The Mercerfolks

Done with the hard stuff.

2012-02-15T17:33:00.000-08:00

It's been a fun project but I'm still glad the construction type work is done.

Actually I didn't really expect to have it all put together till much later this spring and even thought it might not be done till summer sometime. Now that the mechanical work is all done, I will still have to do a little sprucing up like bringing in some gravel for the floor and spreading out a bit more fill to smooth and blend in the base with the rest of the meadow. We need to decide where to put the shelves and I will likely build some raised beds to make tending things a little easier, plus adding in some automatic drip circuits.

We may even have to figure out what we're going to use the greenhouse for, though I think Marie is already formulating some plans.

Raising the roof

2012-02-14T17:40:00.000-08:00

I got to work relatively early this morning and started attaching the various roof pieces which I had assembled in the shop. By lunch time I had the front roof section and all the supporting beams attached.

After lunch I started inserting the roof window panes and all the watertight fittings that hold the windows in. I was about half done by mid afternoon when it started raining, though not too hard. I was getting so close to having the roof finished that I couldn't really stop. I've heard that if you live in Oregon, you are supposed to just take the rain in stride, so I continued on.

It's pretty much together now and is even waterproof, providing the wind isn't blowing. The next step is to mount the two louvered windows and then start putting the doors together. It's great to see it actually looking like a greenhouse.

It was a snow day.

2012-02-13T17:21:00.000-08:00

It didn't seem reasonable to be working outside today.

Today was one of the very few snow days that we get here and even though the snow was all gone by noon, it still provided an excuse to take the day off.

Working around the rain

2012-02-12T18:03:00.000-08:00

I knew the rain was coming so I got an early start this morning, or sort of early. The first task was to finish the upper section of the walls, and that went pretty much as expected, although it did away with most of the morning. The picture was taken late in the afternoon, though, in the rain. The two missing panes are reserved for louvered window panels.

It was starting to rain by the time we were done with lunch, but that was okay as the next task was to assemble the first section of the roof. I moved into the shop where I've been keeping all the pieces, then spent most of the afternoon getting the front wall for over the door done with just a single section of roof attached. Lots of hard squeezing and pushing to press fit the various parts together. The green storage racks in the picture came with the greenhouse package.

My hope is to just set this not overly heavy assembled section on top of the walls, fasten it down and then continue constructing the remaining five sections in place via a fair amount of ladder work.

Finally, the fun begins.

2012-02-11T18:09:00.000-08:00

At last the prep work is done and the construction has started.

The walls seem to be going up fairly easily, or at least the lower section went okay. The panels are a bit difficult to slide in and I suppose that will be even more difficult for the upper section, probably requiring some ladder work, which I'll start as soon as the coming rainy days give way to any sort of dry spell.

More mostly invisible work

2012-02-09T17:46:00.000-08:00

I have now added some old leftover cement edging blocks as a sort of foundation under the plastic base pieces, placing a one foot long block at four foot intervals. These blocks are a little wider than the base so I'm hopeful they will help resist movement from settling fill dirt. They will also make it easier, should I ever want to attempt re-leveling the base if it does sink a little.

This picture shows that the left side is no longer "up in the air."

Seemed like I should have an equivalent picture of the right side too.

And another one of the back, showing the access cover for the sprinkler system valves, assuming they are someday actually installed.

So finally, I think, all the fussing around prep work is done and I can now start bringing in the fill in earnest. I picked up two yards of decomposed granite today and will be spreading that out on those coming days when it isn't raining, which there aren't going to be many of for awhile.

Done with the ditch digging.

2012-02-05T17:47:00.000-08:00

Today saw the end of the ditch digging and I'm quite happy to have that phase over with.

All the trenches are filled in now and I'm ready to commence bringing in enough fill to get everything up to the top of the frame. I'll first use up a couple of the old dirt piles I've had sitting around and will then probably have to buy some more to be able to level it all up.

It will sure be nice to have all the prep work done so I can actually starting assembly, hopefully in the not too distant future.

Pipe documentation.

2012-02-04T17:28:00.000-08:00

This shot was taken yesterday towards the south and is mostly just so I'll have something to remind me where the various pipes are laid out. As long as I was running a new line to the greenhouse, I thought I might as well also run a line to the back of the greenhouse to use for a meadow sprinkler system, someday. As long as I was running a new line, I thought I might as well disconnect the existing yard faucet from it's little half inch rubber pipe which ran all the way from the garage back to the well and then on to the faucet which resulted in only a moderate flow rate. By connecting to the new three quarter inch line directly from the well feed, I expect get a much improved flow rate.

No picture today even though I did get all of the various pipes glued together and now have the faucet connected and installed about two and a half feet deep surrounded by river rocks to create a french drain, except that I did add a drain line in the trench in the lower left just to be sure I don't get a build up of water inside the greenhouse.

Now I get to fill everything back in, after which I'll go back to filling and leveling the surface. Little by little I do seem to be making progress.

Playing with the lathe.

2012-02-02T23:37:00.000-08:00

I don't often seem to find opportunities to use my lathe, though it's enjoyable when I can figure out something to make. Marie spilled her glue bottle the other day and was trying to find some kind of holder to keep it from tipping over again, so I went out in the shop to see what I could figure out -- and this is what I came up with.

Kind of fun to start with just a piece of wood and then end up with something useful -- and it was a nice break from digging trenches.

It took me awhile, when I first got the lathe, to learn how to progress from scrapping to cutting and it sometimes surprises me that even after a months long break I can still just turn on the lathe and start right in cutting. Must be kind of like riding a bicycle I suppose.

Going according to plan.

2012-01-30T18:03:00.000-08:00

It's always nice when things go according to plan, especially when the plan is being created on the fly. This summer I was out near our well pump and noticed that it was turning on and off fairly often while I was running a single sprinkler out in the side meadow. I finally made the decision to have a cycle stop valve installed in the well's main water line and I was extremely pleased to find that it worked exactly as advertized and is saving considerable wear and tear on the well pump. I only say all that to lead up to the fact that I had a plumber install it because I was a little nervous about tearing into my well, as I have never had any experience with wells before. I carefully watched what the plumber did and saw that he did just what I would have done, though he did it with more confidence.

The cycle stop valve installation left me quite willing to cut the main line again to install a tee fitting, just as the plumber had done to install the cycle stop valve. He had also installed a union fitting which made my job that much easier.

Here is the well pump, union, cycle stop valve and the new greenhouse line with it's shut off valve -- and it all went together without a hitch.

Now I have a bit more ditch digging to do with the new plan being to run the water along the side of the greenhouse to the back where I may eventually add in a sprinkler system for the meadow.

There will be a branch going inside the greenhouse to provide easy watering. Of course when I do the sprinkler system, I'll also include some automatic watering within the greenhouse too. At least that's my plan at the moment.

2012-01-29T18:11:00.000-08:00

Today seemed like a good day to get a little more work done so I decided to scoot the greenhouse forward about another foot. Then I squared up the corners and used blocks to start leveling the base. I happened to have a pile of decomposed granite (DG) and brought a few bucketfuls of that over to begin filling in around the base.

The dirt floor of the greenhouse will now be about level with the driveway which required that all the rest of the base be raised up several inches. I plan to use DG to build up around the base, but to use some better garden type dirt to build up the inside edges where we may be growing some things directly in the ground. We're thinking of using either paving stones or just plain gravel for the middle portion.

There is a fair ways to go before I can start assembling all the pieces but at least it no longer looks like it was just thrown out in the meadow and it's easy to see that the construction is actually in process. Actually, though, I had better now deal with the water line before I haul in much more fill dirt or I'll just have to dig it back up again. The weather forecast for next week is for no rain so I should be able to make some progress.

Whew, glad that part's done.

2012-01-26T16:56:00.000-08:00

It rained last night, which was good as that helped settle the trench's fill somewhat. Today I finished filling in all but the two ends, then used the tractor's wheels to compact the fill. More fill on top and more compacting, then some raking and it was done!

Experience tells me that a little more fill will be needed after a month or so of settling and then a bit of raking of the old gravel back and forth should finish up the trenching effort.

Depending on the weather, I'll likely either start connecting to the well's water line next which will involve kneeling down and working in a hole -- or I'll start leveling the greenhouse frame which I'll mostly do with the tractor (I hope). I have to get the frame level before I'll know how deep the water line needs to be, so that might sway my choice of my next effort somewhat.

The end (of the trenching) is in sight.

2012-01-25T21:42:00.000-08:00

There was a break in the rain forecast for today so I hooked up my trailer and hightailed it to the hardware store where I picked up four conduit sections (2" X 10') and made it back home nice and dry. After a bit more digging to even out the bottom of the trench, I was able to lay in the conduit and commence the refilling operation. Pretty much the same amount of work to refill the trench as to dig it, minus the pick work but adding in tamping the fill back down.

I'm happy to see myself making some progress but there isn't anything very exciting to see, especially since all this work, if it turns out right, will be invisible anyway. With a little luck I hope to finish refilling the trench tomorrow, after which I'll have to figure out what to do next, since I'm sort of just winging it, not having created any detailed plan -- kind of operating in a laid back stress free anti-engineering mode, I guess, which leaves me free to do next whatever strikes my fancy.

Buried treasure

2012-01-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

Grants Pass has had about two inches of rain over the last 24 hours according to one of the weather services, though it seems like it was much more than that where we are. The water was running down the hill in front of our house, then down the driveway and right into my little ditch -- turning it into a bit of a creek. I went out this afternoon to shovel out the end of the trench just enough to let most of the water flow out. I couldn't get very deep though, as I was digging under muddy water and seemed to have hit a large root which I assumed was from a big Ponderosa Pine tree that used to be nearby. So I gave up that effort until I noticed that it had stopped raining whereupon I grabbed the shovel and went back out to see if I could finish my bit of creek digging. Instead of a big root I found some buried treasure - not!

The weather was still threatening but I got the treasure out just before the rain started up again. Now I have the added problem of disposing of my nice treasure. I'll be using the back hoe to install the water line, so perhaps I'll just over-dig a portion of that trench and redeposit my treasure. On second thought though, I'm not so sure I want those tires to stay buried more or less over my well. Perhaps a little hole somewhere else would be more appropriate.

Rainy days

2012-01-18T17:14:00.000-08:00

A couple of times I have tried to do some digging in the wintertime when the ground was nicely soft and both times I ended up having to wait several weeks to finish up, as the hole filled with water and then dried up very slowly.

It might be that it has happened again. The greenhouse ditch digging effort is now on hold pending some unknown number of days without rain. It's hard to dig under water and it's hard to level out the ground when it's gooey mud -- so there the mess sits for who knows how long.

I, on the other hand, seem to have a few indoor chores that now need attending to.

It's a snow day!

2012-01-15T21:33:00.000-08:00

Today was officially a snow day, so no digging required!

Working in the deep snow could be hazardous to one's health, so a day off was in order.

Instead of digging, I spent some time reloading Marie's art room. We had spent several days emptying her room of all furniture and art supplies in order to completely clear the floor. I then spent a few days pulling up the old square press-on tiles which were starting to curl and break around the edges. Thursday we had new linoleum installed, which was a very wise decision over attempting to do it myself, as they did a much better and way faster job than I would have done. This was a case of wanting it done right right away and so hiring people that knew what they were doing -- and watching them carefully. Then, Friday I installed new floor molding around the whole room, as it didn't used to have any molding at all. Here's the empty room picture:

Yesterday I started reassembling the workstations and continued that effort today in lieu of ditch digging. There is only the painting station and computer setup left to finish, plus a major amount of rearranging by Marie, and then she'll be back in business again.

Unfortunately, or is it happily, the snow melted so I did get in just a little more digging in the late afternoon. I guess it's about time to go buy some conduit even though there is still snow in the forecast for the next few days.

Trenching - yet another day.

2012-01-13T17:10:00.001-08:00

Not much point in another picture of just a longer ditch. Slow but steady does it, with three or four days left to go to get to the far side of the driveway. Then it'll be time to figure out where my target is inside the greenhouse. Still remaining will be to dig another much easier trench from the well to the greenhouse for the water line.

Trenching - day two.

2012-01-10T16:15:00.000-08:00

Here is a wide shot of where the greenhouse will be located in our side meadow. The little boxes in the middle are the well pump and hose reel. The greenhouse will be just beyond them, which is west of the Ponderosa Pine trees so it should get full sun for most of the day.

I went out after lunch and marked off an eight foot section for today's trenching effort. Now that I am through the side section and out into the driveway area, I soon discovered that the driveway base contains various sizes of rocks, some of which are bigger than my four inch wide trench. No way past those except to dig them up.

Today's effort ended at only about seven feet, as I have decided to definitely stop working when my back starts hurting. Being tired is okay but when the localized pain starts, then it's time to quit so I'll be capable of working another day. It's hard work but strangely enough, I kind of enjoy doing it. Perhaps it's the exercise related endorphin release, as the digging does raise my heart rate to the point that I have to frequently pause a bit and then switch from picking to shoveling, each activity seeming to use a different set of muscles. Regardless of any benefits reaped though, I'll still be glad when I'm done with this phase of the project.

Memory lane, or trench.

2012-01-09T16:28:00.000-08:00

I was introduced to these tools when I was just a young kid and as a young man I could use them all day long...

but now an hour or so at a time is more than enough. Happily I don't have a schedule so I'm in no big hurry. I keep thinking I'll just take it slow and easy but I have yet to discover how to swing a pick slow and easy, if I want to actually get anything done.

At least I've found the main water pipe feeding the sprinkler system. Not really as deep as I was expecting. Somewhere farther on is the main line crossing the driveway from the well pump to the house plus another smaller line going from the house back out across the driveway to the yard faucet, and I expect to cross paths with both of those. I'm thinking I'm about an eighth of the way done, so only seven eights left to go, or maybe less as soon as I research just how deep the trench should be.

This work seems like playing, except...

2012-01-08T16:05:00.000-08:00

My original plan had been to just take my time and perhaps have the greenhouse built by some time this summer. I suspect it'll get done a little sooner than that though, as it's hard to have all those dozens and dozens of pieces just sitting in their boxes waiting to be put together. It's kind of like playing with big boy Tinker Toys or an Erector set.

The foundation and bottom wall frame is complete and waiting only for me to dig a trench with a level bottom. The foundation then slips into the trench and gets filled with dirt and packed down. Next I need to build up the inside area to be level and even with the top of the foundation.

Before I level the floor though, I also need to dig a trench for a water line and probably some electricity. That's going to require digging a trench all the way across our driveway, which I'll have to do by hand to avoid breaking the hidden underground water pipes and power lines. I think that means some pick and shovel work, which I don't look forward to with much glee and surely will tackle just a little at a time.

Tech Talk -- New Setup for Comments.

2012-01-07T23:31:00.000-08:00

It may well be that the readers of this particular post may not know or care what I'm talking about, but I've elected to go ahead and write this anyway just on the odd chance that somebody finds it relevant.

Today I connected with a service (Disqus) which improves Google's blog comment handling. Now anyone may reply to any other comment and the reply will be inserted under the relevant comment instead of being placed at the end of the list. However the person replying still does not get notified and will only know that there was a reply posted by going back and checking the original posting. An alternative to rechecking would be to use either the subscribe by email or the RSS options offered below the last comment of any post. Alternatively, I can add you (friends and family only) to the comment's mailing list, which is separate from the mailing list for new postings.

I, by the way, do get notified whenever any comment is added, so if you say something, I will hear you.

Can't resist getting started.

2012-01-07T17:30:00.000-08:00

Today we picked a spot in the side meadow and laid out markers for the corners. Next I scooped out some of the topsoil to save for a new gourd mound, as the greenhouse will be where the old gourd mound was. I then scooped out even more, as it seems to be good soil and better put to use for the new plants rather than buried under the greenhouse floor. We had some other dirt containing a good percentage of clay and rocks, so I brought some of that over as a base and the first shot at trying to get the greenhouse foundation level.

Then the boxes in the barn started calling me, so I gave in and started assembling the foundation and attaching the lower wall frame.

The instructions call for building the entire frame and lower wall pieces first, then moving the whole thing to the final site, but I plan to instead do each end and the middle sides separately. Eight feet by twelve feet is big and cumbersome, and it just seems that the smaller parts will be easier to deal with.

So far the unit seems to be good quality and the assembled parts have a very solid feel to them, so I'm optimistic that we will end up with something quite nice.

By the time I got this much done it was getting late in the day and my back was starting to suggest that I take a break and continue another day, so in a rare moment of good common sense, I decided to do just that.

First 2012 project.

2011-12-31T17:21:00.000-08:00

We ran to the bank yesterday and grabbed a handful of money, then drove out today and bought ourselves a greenhouse. Marie found it advertised on Craigslist, we've been thinking about getting one for quite awhile now, it was being sold at a steep discount and it was still brand new, so pretty much on the spur-of-the-moment, we just decided to go for it.

This is our brand new greenhouse, fully functional -- even with a hired helper.

Well... No, this is just the brochure picture.

Ours looks just a little different.

and it may not be fully functional for a couple of days, or weeks, or more likely -- months. According to the brochure, two experienced men working full time, can get it built in eight hours. Now, with one man working a little bit every now and then, depending on the weather -- well maybe it'll be done before this summer is over.

If you want to follow along with me on this project but don't want to keep looking here and not seeing anything new, just send me a note and I'll add you to the change notification list so you'll get an email whenever I manage to get something done and make another entry here.

New Year's resolution #1 -- build Marie a greenhouse.