My New Greenhouse... step by step...

[kavanaru]

OK, the main reason why this is getting slow is because I have gotten injured (2 disc hernias - one of them is old but was undetected until now) while carrying some of the material... Since we had already started to dig the ground, in order to build the insulated foundations, my partner has continued working on it. Unfortunately, it is holidays season here and also for of those twists of fate it happened that many of our friends have birthdays these days and most of them were having round birthdays and planing big parties since months... which just mean that our friends are either not around or busy busy with their BIG parties, and the help for construction has been scarce... Nevertheless, some friends have helped... One of the thing I wanted most was to build myself the greenhouse for my plants (it has nothing to do with romantic... I just like construction work, digging the ground and landscaping ), but... I seem to have forgotten I am not a teenager anymore, carried two bags of concrete at the same time... a bad step... and ZAP! I cannot walk since 3 weeks, and we are considering the option of surgery at least, I hope to be fine to fill the greenhouse with old and new plants :rollhappy:

so.. the greenhouse will be 4.20m x 5.20m (13.8' x 17'), which translate to 21.8sqm (234.7sqf). 1.7m (5.6') tall on the sides and 2.9m (9.5) tall in the center... insulated aluminum frame and ALLTOP Plexiglass... Temperature goal: 18°C min (64.4F)... most ofthe GH is protected from extrem sunlight by surrounding trees, but allowing enough light even for Cattleyas/Vandas (Actually, I think I will need to add some shade-clothes in summer to part of the GH)

This was the garden in May 2010:

greenhouse 01 by kavanaru, on Flickr

greenhouse 02 by kavanaru, on Flickr

greenhouse 03 by kavanaru, on Flickr

some trees were cut down in July...


greenhouse 04 by kavanaru, on Flickr

and digging started inmediately after


greenhouse 05 by kavanaru, on Flickr


greenhouse 06 by kavanaru, on Flickr

[kavanaru]

greenhouse 08 by kavanaru, on Flickr

greenhouse 10 by kavanaru, on Flickr

greenhouse 12 by kavanaru, on Flickr

Digging work is over, and the first layer of concrete has been added (to even all the ground out). Now wait for it to dry out, before continuing


greenhouse 19 by kavanaru, on Flickr

greenhouse 13 by kavanaru, on Flickr

greenhouse 15 by kavanaru, on Flickr

yes, everything made by hand.. like in old times... because de garden is pretty higher than the street, and teh only access is a rather small stairway, it was not possible to bring any machines to the garden. Even the construction material has been lifted by hand from teh street to the garden...

Vista desde la calle by kavanaru, on Flickr

A la calle by kavanaru, on Flickr


To be Continued...

[dounoharm]

very good so far except the injury....you have to remember to work smart!! keep us posted on the work in progress, it looks like a great location!

[Jeff9]

Nice one, atleast building by hand you can make it exactly how you want it

Keep us updated

[got ants]

Ramon, in that last pic, is that a private security down at the bottom of the stairs?

[Junebug]

I'm impressed by your dedication and hard work. I know the greenhouse is your dream come true and it is sure to be the envy of us all. I can't wait to see the finished product and pray that you make a full recovery from your back injury. Take care.

[DebsC]

Oh wow! What great pictures you've shared with us so far. Your greenhouse is going to be in such a beautiful location. Really, I can't wait to see more pictures as the work progresses!

I'm not familiar with your weather conditions there. Just wondering if your temperatures are as extreme as they are where I live? Will the greenhouse require heat and some type of cooling?

Oh my, I'm sorry to hear about your back. Sounds like it's quite painful. Hopefully, surgery won't be required but I wish the best. I know you want to be working on that greenhouse!!

I'm looking forward to many more pictures!

[s.kallima]

Great work so far Ramon ! This is going to be a tall GH ! 2.7 m tall, wow ! I am surprised you didn't dig more to have a bigger part of the walls in the ground for insulation (but maybe the pictures don't give a good scale). You are going to need a good heating system for the winter... (it is pretty cold near Mulhouse !). Is the Plexiglass you are talking about good for insulation ? (is it similar to multiple layers polycarbonate ? just to know for my future project... one day...).
21.8 square meters, you are just above the 20 sqm limit for a construction permit
Hope you will be doing better soon with your back, unfortunately I know what it's like and recovery is long and never complete, you will always have to be ultra cautious (I don't know about surgery). take care and keep us updated with the GH

[kavanaru]

Thanks! even if I cannot help with the work, it is a lot of fun to see the (slow) progress..

Originally Posted by got ants

Ramon, in that last pic, is that a private security down at the bottom of the stairs?

Yeap! we pay the guy to stay there 24h/day because we live in teh most dangerous city in France!
no, no, just kidding This is my partner leaving the house.. the photo is from January and he was wearing a "funny" coat (inspired by Russian Army uniform)... the joke about the city being so dangerous, is because in the past (let's say 10 - 15 years ago) the city was indeed dangerous and very poor (bad governmental planning: very rich city with lot's of industries which the goverment suddenly decided to move to other places or went bankrupt, and suddenly most of the people were jobless) however, many many people still think it is still like this. Especially, French people from Paris (which is indeed a dangerous city!) and Switzerland... When I commented I was buying a property here, most of my friends in Switzerland thought I was crazy!! When they have seen the neighborhood (comparable to the richest neighborhood in Zurich - but a lot cheaper!!) and the property, they cannot believe it is in this same city...

Originally Posted by DebsC

I'm not familiar with your weather conditions there. Just wondering if your temperatures are as extreme as they are where I live? Will the greenhouse require heat and some type of cooling?

I am not sure about Arkansas, but here you can have also both extrems... This region is one of the warmest and driest in France during summer time, and winters, which normally are pretty mild can give you about 2-3 weeks at -5°C to -10°C (14F - 23F), however very sunny... Heating will be needed, and the foundation had to be dug below the frost line(1m deep = 3.2' deep). Cooling system could be helpful, especially if growing cool or intermediate plants, however I will not use it. most of my plants are intermediate-warm growers, and those needind cooling will just go out of the GH during the summer..

[kavanaru]

Originally Posted by s.kallima

Great work so far Ramon ! This is going to be a tall GH ! 2.7 m tall, wow ! I am surprised you didn't dig more to have a bigger part of the walls in the ground for insulation (but maybe the pictures don't give a good scale). You are going to need a good heating system for the winter... (it is pretty cold near Mulhouse !). Is the Plexiglass you are talking about good for insulation ? (is it similar to multiple layers polycarbonate ? just to know for my future project... one
day...).

Actually, the foundation is 1m deep. The garden was not even though, so I will need to "refill" part of it, in order to have the whole foundation underground... ALLTP Plexiglass is similar to polycarbonate. PC is actually slightly better for insulation, but it does not let UV-light through, which is important for the good health of the plants.

Originally Posted by s.kallima

21.8 square meters, you are just above the 20 sqm limit for a construction permit

yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no.... when I started with this project, it was over the limit, one week later it was not, but a notification was needed, one week later it was again over the limit (not for the area, but because of the height), then again it was not necessary to have a building permit, then we all were confused, then I decided to give a piece of SSSS(and) to the french system, and requested a building permit, no matter whether needed or not. I received the approval for construction, but no building permit. However, I had to publish in the local Newspaper and put a board in front of the house, communicating the neighborhood I was planning to build a GH. If within 2 months nobody would complain, I could build it... so,it was in teh newspaper, the board is also in front of the house, and we decided not to care about it anymore and started building the GH one week after publication... at the end, they would not inspectthe site, and if a neighbor would complain, they would need a very STRONG argument for that...