# Lean-to Greenhouse (x1) Completed!!!!



## ByronBlack (11 Mar 2007)

I thought I might start a thread for the progress of this project. I find if there is something like this to update it keeps me to a schedule and I get things done quicker. Also it's nice to see the progression of a project.

I'm currently working on a sketchup model to finalise a couple of the small details and will post that here in the next few days so you'll have an idea of what the project should look like when it's finished. 

So, onto the details of the project itself. Tracey (aka SWMBO) was originally going to have a greenhouse on the back of the workshop, but for a number of reasons we decided against it and instead we are having a couple of smaller ones attached to our left-hand side fence, this will make access easier and will also provide better security.

They are going to be made from Maranti (or Meranti) and thin poly sheeting which we are getting from an old greenhouse we had in a previous property will be used for the glazing. In terms of dimensions, they'll be 1500mm tall and wide, and an internal dimension of 500mm.

They'll have adjustable shelving, featuring 4 slatted (Redwood) shelves in each greenhouse. A series of 8mm holes and removeable dowels will be used to make the height of the shelves adjustable.

The greenhouses will have a pair of doors in the front as well as a hinged lid to allow access to the top. 

So, now the preambe is out of the way, some initial pictures:

*Day 1*

I cut all the 47mm square stock on the mitre saw to just over final length. I've added 5mm to all the dimensions to allow for final cutting. Here's all the rails, stiles and stretchers cut to size. There is enough stock here for 2 greenhouses.












Once these were all cut, I then sharpened up and set up my new record jointer and got started on thicknessing and squaring the stock. For what it's worth, I used some of the tips that David Charlesworth wrote about in the last edition of F&C. I've only managed to thickness and square the side rails (the shorter pieces) tomorrow will be spent doing all the rest of the pieces.











I really wished I bought a jointer before now, it is superb to use and actually gives me a better finish than my 4 1/2 (but that does need some fettling and re-sharpening).

Thats it for today, more interesting stuff coming over the next couple of days. I'll be making a mortising jig for the router tomorrow too and will post details and pics of that in a seperate thread when it's finished.


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## PowerTool (11 Mar 2007)

Nice to see the workshop getting some use  (although I see the electrics still need finishing... :wink: )

Looking forward to the next installment

Andrew


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## ByronBlack (11 Mar 2007)

Andrew, the electrics are officially finished, I just need to mount the sockets that you see dangling into the boarding, not sure when that will be though, but it gets me working for the time being which is the main thing


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## ByronBlack (2 Apr 2007)

Day 2 of the greenhouse project:

I put my new mortising Jig (homemade) to work today, it was ok. I think version 2.0 will be much better, but it did the job. All my mortices are now cut, I now need to either square the ends, or round the edges of the tenons that will be cut tomorrow or wednesday. Photo's will be added later of the Jig in action.


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## ByronBlack (6 Apr 2007)

Photo's of the jig in action and my makeshift setup for doing the tenons on a sort-of router table.

Marking out the mortises:





The jig; ready to use:





The stock installed in the jig. You can see an index mark that lines up with the bottom of the mortise - this helps position the jig correctly.





Router on the jig; the two fences setup to cut a 35mm long mortise:





Successful cut:





Makeshift router-table and tenon jig. It's just a sled that reached to the fence so that it supports the stock as it goes over the cutter - this is to prevent tear-out.





Tenons cut. Ignore the can of preserver. I tenoned all four of the side-rails to connect the back and front stiles. My next task is to tenon the long back and front rails.





Tenon rounded over to match the motise. Shoulders needed a little cleaning up. I did this with a nice sharp 25mm ye-olde ebay chisel.





Stiles and Rails glued together. This is one side (left). I can only glue-up one piece at a time as I only have 2 clamps big enough 





Thats where i'm to. The other side will be glued-up today (Good Friday) and the tenons on the longer rails will be cut. I might also glue up the pieces to make the sloping sided that will fit on top of the two side panels, this will be to support a hinged lid.

One other small project i've completed this easter break is this:

3 Vegetable Planters for SWMBO:





I used brown eco friendly tanalised 6x1 timber. The beds are each 5'x4' and are steaked with 2x2 treated timber. I can now look forward to some tasty home grown veg later in the year!


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## Anonymous (6 Apr 2007)

Looking good Byron!

I built such a rasied bed only last week for some extra veg growing area. Home grown veg is just so gorgeous - especially when eaten half an hour after picking (the kids pick it whilst i cook the other food) :wink:


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## tonybaloni (6 Apr 2007)

Coming along nicely Byron!  What are the finished size(s)?

Tony


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## DomValente (6 Apr 2007)

Looking good Byron , love the jigs.


Dom


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## PowerTool (6 Apr 2007)

Progressing very nicely - and time to make some planters as well!

Looking forward to the finished article  

Andrew


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## Woody Alan (6 Apr 2007)

Byron excellent work, your enthusiasm is a credit to you and an incentive to others, keep it up, and inventive as you go too. 

Alan


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## ByronBlack (6 Apr 2007)

Thanks for all the positive comments guy's, its what helps me stay enthusiastic!

Here's an update of todays work:

I cut all the rest of the tenons in the same manner, however this was quite tricky as the long rails are much heavier and more difficult to handle than the shorter rails, but nonetheless it went smoothly.

The glue-up was tricky also, but with help from SWMBO and some band-clamps I managed it.

Here's a quick snap of the finished framework (sorry for poor photo)






The best thing about this stage is that the hard difficult (to me) parts are completed, and now, all I need to do is make some doors and mould the glazing bars for when I order the glazing sheets. 

But to top that off, my debt to SWMBO stops here, she has suggested that I don't bother making a second one as this one is bigger than she thought it would be so I've got some Maranti left over for my window frames, and I can get on with my own projects sooner rather than later!


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## DomValente (6 Apr 2007)

Byron said,

"don't bother making a second one as this one is bigger than she thought it would be " 

Yeh I've had a lot of women say that to me :lol: :lol: 

Dom


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## ByronBlack (6 Apr 2007)

You make a lot of gardening equipment I take it then Dom :twisted:


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## DomValente (6 Apr 2007)

Well yes, I can't imagine what else you thought I meant  

Dom


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## lurker (11 Apr 2007)

"my debt to SWMBO stops here" - hehehe! you poor deluded fool!

Your debt never stops!
AND they remember everything, forever!

My SWMBO reminded me the other night (god knows where this suddenly came from) that before we were married, I bought a bag of chips (my intention was to share it with her) but did not get her one. 

- we celebrate 30 years marriage next month!!


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## ByronBlack (5 Jul 2007)

So, over 3 months later, the episode of el-rusto has come and gone, Tony Blair has somehow been given a job in bringing peace to the middle-east, half of the country has become aquatic and some of our GP's have gone a bit nuts, but atleast the greenhouse is finished (almost)!!!

Photos:

Front Shot:





Side Shot:





Lid Detail:





Close Up:





Doors actually work!





..and does the lid!





So there we have it. All I have to do now is attach a piece of ply to the back and install it in the garden.

So to summarise the project:

Made from Meranti, frame joined with M&T's throughout. Shelves installed on moveable blocks, I made a jig that allowed me to drill holes at equal distances on each part of the frame so SWMBO can move them about as she see's fit.

The lid is hinged at the back and can fold all the way to the back if required. I've left a small gap at the back between the frame and the lid to allow for air-flow.

The glazing is the acrylic stuff from Screwfix. The doors and lid glazing was done by installing some glazing bead on the front and then some gripfill on the back - original idea was to use putty, but I made a real mess of that! The frame glazing is held in by the same glazing beading and some thin pine strips on the inside for a nice contrast.

Finish was a very rough sanding with a ROS and then 4 coats of teak-oil with a day between each coat.

Thats it, finally!!

Part of the delay for this project was that I didn't have the tooling for it, so I had to spread the cost over a couple of months, I also didn't have all the wood and glazing panels, and again had to wait to get this, I also decided to do a kitchen refit in the middle of it, and lastly I put my back out again trying to move el-rusto so I couldn't do much for a week or two.

But, SWMBO is happy, my debt is paid, and I can now move on to more interesting projects like my uber-bench and some nice side-tables!


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## Anonymous (5 Jul 2007)

errr, can I see lots of pocket holes.

Looks good Byron, I think I would have avoided pocket holes outside


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## Good Surname or what ? (5 Jul 2007)

Byron,

That looks great. I'd really like one like that too. :mrgreen:


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## DomValente (6 Jul 2007)

Nice, you could keep it indoors to display your vintage wine selection  

Dom


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## tiler99 (6 Jul 2007)

Why pocket holes on the outside ?????


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## woodbloke (6 Jul 2007)

BB - nicely done, but question pocket holes on the outside frame? Pliers also not a permanent part of the greenhouse :lol:

_'SWMBO is happy, my debt is paid' _ .....not going to happen  - Rob


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## ByronBlack (6 Jul 2007)

I knew the pocket holes would be controversial!  

They are only for the doors and the lid (Which are also glued). The holes will be filled and finished before it goes out so hopefully there shouldn't be a problem with moisture ingress.

The decision to use pocket screws for the lid and doors was mainly because of time factor (SWMBO getting inpatient), and for the lid, the stock was too thin (20mm) to M&T succesfully. Maybe i'll come to regret the decision, but the frame itself is fine, so if in a couple of years I have to replace the doors and lid i'll be in a better position to them properly.


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## Dave S (6 Jul 2007)

Nice one Byron. I have something very similar on the order books - quite a long way down, though! Have scrapbooked yours as I'm sure it will provide plenty of inspiration.  

Would it be rude to ask roughly how much the materials came to?

Dave


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## tiler99 (6 Jul 2007)

Not really a problem with the pocket holes but why on the outside?


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## motownmartin (6 Jul 2007)

Nice one, it looks a bit posh for a greenhouse, apart from the pliers, are you going to fit one of those auto opening cylinder thingies, the ones that open more the hotter it gets?

Good job Byron.

Martin


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## ByronBlack (6 Jul 2007)

tiler - because I ballsed up!!

Basically, the pocket-holes were supposed to be on the back/underside. The plan to fit the glazing was to use the glazing beads on the back to provide the backing for the glazing panel and putty was going to be used on the front, however, the putty was a total disaster so I had no other choice at that point to turn the lid/doors round and use the glazing bead as the front and grip-fill the panels.

Now you must realise at this point I was super-peed off with it due to that mistake, when in hindsight I should have done what I did on the frame and that was to cut some thin strips and fix the glazing panels in that way, but being angry and pestered I rushed into a 'solution' which wasn't/isn't ideal.

Dave I dont have the exact figure as I bought the wood over a period of months (which again in hindsight was a mistake). It was all 2x2 and 1x2 par meranti. I estimate that it cost about £200 - there is a lot of wood in the shelves and I would recommend that you make these out of a cheaper softwood

Hi Martin - the pliers are there just to show the lid being open, at somepoint i'll be fitting a hinge/slider type of thing.


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## lurker (6 Jul 2007)

"because I ballsed up!! "

Byron,

We've all been there (every job I've done in my case).
Takes guts to publish our cock ups - I congratulate you.


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## wizer (6 Jul 2007)

Well done Byron. I may just be nicking that idea next year


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## ByronBlack (6 Jul 2007)

Feel free wizer - if you want the plans, i'm sure I can photocopy the back of the fag packet for you :lol: :lol:


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## tiler99 (6 Jul 2007)

ByronBlack":v5s6p4j5 said:


> tiler - because I ballsed up!!



Cant say fairer than that, honest answer :wink:


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## Alf (6 Jul 2007)

BB, I had to double check the subject line there - looks more like a display case! =D> I do hope TPTBs don't look over my shoulder while this thread is open... 8-[ Reckon you learnt loads doing that one - not least about pocket screws.  Good on yer for that btw; takes guts to admit "whoops" in public. 

Cheers, Alf


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## Paul Chapman (6 Jul 2007)

Very posh, BB =D> 

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## Lord Nibbo (6 Jul 2007)

Well like Alf I thought I was looking at a display case not something thats going to sit amongst cabbages =D> and I thought the pocket holes could be made in to a nice feature by making some dowel up out of dark wood to fill them :wink: I wouldn't even give it a rating as gaffs go, nowhere near as bad as doing a 3/4" dado the wrong side of the line :lol: :wink: and then doing the same thing again. :lol:


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## OLD (6 Jul 2007)

I recommend a irwin detail pullsaw (screwfix) to cut off maranti plugs and the fix will be hardly noticeable also the house will last for a long time.


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## JFC (6 Jul 2007)

Nice one BB , very posh !


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## ByronBlack (6 Jul 2007)

Thanks for all the nice comments chaps/chapettes, it's always good for ones self-esteem to receive positive feedback.

Alf - you're right, I did learn a helluva lot during this project, especially the M&T's and how not to use glazing putty. But more importantly, I need to plan projects a bit better to begin with in regards to having the correct tooling and all the material at the beginning of the project to eradicate delays.

OLD - I have a couple of nice japanese pull-saws and it was an idea to cut some plugs for the pocket-holes, the other option was too purchase the Kreg pre-made plugs but didn't want to throw more money at the problem.

So, I have just received a couple of pots of mahogany filler and will be filling and sanding them tomorrow when dry.

Nibbo - SWMBO said the same thing, she likes them as a feature and even went as far to say that I could use contrasting wood (didn't like the idea myself).

In hindsight I think what I should have done is taken the time to mill rebates into the lid and doors to accept the glazing, and then cut some strips for glazing beads and routed a 45 degree chamfer on the inside profile - but at the time I thought it would be too difficult - doh!


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## ByronBlack (8 Jul 2007)

A quick post to show the greenhouse in the wild (still havnt finished the filling yet though):


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## Anonymous (8 Jul 2007)

very posh


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## woodbloke (8 Jul 2007)

BB - Nice looking unit, pliers all gone?  - Rob


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