Reparing/Replacing Rotten Wooden base for Greenhouse

Hello,

We moved into our new house last year and inherited a aluminum greenhouse.

After giving it a reasonable clean and on closer inspection it is sitting on a rotting wooden base which in turn sits on a single course of bricks.

Actually on one side the wooden is completely gone and the green house is suspended above the bricks with a 1-2 cm gap (need to measure it exactly).

It does not seem to be attached at all to the bricks.

I was thinking to remove the remaining rotten wood (nothing can be saved there) propping up it up with bits of wood and then somehow carefully remove the props and let it sit directly on the bricks.

Then drill into the bricks and secure the greenhouse down that way.

Does anyone see a problem with this or have alternate solutions.

regards
Angelo

 

Sounds fine to me, your using mortar on the bricks ? or just dry? you are better of using mortar if you can, it will be more stable, if you want to or need to replace the timber get pressure treated, it will last a long time then

 

Be careful if you are not removing the glazing, it could break if the greenhouse framing twists during the process, the whole thing fully glazed is quite heavy.
Think I would replace the wood with a similar sized section, that way you can do one side at a time.
You can then screw through the greenhouse framing right through the timber into the brickwork.
Bearing in mind the brickwork needs to be reasonably sound.

As Dopey says, get some pressure treated timber.

 

I was going to do it dry. I will take some pics now.

 

Yes, I share the same concern regarding the glass. Not sure what to do.

 

You can replace the timber in sections of about 4ft at a time if you like.
That way the framing will not drop and you can insert a new piece of timber before removing the next section.

Other than that I think you would need to remove all the glass.

 

Here some pics. I just noticed there is old mortar and even screws. Some are rusted through.

 

if you can get some scaffolding planks or nice string ish wood under the frame, you need to distribute the weight as much as you can, then use a car jack under the greenhouse and lift it up as much as you think you can do safely, and then put bricks and wood in place

 

I just realised I have a loads of wood that the previous owner left. All of it just regular planed timber from Wickes. How long would that last? If easy to put in and it lasted for 3-5 years then it would be worthwhile just to use that for now.

Seems a lot simpler just to do this. Note I do not fancy trying to remove the old mortar which is on the bricks.

Thanks for the feedback so far, it is good to be able to hear other peoples input. The wife is not that interested

 

Sorry Angelo but I cant make out that picture.

what is that red and green line??

 

The tomato growbag inside the greenhouse

 

Yes, I agree, I just need to know whether worthwhile to buy pressure treated timber or just used the loads of spare timber i have in my shed lefy by the old owner

 

One cheap strategy to try if using the wood you've got would be to buy a roll of damp proof course material and slip it beween the bottom of the frame and the wood. This would act a bit like a window ledge and divert the water away from the wood. You could seal where screws go through it with mastic/silicone sealant. It's not a perfect solution but should help extend the life of the wood by a few years. A slightly more expensive and neater solution would be to use flashing tape to cover the bottom couple of inches of the glass and bridge it onto the brick base.