cold in the greenhouse during the night. Well I'm going to bed. If we don't do it tomorrow I guess I will start getting my SS package ready. I have to dig up some things and wanted them fresh dug when they are sent, lol. I have to stay home tomorrow anyway waiting on the blower for the heat and a/c. Its supposed to be in tomorrow.

  • 18 years ago

    Here is a pic of the frame and one of the neat chandelier my neighbor gave me for the gazebo. Hopefully you can click to enlarge or you won't be able to see the greenhouse. I thought I had taken a daytime pic of it but I guess I didn't.

    {{gwi:576081}}
    {{gwi:576082}}

  • 18 years ago

    Wow nice big one. Anchor that one down real good. Keep the pics coming.

    Glad the boat runs good. It is such a temptation to romp them on flat water. 80 on land is fast but on water it's magic.

    Jim

  • 18 years ago

    great new gazebo look Kristy lol.
    But the best look is your framework for your new GH. I KNOW you got the better deal on this one!! Glad you are going to have a nice place to overwinter your plants and so much more.

    Lucy

  • 18 years ago

    I kept having to remind him to change the speeds up to break it in, lol. Goes a lot fast now too. How would your suggest anchoring this down? We have had several ideas but none of them satisfy either one of us, lol. I want concrete, he wants rebar, lol. Suggestions welcome.

  • 18 years ago

    What a great day for you. A boat that runs ha ha... and a large wonderful greenhouse in process.

    One of the things I am so glad I put in my greenhouse is the water and electric. It took me many years to save enough money for all the materials to build my greenhouse. I saved sliding glass doors for 8 or 9 years before I had enough to build. I, like you, did not realize all the additional little things were going to nickle and dime me to death. Wire, outlets, screws, sink, faucet, pipes, electric box, this, that...more of this and that. I was so sick of shopping at HD or Menards I wanted to just scream. I'm so thankful, I took great pains to ensure I insulated it well and built it out of 2X6's instead of 2X4's. There is no way I could afford to heat a little metal polycarbonate greenhouse here in ND. I'm hoping the heating bills are not horrendous this year. Do it right the first time. ha ha

    Good luck with your greenhouse project. It is SO worth it. There is not a day that goes by that I don't go into my greenhouse. I bet you will be the same.

    ~Tj~

  • 18 years ago

    Congrats on getting the boat fixed!!!! I guess this means no more pics of John fishing in your pond??? I really enjoyed those pics!!! You are really moving right along on your greenhouse! It looks great so far! It was 11 years ago we built our greenhouse. It was a 15x20 hoop. I think we used rebar to hold it down. We had the double plastic with the air blowing between it and it made it though two hailstorms that our roof on our house did not! We tore it down this year as it was overgrown and hadn't been used in the last 5 years. I would now like a glass enclosure added to the front south side of my house. I hope it will be doable. I have bad joints that need replacing and tromping out to the greenhouse in the cold and snow just wasn't working. I wonder how your greenhouse will be faring 11 years from now?
    Enjoy...it is great to see you going after your dream!
    Joyce
    PS...What do the poochies think of all the commotion??? Have they given their approval on the GH???

  • 18 years ago

    I am the one in the picture of the greenhouse frame! Kristy got a good deal on the material to put it together.
    She could not have bought the kit for a small polycarb 6X8 for the price she paid. It is hard to tell the size in the picture. It is 12' wide, 24' long and 12' high in the center with 6' high outer walls. I am free labor as long as she keeps my coffe cup full! LOL!!!