Greenhouse Base?

[bonniethomas06]

Yeeeeepidydoodah, yippppppidedaaaaaayyyy, my oh my what a wonderful daaaaaay!

A lovely lady on Freecycle has just offered me a 10 x 8ft greenhouse!

I had to laugh, she said 'now I am sorry to tell you, there is one broken pane. Do you still want it?'

Joy is not the word. But my thoughts have now turned to what it is going to stand on. It is an aluminium frame and I think it is on bricks where it is.

I don't want to spend alot - previous greenhouses I have had went on concrete bases, but we are only renting and I don't think our LL wants us to go laying foundations in the garden.

Do you think 3x3" treated timber fence posts would do the trick, bolted together at the corners?

Any advice would be very gratefully received!

[okra]

Maybe you should consider something heavier like old railway sleepers

[greenorelse]

Does that lovely lady want to get rid of the bricks it's standing on too? It's a thought.

Sleepers might be expensive but they're a good idea. They would give the gh more hight too.

Concrete blocks are a cheaper option and you can move them on your own, unlike most railway sleepers.

[bonniethomas06]

Unfotunately not...it is currently standing on her patio.

I would love sleepers, but have just had a look online and they are at least £20 each - out of my price range unfortunately!

[greenorelse]

You could ask (politely of course) on FreeCycle; always worth a try.

Think about the concrete block idea: ugly but quick and cheap. Bit like me really.

[grahamhobbs]

Foundations are important on a greenhouse because any moment in the ground (and clay in particular can rise and fall 2" in a year between being wet and dry) will cause the frame to twist causing the glass to crack. Similarly timber could twist and bend as it wets and dries.
I would dig a trench a foot deep (or down to the sub-soil) and fill with rubble, broken bricks, stones, etc and ram it down hard, in layers every 4". Then set your greenhouse on that, with just a bit of sand and cement.

[oldjerry]

My two penneth,do as Graham suggests,but use blocksin the trench(quicker)then attach 2''by 1'' to the blocks and most ally GHs are drilled at the bottom so you can attach these to the wood with screws.This is how I've done it,but it probably aint no better than any other.
Nb. Great find,when you replace the glass be sure and ask for HORTICULTURAL glass,it's loads cheaper.Look out for another GH that size,end on end thats a serious GH,think bedding plants,think income!!

[bonniethomas06]

Thanks for the advice all - I like the hardcore idea, but again I don't thinkthe landlady would be happy about it - when we go, the field would be used for horses again so would need to be flat grass.

When you say blocks OJ, do you mean breezeblocks? they would be easier to take away afterwards and I suppose a couple of inches of sand in the bottom would be ok to sow grass over?

[oldjerry]

Our GHs(which were all S/H 8by 6 laid end to end with the end bits removed,makes sense to me!) have all been laid on what these days passes for breeze blocks.To fit the timber to these,drill through these into the blocks and drive through 6'' nails as anchors.Then render the sides and tops,allowing space to screw through GH base into the timber.This has always proved strong enough,but could be dismantled pretty swiftly.

[bonniethomas06]

Thanks OJ. I will keep an eye out for some on freecycle - to buy them (I calculate I need 50) would cost about £65, which rather pathetically at the moment, is out of our pricerange.

Failing that, what do you think of this setup? This was what I was trying to describe earlier

http://www.buildeazy.com/greenhouse.html

As I have access to treated 3x3 timber fence posts at £5 each.

[oldjerry]

Yeah that'll work,that size timber,on that size structure,aint gonna move much,even without the pegs going into the ground.
Couple of ideas:
Re-treat the treated timber.
If you havent already dissembled the GH,do it inthe very largest bits poss(whole on a flat trailer would be exc) obviously less the glass,cos in time they warp a bit which can make complete re-assembly a bit tricky.
Build the GH frame first then make the base,same reason as above.
Make sure its all level
Use new glass retaining clips,(cheap from B&Q).
I still think that's a great find.

[gregorach]

I inherited a 12' x 8' greenhouse on my allotment plot, it's been there for many, <i>many</i> years, and doesn't appear to have any foundations at all (if it ever did, they've rotted out). It's certainly not ideal, but it's still there... In a rented property where you're not planning on staying forever, I'd say timber would do the job.

[grahamhobbs]

Thinking about it I think you ought to peg the greenhouse down, my mates new greenhouse on his allotment was blown 5 plots away one night (he had just set it on the ground). You can buy 1m lenths of threaded metal rod approx. 10mm diam for around £3.50 each, if you cut these in half and put say 3 down each side, drilling through your timber base and hammering them into the soil with a washer and nut on top. This should hold the timber down and also resist the timber twisting or buckling. Then you can screw the greenhouse to the timber.

[bonniethomas06]

Thanks all. Right - new glass clips, flatbed trailer, metal poles - got it!

Excellent advice.

And I agree OJ, a fantastic find! I think I might have a greenhouse-warming dinner party in it under the stars.. once it is assembled - lets face it, I will have the space!!

It is always hard to imagine a greenhouse being 'blown away' - when it is so heavy, but that isn't the first time I have heard of someone waking up to find their greenhouse two gardens away.