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"Robin, Just incredible and way beyond our wildest dreams. Thank you" Anne and Chris  
 I added 2-tier painted shelving either side of the main porch and over a "Monty Don" style potting bench. I was also asked to build a work table which can be moved outside or around as needed. This was a large project for me. I really enjoyed it - it really feels like one of my best. Working for Anne and Chris was a real pleasure and great fun.
"It has been a pleasure from start to finish and we love it, thank you very much!" Anne and Chris 
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This was a tricky build - not least because of the sloping ground requiring an extra 3 courses at one end and compacting of material to bring the floor up to the new levels. But also the old barn wall was very uneven and sloped away from the greenhouse by over 2ft from the base to the top of the ridge. I was also hampered by rain throughout and lost 3 days of inactivity due to constant heavy downpours. The bright side was this job was very near home so I could carry on back in the workshop after having to leave site again each day.
But I got there and I'm extremely pleased with the end result and I'm sure the owner will have many happy years enjoying this accoya greenhouse. I added a row of cold frames at one end and a brick sided raised bed inside - which will be perfect for growing tomatoes direct into the ground. Instead of the usual paved flooring I was also asked to lay the brick setts which worked out really well in a t-shaped pattern - leaving a gravel edge for standing pots on or as a water run off from watering plants. 
This one is a "Mark" greenhouse but the owner want another doorway at the back. We looked at 3 options drawing up plans for an in-line porch, a canopy, and a porch which mirrors the front one but with double doors. They chose the last one with double doors at the back and we decided to add cold frames in all four corners.
   Most of this accoya greenhouse is built and painted - and I brought most of it with me this week to store on site ready for my return in a couple of weeks.
My constant companion Pablo died this morning*. I'm adding this small homage to him as thanks for all his company and happy, playful and inquisitive ways. We'll all miss him terribly. 
  Pablo whilst I'm trying to type and work in the office.  I collected Pablo in Oct 2013 from my customer Jean - offsetting the cost of the puppy against the greenhouse. Thanks for everything mate. * I'm writing this after the event of course. Pablo was run over chasing after a farm trailer.
From: Jonathan Sent: 03 June 2020 To: robin@green-bug.co.uk Dear Robin, Hope you are keeping well. Just a note to thank you for the greenhouse. I really couldn’t be happier with how it has turned out. The workmanship and attention to detail is second to none. It has already created a great desk of envy in my green-fingered neighbours. The working greenhouse is a joy to spend time in. The plants are thriving and we are all looking forward to the cucumbers, tomatoes and myself, the moments spent enjoying the odd cup of tea with the evening the birdsong. Please add this post any any of the pictures for your blog. Best wishes and thanks again. Jonathan      This is so close to home I could be visiting for social reasons and not break current Covid rules here in Wales. However, travelling to work is OK anyway and I am able to maintain social distancing easily as I work alone. My customer this week would like a "Tim" greenhouse with a few alterations - a raised bed at one end, a cold frame along the other outside wall and a brick floor rather than paving slabs. It's also going tight up against an old stone wall - which leans in A LOT - and on very sloping ground. A good job this one is close to home/ the workshop as there could be extra working out to do as we go along.
 I've pre-built most of this greenhouse and can now finish building the front gable doorway and take account of the extra width of glass needed where the stone wall leans in at the back. The barn roof looks a similar pitch to the greenhouse so it should tie in well.  My glass suppliers have reopened but with a skeleton crew and only 1 delivery driver at the moment so it took longer to arrive but so great to have it and be on the road again - back to Bridgewater, my second time out to work.
 The structure's up. I put an acro bar in the middle to take any potential sag out of the ridge line whilst I build. If I raise it up a little and get the ridge line perfectly straight, once I've built all the roof, added the glass and horizontal support bars it will stay straight once I remove it later. 
    Hi Robin Thank you so much for your hard work and our wonderful greenhouse. We really appreciate your thoughtfulness and great work ethic. The tomatoes, cucumbers and other plants are already in situ! Best wishes and thank you again! Alison and Bruce  So Jewson aren't open but will delivery for account customers. Off to Bridgewater I go with a van full of all the greenhouse parts I have built and painted whilst working at home in lockdown.
  It's been great doing some proper graft outdoors for a change - despite all the heavy downpours we've had this week. I had to stop work at 7pm given the heavy rain and covered over all the brickwork with hessian. However, it stopped raining again at 9pm so I stumbled from the van and pointed up all that day's brickwork under headtorch lighting. One of the benefits of being on site.
I'd ordered up materials for my next base to be delivered the week of lockdown and have been waiting since then hoping Jewson will reopen and deliver. This next one is the "Bruce"- it's like the "Mark" but 6m long instead which gives more room for longer cold frames at the front and I also add in 8 opening roof windows rather than 4.
My working arrangements are safe and meet the new restrictions. I have all I need in my van - portable loo, microwave oven, kettle, handwashing station - it's not that posh - I just put down a roll mat and sleeping bag but it's better than many BnB's I've stayed in. I just park up on site, unload the van and stay a few days until the job is finished.
As I work from home anyway, things don't feel that different - buy I'll have to pack the completed greenhouses in a little tighter until the restrictions have been lifted. I have a fully completed "Richard" greenhouse here (the glass has arrived and is stored in the racks outside) and I'm busy building and painting a "Bruce" greenhouse - this is a new one. It's a "Mark" but is 6m long and has 8 auto-opening windows in the roof - which are hanging up to dry in the picture below.  I built my workshop inside a large metal barn and it's sound proofed, insulated and has amazing dust extraction equipment keeping it clean and safe - I love it here. I have stocks of timber and accoya to completed another couple of greenhouses so I'll just carry on working as normal for the next few weeks. After that....I'll have to do my accounts and office paperwork. Apologies to those waiting on quotations - I will get around to those too.  |
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