Green house base

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Kristen

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Re: Green house base
« Reply #15 on: March 22, 2015, 11:42 »
More importantly, it'll save me from the ordeal of digging out the entire greenhouse footprint only to then fill the hole in with ballast and builder's sand.

That reminds me, in case relevant to you ...

I erected my greenhouse a bit later in the year, and it was already quite dry.  June perhaps?  We trampled all over the site erecting it of course ... and THEN I set about digging the borders!!! They were set like concrete, compressed like concrete :( and it was hot in there to work of course ...

With benefit of hindsight I would have dug the plot first (after putting in the footings but before erecting the structure). Even if walked on during construction it would still have been easier to till once fully built.

Make sure a measurement of each diagonal matches, exactly, the other - then your structure will be "square" - otherwise the first you'll know that it is out of true is when the last sheets of glass won't go in :(

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andimac

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Re: Green house base
« Reply #16 on: March 22, 2015, 14:19 »
Thanks again Kristen for passing on your exeprience- I guess hindsight is always 20/20 vision. Given my soil is an interesting and highly variable mix of clay and silt/sand, I'd planned to dig borders before erecting the greenhouse: mostly because it will otherwise be a big muddy mess.

I had read about ensuring the diagonals are precisely equal but getting a reminder before starting is also helpful. I will update on progress once I make some progress!

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surbie100

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Re: Green house base
« Reply #17 on: March 22, 2015, 22:56 »
We're not allowed any concrete on site, so I am hoping that this will be ok. I got some free sleepers and have put them on the soil on my plot with help from OH. They are 12cm wide so I am hoping that gives me a tiny bit of leeway to move the frame around before bolting it down. The diagonals are currently about 5mm out from each other and we couldn't get it any closer. The greenhouse going on top has palram panels because I figured the wood will move so glass would crack.

Have taken Kristen's advice and created a (very) slight fall to the back, and MoS's advice and raised it with the sleepers. I will be planting into the borders - and digging them before I mess about with the frame.

Any other tips to bear in mind?
base.jpg

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Lardman

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Re: Green house base
« Reply #18 on: March 23, 2015, 14:26 »
Looks fine to me surbie  ;) 5mm isn't going to matter

There's no point in mucking about with footing and dwarf walls on a plot. The sleepers will last, the old bloke next to me still has some forming a shed base from the 70s  :ohmy: and even my cheap 6x1" modern boards have done 5 years.


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surbie100

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Re: Green house base
« Reply #19 on: March 23, 2015, 19:05 »
That's great, thanks Lardman.  :)

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Bohobumble

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Re: Green house base
« Reply #20 on: April 06, 2015, 11:44 »
I am on a budget, what would you recommend for a stable but cheap base? I thought sleepers but not sure where to get those without paying a premium :/
« Last Edit: April 06, 2015, 11:46 by Bohobumble »

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Elm street

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Re: Green house base
« Reply #21 on: April 06, 2015, 16:25 »
Find and reclaimed timber yard near you and see what they have in stock, I did this and got 6" x 8" timbers for a fraction of the cost of sleepers!



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