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  • #1

    Raising my greenhouse?

    Hello all.

    I have a 6'x6' Norfolk greenhouse, which despite the reviews has served me well for about 5 years. It's still in pretty good shape:



    My only real complaint, apart from the usual "I want a bigger one", is that it's too darn low. It's 4' at the eaves - too low for tomatoes so they have to come more towards the centre, and then it's hard to get in.

    So I want to raise it. I've acquired some blocks:



    My plan was to lay a single course of blocks and sit the greenhouse on top. Trouble is, I don't really know the best way to do it. At the moment it's bolted very securely to the slabs, and hasn't shifted despite some pretty grim weather. I want to ensure it's anchored just as well.

    What's the best way to do this? How can I best anchor the blocks to the slabs, and the greenhouse to the blocks? I need to do it quickly (to minimise the time the greenhouse isn't attached to anything permanent) and I need to do it soon, or it'll be full again.

    All advice / ideas appreciated. Sorry for rambling on a bit.

    Cheers,
    MBE
    Attached Files
    Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
    By singing-'Oh how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade,
    While better men than we go out and start their working lives
    At grubbing weeds from gravel paths with broken dinner-knives. ~ Rudyard Kipling
    Tags: None
  • #2
    If you can lift the slabs up, concrete them in, and fill in any gap with extra concrete that'd secure the blocks to the floor. Failing that, you could bolt the blocks to the floor with angled brackets and raw plugs.

    Then you could fix a batten of wood on top of the blocks, then screw the frame into the wood... or just bolt the frame onto the blocks. Wood would be easier though - more forgiving
    Last edited by chris; 26-02-2012, 01:14 PM.

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    • #3
      just screwing the base rails onto the blocks should be sufficient. Hammer drill, rawl plugs, screws + screwdriver. If you feel the need, use right angle brackets and fix the blocks to the slabs using the same method.

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      • #4
        You could of oourse lower the floor instead of raising the sides.....................
        My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
        to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

        Diversify & prosper


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        • #5
          I sat my blocks on cement, than bolted on some 4 x 1 tan timber to the blocks and screwed the greenhouse to the timber.






          Hope this helps a bit.
          Attached Files
          Last edited by Currysniffa; 26-02-2012, 07:48 PM.
          Chris


          My Allotment Journal @           Google+ and Youtube

          https://plus.google.com/106010041709270771598/posts

          http://www.youtube.com/user/GrowingJournal/videos           -

          Updated Regularly-Last Update was 30-05-16

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Snadger View Post
            You could of oourse lower the floor instead of raising the sides.....................
            Crikey Snadge, I did that with one of my 8 x 6's. Took it down about 15". You would not believe how much soil expands when you take it out of the ground
            Last edited by Aberdeenplotter; 26-02-2012, 07:42 PM.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Currysniffa View Post
              Hope this helps a bit.
              No, that helps a LOT. Do you have anything securing the blocks to the slabs, or is it just the cement?
              Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
              By singing-'Oh how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade,
              While better men than we go out and start their working lives
              At grubbing weeds from gravel paths with broken dinner-knives. ~ Rudyard Kipling

              Comment

              • #8
                Originally posted by Snadger View Post
                You could of oourse lower the floor instead of raising the sides.....................
                I first thought this was lunacy, then I thought it actually made quite a lot of sense.

                Now I've come back to lunacy. Mainly because it would involve cutting / breaking through the slabs, and I have no idea what's underneath them.
                Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
                By singing-'Oh how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade,
                While better men than we go out and start their working lives
                At grubbing weeds from gravel paths with broken dinner-knives. ~ Rudyard Kipling

                Comment

                • #9
                  Ok, I now think I know what I've got to do, so a few more questions about the actual doing.

                  I've never laid bricks or blocks before. I've watched it done lots of times, and my granddad was a brickie, so it must be in the blood, right?

                  How hard is it to lay a 6'x6' course of blocks? What mix of mortar do I use?

                  I like the idea of wood on top of the blocks; I was thinking of 4'x2' so that I can (a) use longer screws and (b) get that little bit more height. Is it easy to fix the wood to the blocks? I'd be a bit worried about them splitting. They're not concrete blocks but are of a fairly hefty density.

                  I probably just need someone to tell me to crack on, and that it'll be all right.
                  Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
                  By singing-'Oh how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade,
                  While better men than we go out and start their working lives
                  At grubbing weeds from gravel paths with broken dinner-knives. ~ Rudyard Kipling

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Crack on. You'll be alright

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Buy three bags of sand and one bag of cement. 3 to 1 is a strong enough mix. Because you're using blocks use plenty of compo in joints........about 20mm thick.
                      If they aren't thermalite blocks (can be cut with a saw)cut them with a bolster chisel use a sprit level. Do all four corners first.

                      Luckily, I've just dismemebered an 8X6 greenhouse today for my lottie but its on its own galvanised base............about 20cm (8") deep so.................problem solved for me!


                      PS Mind the step!!!!!!!!
                      Last edited by Snadger; 26-02-2012, 07:35 PM.
                      My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
                      to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

                      Diversify & prosper


                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Originally posted by mrbadexample View Post
                        No, that helps a LOT. Do you have anything securing the blocks to the slabs, or is it just the cement?
                        Nope just a good old 4 & 1ish mix of sand & cement.

                        Its not hard, get your corners square and just remember you need a little fall to the end your having the water butts
                        Last edited by Currysniffa; 26-02-2012, 07:56 PM. Reason: tyop
                        Chris


                        My Allotment Journal @                         Google+ and Youtube

                        https://plus.google.com/106010041709270771598/posts

                        http://www.youtube.com/user/GrowingJournal/videos                         -

                        Updated Regularly-Last Update was 30-05-16

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          If the greenhouse is staying in the same place, mark round the corners with a felt tip then you know exactly when the blocks have to go.
                          sigpic“Gorillas are very intelligent, but they don't have to be as delicate as chimps -- they can just smash open the termite nest,”
                          --------------------------------------------------------------------
                          Official Member Of The Nutters Club - Rwanda Branch.
                          -------------------------------------------------------------------
                          Sent from my ZX Spectrum with no predictive text..........
                          -----------------------------------------------------------
                          KOYS - King Of Yellow Stickers..............

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Currysniffa View Post
                            just remember you need a little fall to the end your having the water butts
                            Which I failed to remember........
                            sigpic“Gorillas are very intelligent, but they don't have to be as delicate as chimps -- they can just smash open the termite nest,”
                            --------------------------------------------------------------------
                            Official Member Of The Nutters Club - Rwanda Branch.
                            -------------------------------------------------------------------
                            Sent from my ZX Spectrum with no predictive text..........
                            -----------------------------------------------------------
                            KOYS - King Of Yellow Stickers..............

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Bigmallly View Post
                              If the greenhouse is staying in the same place, mark round the corners with a felt tip then you know exactly when the blocks have to go.
                              I was going to draw round it.

                              Originally posted by Bigmallly View Post
                              Which I failed to remember........
                              As would I have done...
                              Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
                              By singing-'Oh how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade,
                              While better men than we go out and start their working lives
                              At grubbing weeds from gravel paths with broken dinner-knives. ~ Rudyard Kipling

                              Comment

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