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We finished installing the exhaust fan on Thanksgiving Day, and paused
to celebrate with a little bit of bubbly, smoked oysters, and marinated
artichoke hearts. I sprinkled some champagne on the gravel as an offering
to the greenhouse gods. . . .
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At the end of Part 6: The Framework, I left you with the problem
we faced installing the door jamb. Our mystification stemmed from
the lack of predrilled holes in the two sides of the jamb, an
error on the manufacturer's part. Rather than wait for replacements,
I decided to go ahead and try to muddle through on our own. That
turned out to involve a mort of muddling when it came time to
install the door. With our own placement of the jamb, the door
was way out of kilter, so we had to move the jamb. The whole thing
was nerve-wracking, and the jamb ended up being out of alignment
with the kneewall and glazing bars, requiring extravagant shimming,
which will in turn lead to extravagant caulking. You can see the
problem in the embarrassing set of photos below, with arrows in
case your eyesight is ailing:
| HOWEVER, the door works perfectly, and it looks
fine from the front. My next door will be better! |
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I had some difficulty placing the HAF (horizontal
air flow) fan. This unit is meant to provide air circulation,
and is placed toward one end of the greenhouse, about 3/4 of the
way across its width (i.e., between the ridge and one side wall).
In this position, it sets up a circular current of air within
the greenhouse that spirals from roof to floor. My problem was
that the mounting bracket for the fan I got was long enough that
the fan hung too low; it's supposed to be placed near the roof,
and besides, although I'm short enough, most of my friends would
be crashing into the fan with their heads.
There was nothing for it; we had to hacksaw 4" off the mounting
bracket---which must be made of tempered steel---and drill new
holes through it, with a distressingly dull bit. However, that
did the trick, the top of the protective basket is now about 6"
below the roof,
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Since beginning this project, I've learned a few things about caulk
. . . .
- You need a lot of it.
- There are two basic kinds: silicone and latex. I'd always heard
that the silicone type was best, but then I read the fine print on
the cartridge:
Assuming that cinder blocks were "cementitious surfaces,"
that would rule out using the silicone stuff for a lot of the caulking
I needed to do. So now I have two caulking guns, one with silicone
and one with latex. I hate working with the latex caulk: it's runny
and sticky, and although it's supposed to be easier to clean up because
it's water-based, I find it works its way into my skin and stays there.
Anyway, be sure to read the find print; it has useful information,
like the percentage of joint movement the caulk will tolerate.
- You'll need a lot of it.
- Next to your fingers, this little gizmo is the greatest for getting
a nice smooth finish:
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It's called a "DapCap," and you find it on the same
aisle with the caulks. Get several if you're working with rough
surfaces like cinder blocks, because its edges soon become tattered
and won't leave a smooth finish. |
- You'll need a lot of it.
- That hook on the end of the caulk gun piston catches on everything
--- sleeves, framework bars, and when you put the gun down on the
floor for a second, your shoelaces.
- Remove the cat from the vicinity before starting to caulk (yes,
there is a story behind that. . . .)
- I learned quickly to have a large supply of paper towels right at
hand as I caulked, and I also learned to tear them up into small pieces,
about 2-3", to wipe caulk from the work, the gun, the fingers,
the gizmo, and the cat if I hadn't removed him in time. Each small
piece was used once only and discarded; with large sheets, you want
to use them for several wipes, and invariably you get caulk over everything.
I also learned to keep a small jar of water at hand when using the
latex stuff.
- Did I mention that you'll need a lot of caulk?
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