greenhouse repairs

Finished the fixups I started two weeks ago.

It needed more work than I realized. When I took off all the plastic panels- only left the roof piece on- found that some wood pieces across the bottom were rotted. So I pulled them out, cut and painted new pieces to go in. Again from scrap wood, so probably this won't last long either. But I cut one piece too short, so had to patch in another alongside it, and it's a super weak point now, so I added triangular pieces and um, heavy duty zip ties. No closeups of that corner, it's embarrassing. 

Also how much the door slumps. The piece I cut to go underneath it- threshold- has an angle now. And I probably should cut a wedge to attach up top, or I will have to keep stopping up this gap with old cloths. Just makes me realize I'm not actually that great at building things.

It was nice to get all the cracked and discolored panels off, though a lot of work to remove all the old nails and tiny rusted screws. Much easier to pull staples with pliers, and I'm not going to mess around with my old quick fix anymore- packing tape. It all shreds into a mess. Having a wrap that goes all the way around from door post to door post on the other side, means no gaps where the panels or walls meet. So I have no drafts to block, except that door edge.

So this is my preference, after trying it both ways- to continue wrapping in plastic. But not plastic sheeting anymore- this time I went out and bought another shower liner, new just for this use. (All of five dollars). I know it won't last forever- the older piece on the opposide side- which is not clear anymore, you can see here- is already tearing a bit- but that piece had got many years of use indoors already.

I dithered about getting shower liners, but then found where people deliberately buy it to winterize their porches! So if they use it for that more or less successfully, I figure it will last long enough for this. If two or three years, still better than what I had before. 

The back wall. Just a bit uneven where it comes down off the roof, but all clear!

Most of the structure still felt sturdy, and dry inside, except down where it rests on the decking. At least one of the main posts is starting to rot on the bottom edge. So -sigh- this thing is going to have a limited lifespan. I hope to still get at least five years out of it, though. It's lasted almost four, now.

View of the greenhouse from my dining room window: