The Walipini Project (aka greenhouse shenanigans)

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by Loofah, Apr 25, 2021.

  1. pete

    pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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    It looks like the way it is constructed you could renovate a bit at a time.
     
  2. shiney

    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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    That's what they traditionally used for greenhouses. :blue thumb:
     
  3. Loofah

    Loofah Admin Staff Member

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    Actual work plan is yet to be worked out but the construction could indeed have been cedar. It's definitely end of life for it though!
     
  4. shiney

    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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    My cedar greenhouse is trying to come out in sympathy :sad:
     
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    • Loofah

      Loofah Admin Staff Member

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      What will you replace it with @shiney ?
       
    • shiney

      shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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      A lot of the lower sections have rotted. They are the bottom cross pieces at the bottom of the roof (holding the glass in) and those have been repaired with whatever hardwood timber my chippy friend had in his workshop.

      A lot of the wood along the bottom of the sides is rotten and can't be replaced without disturbing the uprights and the roof caving in :rolleyespink:. The uprights are still surviving so when the bottom struts rot I prop the glass up in the vertical slots in the uprights with cedar off cuts that came from some furniture. sounds very professional :whistle: :roflol:

      I'll try to remember to take photos. I put the greenhouse in about 47 years ago. About five years ago the manufacturer sent their local engineer in to assess the thing and said that they don't do repairs but just replace with complete glazed section units. Those are all 5ft x 2.5 ft - but they now only make them in metric so can't replace them!

      His parting comment was:- "to replace the whole greenhouse with the same spec would cost £9,000 to include fitting. If we don't do that then it could last anything from three years to thirty years with the occasional patching. If I were you I would wait until it falls down!" It's now a matter of whether the greenhouse or myself falls down first. :old:
       
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      • Loofah

        Loofah Admin Staff Member

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        Haha! Well there's the trick isn't it! Mine was simply too far gone and I'd hate to be picking timber and glass out of my head so I headed it off. Not sure on pressure treated timber or something like cedar yet
         
      • pete

        pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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        Ideally you want a load of timber, (work out how much you need), with a rebate for the glass run down two edges.
        Then you can make up the side frames and fix them, then use the same material for the rafters, going up to a ridge board.:smile:
         
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        • Scrungee

          Scrungee Well known for it

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          Replacing in aluminium, using parts (including glass) from a 'free to collector' later built but similar sunken greenhouse being removed would save a fortune (I might know of one, will take a pic, it's about 150 x 4.5 metres ).

          I wonder if the existing Cedar would still be too resinous to burn in a woodburner? Or has lead paint on it? I think my father may have used whitewash on his one.

          The existing glass panes would cost a fortune to dispose of at out local tip @ £3/m2. Avoid putting loads of broken greenhouse glass in a wheelie bin as it shreds the sides when the lifting gear shakes it out.
           
          Last edited: May 2, 2021
        • shiney

          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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          Patch up job (@pete keep your eyes closed :heehee:).

          The roof was the first important thing to get done as the glass was sliding out. The glass is in rebated timber (as pete said) but the timber below it was a single piece that had small plastic clips screwed into it to hold the glass. As those timber strips rotted the plastic clips couldn't hold the weight of the glass. So we ran one piece of timber along where the rotted ones were and instead of putting plastic clips back in we then ran a second piece of timber to hold the glass. The cedar uprights are still solid.

          P1510391.JPG

          P1510392.JPG

          Along the bottom of the side walls the wood has now rotted.
          P1510394.JPG

          So we shall be working on putting supports in but, in the meantime, where it is bad we have just got blocks of wood holding the glass in place
          P1510393.JPG

          As the greenhouse stands on a set of concrete plinths, with support channels in them, I put a wooden strip on the plinth and used glass support brackets to hold the pane of glass. This may be a better solution but as we have a few thousand plants in the greenhouse it may be difficult. I'd need to get someone in to do the job as bending is difficult for me.
          P1510395.JPG
           
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          • Kristen

            Kristen Under gardener

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            @Loofah I've got loads for glass left over from my Ahem! "bigger greenhouse" project. Its all 2' square though, and not sure how much would survive being cut as I believe that old glass doesn't cut well. I'm also a fair flog away from you ... anyways, Mrs K would be happy if some of it went.

            I've also got a whole load of bits of Ali (I assume, might be galvanised) glazing bars. No idea if they could be repurposed (or indeed if you would want to, rather than Cedar)

            @shiney I need to get rid of my old Eden 10' x 12' .... I imagine the hassle isn't worth it, but at least you are a bit closer than Loofah !
             
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            • shiney

              shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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              Thanks @Kristen but I don't think we could cope with the project. It certainly couldn't replace our existing one as it couldn't house everything in it and I don't think Mrs Shiney would be able to choose where it should be sited (I don't make those sort of decisions as they are the domain of her Ladyship :love30: :heehee:). We don't have much spare space away from tall trees that isn't endangered by flying branches. The only place would be the centre of our veg area (haven't used it for veg growing for some years) but dismantling it and erecting it is beyond me nowadays.
               
            • Kristen

              Kristen Under gardener

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              Yes ... if I had a bunch of spare labourers I would send them over :)

              When I woz a young man I tootled up to Sheffield to disassemble it, bring it home, and put it back up again.

              [​IMG]
              Sheffield ...
              [​IMG]
              ... Suffolk :)

              Reminds me of when the Duke of Devonshire went to see the Tsar in Russia. The Tsar had an impressive fountain ... and the Duke invited the Tsar back for a rematch. When the Duke got back to Chatsworth he decided he needed a fountain too. So he had his "spare labourers" dig a lake on the top of the hill behind the house. I can't remember the size, but "half a dozen acres" springs to mind! and the fountain will push 300ft on a good day ... the Tsar did a no-show the following year :)

              chatsworth.jpg
               
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              • NigelJ

                NigelJ Total Gardener

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                @Scrungee
                Just seen the above and am wondering how they measure the surface area of broken glass at the tip, weight would be safer and quicker.
                I can confirm that old glass doesn't cut well. It develops surface flaws and micro cracks as it ages and weathers. These prevent the crack from propagating along the line you have scored and head off in the most inconvenient direction.
                 
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                • shiney

                  shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                  Wow! :hate-shocked: you can see through the glass! Ours is dirty enough to not need summer shading. :roflol:
                   
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