The Variegated Thumb

One of the requirements for us building a greenhouse on our back porch is that is must look nice from the outside as well as the inside.  It can’t be some unsightly building with a garden of Eden inside.  That’s why we plan to eventually cover over the cinder block with brick that matches our house.  That’s also why we decided to stain all of our lumber before doing the framing.

The staining station where Christie tirelessly stained all 19 2x4s and 2 long 1x6 decking boards.

Christie spent several hours over the weekend, staining our standard 2x4s and base boards, while I was finishing with the block laying.  We chose a very red stain color, which matches the brick of our house very closely and contains all of the sealant stuff to help protect the wood for a long time.  Hopefully we won’t have to re-stain the wood any more often than 8-10 years or so.

Stained boards laying up against the matching brick of our house

With the last block in place, we are ready to start the framing!

See other phases of the project here:

• Initial Plans
• Phase 1: Masonry
• Phase 2: Staining
• Phase 3: Anchoring
• Phase 4: Framing
• Phase 5: Polycarbonate
• First heater night
• Phase 6: Move-in Day

I’m not sure what it is about this year, but I’m thinking it’s the late summer rain.  Whatever it is, the Liriope (Monkey grass) is loving it.

Liriope muscari in my front flowerbed, next to the waterfall.

Liriope is all over town, gracing the shady spots under trees, flowerbed edges and garden problem spots.  And this year it is all covered in purple blooms.  I have never seen it bloom so profusely before.  Even the small starts that we recently planted at my parents-in-laws wedding chapel are blooming – and some of them are just inches tall!

This weekend we got down to business on the greenhouse construction.  I spent a couple of hours on Saturday gathering supplies.  I made a trip to Lowe’s to get two truck fulls worth of  lumber and cinder blocks.  I honestly won’t need the lumber for a little while, but I wanted to make best use of the 10% coupon I had.  I also purchased the mortar mix, rebar pins and anchor bolts that will be used in the construction of the walls.

Mortar mix, anchor bolts and rebar pins

The 60 cinder blocks were loaded into the truck with a forklift, but since I don’t have my own at home, they had to be unloaded by hand…  That’s a lot of blocks.

On Sunday, we got to work.  (Although Saturday wasn’t exactly sitting on our butts!)  Christie and I carefully chalked the perimeter of the greenhouse.  Then I laid the first bed of mortar and carefully placed the first block.

Laying the mortar bed for the first block

The first couple of blocks were frustrating and tedious.  But a couple of blocks later and we were cruising.  I had some help from Christie and her dad and we were able to complete much more than I had expected!

Christie and her dad laying block

After we were finished laying block for the day, Christie meticulously cleaned the tools and the work area, making sure that all of the mortar lines looked clean and filled.

Finish of the first day

See other phases of the project here:

• Initial Plans
• Phase 1: Masonry
• Phase 2: Staining
• Phase 3: Anchoring
• Phase 4: Framing
• Phase 5: Polycarbonate
• First heater night
• Phase 6: Move-in Day