Well folks I'm nearly there. It's taken me over a year to get to the stage I'm at just now which is very near completion of the main greenhouse. The Robinsons 30 footer was ordered August 2011 and was finally delivered in March 2012, after Greenhouse People realised they had forgotten all about me It hasn't been easy but now I have the kind of growing space I've always dreamed of. I'm already thinking of a 2nd greenhouse but I think I need to enjoy the 2013 spring and summer growing season first.
So a quick series of photos to show the progress from October 2011 to November 2012
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I started with 2 greenhouses, the one on the left was 6x7ft and the one at the back was 10x12ft. The smaller greenhouse was emptied first and dismantled. This all started in October 2011
The smaller greenhouse removed and the concrete base being broken up and taken away
There is a slope to the garden so the next job was digging down to level the site. The larger greenhouse was kept in place until the main area was level.
Larger greenhouse was removed but existing concrete base was kept to reduce the amount of work to construct the new base. The new greenhouse was wider therefore new retaining walls were built
Now you can see the new base slowly evolving from the mud
Continuing with the construction of the base and frame in early 2012
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The base construction took a while. The pouring of the concrete was a nightmare due to the distance of the site from the road
Construction of the greenhouse begins with the roof. Took ages to get this frame right but the end product is good and well worth the money
Looking good once the glass is installed
Populating a greenhouse is always the fun part and also the easy part. The more space you have, the more you grow
The staging is being moved about in order to allow finishing the structure. The old benching is also used to test new bench widths which is very important if you want to maximise the growing area. A bench width of 4ft was chosen
Part of building the new greenhouse was to create a new collection almost from scratch. I have been growing from seed using artificial light for the last couple of years. One of the main ideas propagating from seed is to put together a more diverse collection than I have previously been grown. It's great fun and highly rewarding to watch your own little seedlings grow into mature specimens.
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The seedlings getting their first taste of natural light in September. I had lost almost the whole of the growing season whilst building the greenhouse
Close up of the new fellas
The old benches moved to test a 4ft wide growing area. The narrow aisle if perfect
The NEW 30ft benches from Two West & Elliot.
That's me having to bodge part of the floor to get the bench to sit level. The floor I'm not happy with but I will just have to live and learn
Ewen wrote:So much space lol. How many times have you heard that when you get a new greenhouse. There's NEVER enough space
Don't worry. You are safe for a few more years. I have a greenhouse just a bit less long as it seems (mine is 8.5 meters), and is holding up the content very well for years already.
And I see lot's of room in the garden for more greenhouses, if desperate for more greenhouse space!
The greenhouse, staging, cement and conrete pump required for the job didn't come cheap and I realise I'm very lucky to be in the position to create something like this for myself. I do believe there comes a point in your life when you realise you just have to go with the heart, even if it means making a sacrifice or pouring resources and hard earned cash into a project like this. I'm sure the enjoyment and spiritual gains will make it all worth while and I'm so looking forward to next years growing season
Ewen wrote:The greenhouse, staging, cement and conrete pump required for the job didn't come cheap and I realise I'm very lucky to be in the position to create something like this for myself. I do believe there comes a point in your life when you realise you just have to go with the heart, even if it means making a sacrifice or pouring resources and hard earned cash into a project like this. I'm sure the enjoyment and spiritual gains will make it all worth while and I'm so looking forward to next years growing season
Well done, Ewen - you will not regret the time and money spent on this project. As each year goes by, you will realise this more and more.
Seeing your pictures made me seek out some of mine from nearly 15 years ago, when I did a very similar thing, and "went for broke" once and for all (not counting the next greenhouse!!). Here are 3 scanned prints from March 1998 when the greenhouse was empty:
!5 years later and the greenhouse is nearly as good as new, only the roof vent barrels needing replacement in that time. Addition of outside paths and lots of water butts came later, along with several thousand plants, filling the shelves, benches and floors. It will never be big enough (ultimately) but will give you many years of enjoyment. Good luck!
Tony Roberts
Treasurer, Haworthia Society
Chairman, Tephrocactus Study Group
Moderator, BCSS Forum
Kent
(Gasteria, Mammillaria, small Opuntia, Cleistocactus and Sempervivum are my current special interests)
It hasn't been easy but now I have the kind of growing space I've always dreamed of. I'm already thinking of a 2nd greenhouse but I think I need to enjoy the 2013 spring and summer growing season first.
makes my still to be built 8x6 pale in comparison 
