The Variegated Thumb

After a couple of weeks of inactivity, we began framing on Sunday.  In fact, we did more than begin!  My father-in-law has framing experience from building several houses, 1 wedding chapel and a number of other projects.  He has been a huge help.  In fact, he’s pretty much been doing the framing while I hand him the tools.   But I’m learning.

Bolting down the first wall

Even with several snags along the way, all of the walls were erected in a mere 5 hours.  That included a couple of breaks to go and get supplies and to partake of refreshments and dinner.

End rafters added and long wall studs being placed.

The end rafters were also mounted.  At the end of the day, I couldn’t help but bring out one of my new shelving units and sit a couple of plants on it in the greenhouse.  I just wanted to get a feel for how much space the shelves would take up in the greenhouse.  It’s very exciting.

End of the first day, with all walls framed. Notice my nice shelf with a couple of future residents checking out their new home.

I’m sure that the finishing touches will take a while, but I am very encouraged to see how quickly it has gone up so far.  Soon we will be placing the door and adding the polycarbonate.  Stay tuned!

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

In order to tie the masonry base of the greenhouse to the framing above, I had to affix anchor bolts to the cinder block structure.  I used 10″ Simpson L-bolts and set them in concrete about every 3 feet along the top of the wall.

Anchor bolts placed in concrete

At the same time, I stuck a 24″ length of rebar in each of the concrete-filled holes, for better stability of the walls.  After drilling precisely-placed holes in the base boards of the framing, we can now attach the walls to the cinder block and everything will be very solid.

I am using 1×6 decking boards to cap off the holes of the cinder block wall.  These 1×6 boards will lay just beneath the regular 2×4 framing.  Drilling the holes in the correct location was not an easy task, but the first board is now attached and the others should be a little easier.

1x6 tied down with anchor bolts

As you can see, there is still plenty of room on the bolt to lay a single 2×4 lengthwise on top of the 1×6.  Assuming I measured correctly when I set the bolts in concrete, the nut should be just at the top of bolt when the 2×4 is attached.

Framing should start in about a week!

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

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

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