[elrosco]

Hi all, done lots of reading but not many posts. So first off thanks for your help  .

I am planning on building a wee lean to - about 1.5m by 1.5m, mainly for tomatoes but I am open to growing anything else I can, perhaps peppers or aubergines? Being in Scotland I will need a lean to for the warmth.

I have an area to put it in south west facing (I think). 

I am not sure where to start with a base - I have quite a few old slabs but not sure if these will do the trick. I don't have all the wood I need but have two lengths of 2.1m 35mm by 45mm which I thought I could use to start the frame. I am also going to buy some UVI plastic from e-bay only £15.

Please can you help  - Will slabs be ok for a base?

Is the wood I have ok for building a frame?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[arugula]

Hi elrosco,

Slabs will make a fine base for your wee lean-to if that's what you have to hand, but remember you need to provide some drainage - perhaps in the form of a bit of gravel or sand between the slabs - or your wood will/may be sitting in water.

Sorry no pics as it has now been dismantled, but we built one a couple of seasons ago, using 2 x 2 tanalised timber which was about 4 x 2 x 6 feet and it sat in the gravel on our pathway. It was a simple box frame construction with a pitched roof added then clad. It was bolted to the wall and had double doors for easy access.

The reason we used heavier wood than you propose is that we are near the coast (also in Scotland ) and it gets a wee bit windy at times. The 2 x 2 tanalised wood is available from builders merchants for about £5.00 for a 4.8 metre length.

[2peasinapod]

slabs are more the good enough for the base
use tanalised/treated wood
work to the size of the plastic as its easier to cut wood than sheet plastic.
try and work a bit of ventilation in to the top and bottom.
hope this helps
mark.

[elrosco]

Thank you Mark and Argyllie for your help

The project has evoled slightly and I now have the bottom parts of some good fence posts (with the 'pointy bit') that are well treated so I think I'll put these in to just above ground level and anchor the lean to to them, the back of the lean-to will be against a six foot fence so I'll also attach it to the fence posts of that.

I am still trying to get my head around how I will use the lean-to apart from using it like a differrent style of greenhouse.

It is going onto an area of soil which I have treated with very well rotted manure (then changed my mind to put a lean to on it) - so could I simply plant directly into the soil within the lean-to instead of covering the area with slabs?

[arugula]

It is going onto an area of soil which I have treated with very well rotted manure (then changed my mind to put a lean to on it) - so could I simply plant directly into the soil within the lean-to instead of covering the area with slabs?

I would have said so, yes.