No such thing as a free greenhouse!

[Birdbrain]

I've been looking for a freebie or very cheap greenhouse for some time now. I advertised in Admart/local trader type places and on my local Freecycle group and regularly embarrassed friends and neighbours at every opportunity. One of my neighbours has a son who erects new GHs so there was a possibility he might be able to give me a lead ..... but no luck with all these avenues.
Everywhere I found wanted adds for greenhouses so there are many people out there after the same thing. After some weeks I finally got my greenhouse. Free it wasn't as people with old ones have got wise to the demand. I paid more than I should have (£50.00) even after some haggling over the price. The guy I bought it from was well aware that it was a sellers market! My main worry was that it had already been dismantled and although this saved me quite a lot of work and time I was in the position of not really knowing if everything was there and quite what I would need to aquire or buy to finish it. Surprisingly all of the bits fitted into my Honda Jazz. I got it home, ( a journey of some thirty five miles) without breaking any glass! I knew I would have to spend some but I wasn’t prepared for how much my cheap/free greenhouse would end up costing.
Putting it together was a long process. It was like doing a jigsaw without a picture but luckily I found some assembly instructions on a site selling Gardman greenhouses. Cleaning the frame and washing the glass took an age but was greatly facilitated by the staging I had bought as it was easy to work with the glass resting safely on it for cleaning and it drained well when it came to rinsing off all the crud and soap suds.I found it quite anxiety provocking handeling all that glass!
Well spend I did!
As soon as I started to assemble things I realised I would need a lot of new bolts and ‘W’ glazing clips. These are readily available off the net and the best price I found was around £8.00 for 100 nuts and bolts. The cheapest source for glazing clips was my local glass supplier.(£6.00 per 100) I worked out that it would be much easier and not a lot more expensive to buy a metal base as I didn't have access to bricks etc to make a base. That was £50.00 (a good price from Wicks) plus a bit for concrete to fix it down. I had to buy seven 24"x24" pains of horticultural glass which cost £28.00. I got a bargain on a louver with an automatic ventilator and some good staging at Wicks who were selling off a lot of greenhouse stuff...about £50.00. Other odd bits and pieces such as rubber sealing strip and spare parts to repair the door (again from the net) was another tenner and another £20.00 for an automatic opener for the roof. So you can see my cheap green house was not cheap but cost about a third of the price of all new stuff.....but it's quite state of the art with its posh staging and auto vents. The outside structure is all finished but I still have to sort the inside, which will involve a couple more paving slabs and some gravel. The spending goes on!
I've learnt a lot but the main piece of advice is don't buy a greenhouse that has been dismantled. Putting it together was a nightmare. It is also impossible to tell what is missing. I did expect to buy some stuff but at least when you see it standing in front of you it is possible to quickly assess what you will need to replace!
All that said I'm really pleased and excited and hope to get stuff away early in the spring. I’ve still a lot to learn but that's what it's all about really. I may be able to give some advice to anyone in a similar position …….and if you are …GOOD LUCK!...PM me if you think I can help

[Birdbrain]

And more pictures......

[Steve the Gas]

Good advice

As you said sellers market

70 mile round trip aswell

So how did you choose your Nom De Plume?

[Richard]

Looks good !

Both mine were given to me - 1 12x8 and 1 8x6, but the work involved !! Dismantling and trying to remember where it all goes, then putting some up to find you should have done something else first etc. etc.
Then, as you say, the clips and all the extra's - it's a long hard slog, but worth it in the end.

Mine are falling apart now and held together literally by cut bits of plywood, tape and a prayer !

[LynneP]

Ir's a splendid rig Richard and worth the work and materials. You couldn't get one here new for less than 500 quid in your money. I've been thinking of making one out of a treated wood frame and using those polycarbonate panels that come in 4x8' sheets. Or maybe using the side of the south side of the barn under the eaves to save money...putting the growing racks on the barn wall....we'll see...would be a good way to add solar heat to the barn too, send excess heat into the barn on a vent that can also be closed....we'll see!

[Birdbrain]

So how did you choose your Nom De Plume?

Sorry this is off topic but in answer to the question.....This comes from my hobby which is slope soaring model gliders. Frequently we are honored when buzzards and sometimes gulls come and join us in a thermal. The handle is really out of respect for their superior skill in thermal soaring rather than it's usual meaning of 'stupid'!. It started after I made a full sized model of a White tailed Sea Eagle. My other internet handle that I use on various wildlife fora is 'FrogPrince' because of my passion for frogs and my pond

[silky]

Is the greenhouse anchored down?

The reason I ask, is that it doesn’t appear to be so in the photo. If it is not anchored than a good gust of wind over the winter months and it could flip over.

[bluebell]

Birdbrain, your bird looks brilliant!

[Birdbrain]

Is the greenhouse anchored down?

The reason I ask, is that it doesn’t appear to be so in the photo. If it is not anchored than a good gust of wind over the winter months and it could flip over.

Yes it's anchored down into concrete (I say so in my first post) at the four corners and under each upright. I dug holes about a foot deep and six inches square at these points and filled them with concrete then long pegs which hooked over the base were pushed at a slight angle into the wet mix. These were the instructions that came with the base.
I DON'T THINK IT'S GONNA MOVE!

[Birdbrain]

Today I made a raised bed on the left hand side, figuring that I would be OK to grow directly in the soil for a couple of seasons. I leveled and bedded the paving stones down the centre and put gravel/shingle over a weed stopping membrain on the right. I spent most of the day washing the gravel. You can see all the red westcountry sand comming out of it in the wheelbarrow. I hope it's not too late to sow some winter lettuce.

[caddywak]

that's looking like a very nice setup, great work

[Birdbrain]

The greenhouse works
I successfully grew Winter Gem, Cut & Come again mixture and Oriental Mustard which has given us enough to fill the sandwiches since Christmas. Now lots of flowers,wild flowers and vegetable and herb seeds are germinating. A major success was that I bought a lavender plant in B&Q in the Autumn and took ten cuttings from it. I now have enough for a small hedge for about £4.00 initial outlay. Another economy has been using builders buckets 90p each in Wicks. With several holes drilled in the bottom they make good big pots. The handle makes them easy to move around...at least until the plants get big. I have Dill,Rocket, Carrots, Coriander, Pak Choi and Curly Cress in them.

[jannie]

Well done !!!!!!!!
Did you heat it all winter ?? I had my greenhouse last May and had a good season but don't really know how to use in winter. Love to know what you did...

[Birdbrain]

No heating or insulation at all! Just chucked fleece over everything when it was reall cold. The ground froze but this lettuce likes short days and cold weather

[jannie]

I had winter gem, but it just keeled over when the snow came - I bought a little parrafin heater but didn't like the fumes and didn't fancy eating anything grown in them!!
I'll give the fleece a go next winter.