[faye]

hiya,

i have got a secondhand greenhouse for the plot i have this year. i have had to manage without one all year which was not good  i want to get it up asap.

i have M.E. so do not have a lot of energy for mauling heavy things around. with this in mind what is the easiest wat to make a greenhouse base?

i have read that a wooden frame can be made from something like 3" by 3" treated wood which the frame can be screwed into. how long is the wood likely to last before it rots? if it was a few years that would be ok with me - i could replace it then and it would be much easier than mauling bricks or breezeblocks which i would struggle with due to the M.E..

also, to avoid mauling glass when fitting it into the greenhouse is there a lightweight, cheap alternative to glass???

any thoughts appreciated,
faye 

[Chappers]

You would be ok with a frame of 4x2 or 6x2 treated timber which i think is supposed to last 10 years in the ground.  you could then screw a post/leg in each corner to knock/secure into the ground and then screw the greenhouse to the frame.

HTh Paul

[savbo]

polycarbonate to replace the glass...light and easy to work with...
this place seems quite cheap
http://www.theonestopplasticsshop.co.uk/

M

[faye]

thank-you!

10 years is fine for the lifespan of the wood and thank-you for the idea for securing it down,  i was thinking i'd have to do something, especially if not having glass to weigh it down.

the polycarbonate sounds perfect and i think a friend might have some sheete of it in her garden so i might get freebies!!!!

faye 

[noshed]

I used 3x2 treated (it was the heftyist I could afford) and put a metpost in each corner with a stub of wood in. Then I screwed everything to that. Seems to work OK and allows for a slight tendency for things not to be square if there's been any bodging going on.

[faye]

I used 3x2 treated (it was the heftyist I could afford) and put a metpost in each corner with a stub of wood in. Then I screwed everything to that. Seems to work OK and allows for a slight tendency for things not to be square if there's been any bodging going on.

i think there will be bodging - because i have no 'put it together' instructions and it is a well-weathered second-hand greenhouse, working out how it fits together is a challenge and i will no doubt have to bodge some of it 

[noshed]

You'll be grand then