greenhouse roof
|
Posted:Jun 5, 2014 7:18 am
Last Updated:Jun 6, 2014 7:03 am 2890 Views
|
the plexiglass for the roof came this week. i ordered it online special, 3/8" thck. it is called lexar and you can't buy it this thick in the home box stores. i wanted the half inch, but that was over my budget. as it was, i got 4 pieces of 2 x 4 sheets and they were almost $100 each. this is the biggest out lay of cash i have spent on the greenhouse so far. this is the stuff they use for bulletproof glass in some stores. it will be strong enough to take chicago winters.
i probably have spent about half as much on lumber and hardware. the windows were all free, i got them from craig's or the garbage. the original owner also left behind some nice windows in storage. i picked out only lightweight vinyl windows to use, all of them have double pane glass and flip open inside. some of them are nicer windows than i have in my house.
i have built the roof piece to fit. it will cover the whole side to side (8' +) for almost 5'. that leaves me a foot or so to make an opening vent. this thing is really coming together. it is going to be really nice.
i have also been researching stuff to grow for profit, and that isn't going to be as hard as i thought either. there are a few rare plants that can only be grown in greenhouses, but are not really that hard to grow. ginsing, for one, and there are many others. i have been reading up and i think i will be able to grow a few thousand dollars a year without a lot of extra work.
the BIGGEST profit to me though is just having a way up on the roof and a little house to keep stuff in up there. i am getting SO tan. the tanner i get the less bald i look.
those are my neighbors that helped me raise the roof. they are retired too, but they mostly just sit in their back yard and drink beer. like on king of the hill. i bought them a case of heiniken for helping me. i don't know why that picture posted twice and i can't delete it?
)
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
only sinners can marry
|
Posted:Jun 4, 2014 3:22 pm
Last Updated:Dec 31, 2020 7:22 am 4939 Views
|
i am probably one of the foremost homophobes around. not that i really have any animosity towards gays, but i really enjoy giving them a hard time. the opportunity for humorous burns abounds, and i am ALL about humor.
however, i seriously FAIL to see the biblical sense behind opposing opposing homo unions?
ok ok. the bible says homo is a sin. what does that have to do with marriage?
can liars marry each other? how about murderers?
i would think murder is worse than gay if we were ranking sins.
we are ALL sinners!
we should let the gays get married and be miserable like the rest of us.
at least they won't reproduce.
|
|
|
1
comment
|
|
the swimming hole
|
Posted:Jun 3, 2014 1:41 pm
Last Updated:Jun 4, 2014 6:43 am 2895 Views
|
i got my$4 ebay tarp in the mail today, bungee corded it to my PVC frame and filled it with water.
IT WORKED!!!!
i never know if these halfbaked ideas i come up with are going to actually work or not. i mean, they can look good on paper and everything, but then in reality they can just fall apart. NOT SO with this one.
IT WORKS!!!
i filled it up with really hot water and just soaked in it for the full hour or so that the sun was hitting me. i have been working on my heliostat and it is almost ready. when i put the helostat in, i should be able to direct sunlight to the pool tub all day. again, i 'should' be able to. i will have to see it work before i am sure.
but this is NICE. even if i can't put the sun on it when i want, i get direct sunlight in my little sliver of a yard from just before noon until almost 1:30. i think i am going to make a habit of taking a nice yard bath in the sun right after lunch.
you can see in the first picture how the sun first only covers half the 'yard' for the first 1/2 hour or so. then it moves and covers the whole thing for about an hour, and then it is the reverse. the left is dark and the right is sun. i put the tub where it seems to get the sun longest.
|
|
|
1
comment
|
|
the curse of blue hair?
|
Posted:Jun 2, 2014 1:31 pm
Last Updated:Jun 3, 2014 8:53 am 2968 Views
|
not so long ago, blue hair cursed me and my roofing project. i don't remember exactly what she said, but it was something like 'i hope your roof collapses and you die in it.'
today, i was working on the roof and trying out my new router table. i got it for $29 at a garage sale, and it is next to new. i had to buy a rabbit bit for the cut i need, and coincidentally, that was $29 as well.
i know how to use a router, but i never used a table set up like this one. i thought i understood the concept. i had trouble changing the bit, but i got it after a while. i figured out how everything worked and where the switch was, and i plugged it in.
i was wrong about which position was power and not, and as soon as i plugged it in, it started up. i thought i would just power the switch off, but before i could reach it, the brand new bit came shooting out of the router. spinning like a little frisbee. i SAW it leave the machine and i instinctively turned away at the same time.
it took a good chunk out of my flesh, but didn't seem to hit anything important. it didn't even really hurt much. the blade was SO sharp, it hit me and bounced off me. i put triple anti biotic on it and i taped it up good. i will be fine.
but it scared the heck outta me. a few more inches and that could have been my eye. and this thing is a serious little weapon. it is nastier than a ninja star. spinning at the speed it was. holy cow.
i am still a little nervous. i think i will borrow my father's router for the cuts i need. i have used that a million times without incident. praise the lord he let me dodge that bullet.
and again, apologies to blue hair for any hard feelings. please stop with the voodoo doll
|
|
|
2
Comments
|
|
|
|
did blue hair leave?
|
Posted:May 29, 2014 10:58 am
Last Updated:May 29, 2014 5:14 pm 2956 Views
|
i think blue hair has left big church?
i know she started smack talking me, and so i smack talked her back...and then she disappeared.
if i had anything to do with this, i am sorry. i never really mean any harm, but when someone pushes me, i push back. that is how things are.
on a smilar subject, didn't webling SAY he was leaving?
he made a big production about it, and yet, here he still is.
i would much rather have blue hair around than webling.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
fun with left over PVC
|
Posted:May 28, 2014 1:22 pm
Last Updated:May 30, 2014 8:24 am 2904 Views
|
i get the distinct impression that nobody really gives a flying squirrel about my 'this old house' posts. nonetheless, i don't really have anything at all going on in my life otherwise, so this is it. take it or leave it.
i had an abundance of PVC pipe left overs here. we had already bought a bunch of 3" pipe, and then decided to go with 5" for the outdoor doggie drain. also i already had a lot of odds and ends left overs from the original re-plumbing work. additionally, the previous owner had left a LOT of really large PVC pipe on the roof.
i made gangway sized swimming pool out of the 3" pipe. i only had to buy one 88 cent piece. it is really more of an outdoor bathtub, but it is a place to soak in the sun. we put hot and cold water into the gangway.
i put together all the odd pieces of big pipe that were left on the roof, and i have 2 pipes that cover the 20' span of the garage. i put the bigger 6" pipe onto 'legs' about 2 inches off the ground.
i will stretch the slightly smaller 4" pipe across the span about 2 feet above it, with an upright in the middle. the only thing i had to buy was the T for the upright. instant railing. right now the smaller piece is on the ground next to the bigger piece in the picture.
i will likely put a bunch of small 1/2" pipe in as uprights between the two big pipes. i have a BUNCH of those too. this stuff paints up really nice, i will probably paint the railing a bright color. I LOVE using up scrap supplies.
|
|
|
2
Comments
|
|
this is a day that the lord has made
|
Posted:May 25, 2014 4:27 pm
Last Updated:May 25, 2014 7:27 pm 2682 Views
|
it has been really nice in chicago lately. i have been up working on the roof and soaking up rays. i haven't finished putting the helostat together because there has been SO much sun.
even the 'yard' has been beautiful. i have hobbes trained to not go past the gate. actually, i think she is afraid to.
it is days like this that i just KNOW the lord is on the job.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
4 walls do not a greenhouse make
|
Posted:May 23, 2014 3:48 pm
Last Updated:May 29, 2024 3:43 am 2670 Views
|
i still need the roof. but it is REALLY coming together.
i found this 1/2 " twin wall poly bicarb stuff online that i want to use, but it is from colorado. i can't find anything that thick in chicago yet. i didn't expect to be ready for the roof until next week, but i had a friend stop in and help. it went up faster than i thought it would.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
window greenhouse progress
|
Posted:May 22, 2014 2:12 pm
Last Updated:May 23, 2014 11:13 am 2620 Views
|
i have finished constructing 3 out of the 4 walls for my greenhouse. i still have to get the plexi for the roof, but i have all the lumber and windows i need. i have also designed everything to scale and so far it is all fitting and working like i planned.
the last wall is the one that faces the sun and it will be 3 big windows vertically. i will have a few windows left over when i am done. this is going to be SO cool.
i have church tomorrow nite and i probly won't do so much on it over the weekend. i have to get two more of the big windows up on the roof and find someone to give me a hand with it. i am hoping to have it finished before next weekend. at least standing on its own and mostly rain proofed.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
