By converting the mobile home into a portable greenhouse, install a mini garden house on the portable deck. (See the mobile greenhouse diagram in the image library.)

MOTHER's latest adventure in practical, low-cost country life is to refurbish (and eventually relocate) an old, but intact and repairable house trailer. (When our 79 Skyliner was built, it was the so-called "mobile home".) Built on a river valley hillside, the west façade (front) of the trailer is more than 4 feet above the ground, and the old wooden front steps are wobbly .

There is also a sliding glass door in the living room, with only a 4-foot drop in front and a hill that falls into the river. No insurance company will cover this risk, so the first major improvement we will make is the 8 ft x 20 ft deck along the west side between the front door and the slider. We will be at the top of the deck with a front staircase with a roof entrance, which runs in front of an 8-foot-wide slider with a combined greenhouse/shaded porch of 8 feet x 12 feet: a garden room.

We intend to use the trailer as a real mobile home, as many Mother's readers have done over the years. They bought an intact and fully functional trailer-but old and cheap-and lived in it at a low price because they saved every penny to buy a piece of their rural land. Then they installed the wheels of the trailer and towed it to the countryside to live there while building the dream cabin.

but. .. How do you transform a mobile home into a portable greenhouse-an all-weather deck/garden room that moves like a trailer or bus? Most published sources recommend a deck that meets the building codes for elite suburbs around major metropolitan areas: a building with a foot of one yard or deeper, heavy bolted construction, and one side permanently fixed to the house.

Answer: Designing decks and future sunlight spaces, they are designated by the code as "temporary" or "portable" structures...just like pavilions, private houses, tent screen rooms, wooden frame sheds, chicken coops, pole barns, And the metal lawn building that is not attached to the permanent structure. They can be moved easily and are not restricted by code (although some may be prohibited by zoning or public health regulations).

We found that the trailer foundation is not permanent. The steel beam frame simply rests on a concrete block half buried in a thick layer of gravel. Just like under a railroad track, loose gravel not only drains rainwater, but also moves above itself, and (to a certain extent) balances the movement of the trailer due to different frost heaves on the ground in cold weather. It is obvious to us (and our common-sense country, building code officials) that a deck/garden room built on a deep foundation approved by the model code will not undulate with the trailer (no matter how gentle). The two will part ways in time. So we decided to put our additives on the gravel foundation as well. But (in imitation of what we found in the best local trailers), we built the platform on heavy landscape timber paved with creosote oil, which was laid in well-drained gravel, like a railway track. Provides more wind-resistant weight for the platform.

Our infrastructure plan itself is simple-based on several decks, porches and garden houses that we have built over the years. The vertical pillars are fixed on gravel-paved landscape timber, arranged in a rectangle, determined by the size of the floor of the garden room. The edge joists forming the outer frame are bolted to the inner side of the column. The joist is suspended on a steel joist hanger fixed on the inner side of the edge joist. Plywood is laid on the joists as the floor.

If the column top is 4 x 4 lumber and the platform is less than 5 feet from the ground, the edge joists are made of 2 x 10s 2 x 8s joists 16 inches apart, and the plywood floor is 1/2 inch or 3 /4 inch thick Plywood. The deck can be 8 feet, 10 feet or 12 feet deep-as long as you like-and can support any household load it may encounter.

For heavy structures or commercial loads, use 6 x 6 columns. Double-edge joists and increase the size of the joists to 2 x 10 seconds with a spacing of 16 inches.

For light garden houses and light uses, you can use 2 x 8 all around and (theoretically) space them 24 inches apart. But don't; stick to the tried and tested 16-inch floor joist spacing.

For floors, use at least 1/2 inch of A/C (smooth side) layer of outer rubber. Or for easier handling, stack two 3/8-inch thick papers with a layer of waterproof and mildew-proof creosote construction paper in the middle.

In order to form a railing around the open area of ​​the platform, or to form a strong half wall to support a strong and well-insulated garden house, the pillars were not cut off the floor, but were extended by more than 30 inches. In order to build a wall under the garden house, the insulating material is sandwiched between the plywood between the pillars. In the open part of the deck, the cap rails and horizontal members are fixed to the pillars.

Do not fix with nails, but use removable anti-rust galvanized drywall self-tapping screws.

1. Remove the turf and topsoil in a 10 ft x 22 ft rectangle to a firm subsoil (approximately 6 inches deep). Dump, rake, and compact an 8 inch thick layer of gravel or coarse gravel.

2. Sinking landscape wood into gravel to:

3. Use galvanized frame plates to connect all joints between the timbers.

1. For house side pillars (not supporting railings), cut 6 pieces of 4 x 4 lumber long enough to extend from the top of the base lumber to the top of the building floor (or the top of the sill of the door leading to the platform) 6 inches).

2. For the railing posts around the outer edge of the platform, cut 12 44 posts, the length of which is equal to the length of the 6 inner posts plus 33 inches (for a standard 32-inch high railing).

3. Fix the column to the foundation beam with a galvanized steel column support fixing device:

1. Fix 2 x 10 edge joists (peripheral frame members) along the inner side of the side columns of the six house walls-the top of the plank is 2 inches to 6 inches lower than the door sill or indoor floor level.

2. Fix it on the outside of the outer column with 2 x 10s. Place them 2 inches below the inner plate.

3. Fix the 2 x 10s on the outside of the jamb-connect the rear plate and the front plate (at a slight downward slope).

4. Fix the rim joist to the post with two 4" long 7/16" square head bolts (large hex head screws to accept the ratchet wrench socket). Pilot drilling with a 1/4 inch drill bit.

5. When two 2 x 10 lengths meet on a column, double the width of the column behind the joint by screwing two 10 inch lengths of 2 x 4 to each side of the top of the column.

1. Use aligned galvanized steel joist hangers to fix a 2 x 8 floor joist (2 x 10 seconds if heavy load is expected) to the frame member so that the top of the joist is flush with the top of the rectangular frame member flat.

A sort of. Fix a double-beam hanger on each mid-span column and a single hanger at the center 16 inches (two single hangers between each column). The doubles will provide each 48 plywood floor with its own edge panels, so they can be considered as fully modular pallets that can be removed individually-making the platform a mobile component.

Cut 2 x 8 x 8 panels to fit the hangers; tap them to make them flush with the top of the frame. Secure with screws.

1. Insulate the floor joists by laying a reflective (breathable) film on the underside of the joists. Binding kraft paper backed with glass fiber insulation material to fill the middle joist. Cover with a moisture-proof layer of plastic film.

2. Lay 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch all-weather air-conditioning (single-sided finished product) plywood flooring. Fix the edges of all panels with screws every 6 inches.

3. Make a story pole—a 5-foot-long piece of scrap wood, marked to show the distance to the edge of the layer that hides the centerline of the joist, and use it to locate and sink the screws at every 2 feet of the middle slab joist.

4. The rear edge of the floor layer is unsupported 4 inches to 6 inches from below. So, support it from the top. Run down the back wall for a length of 2 x 2 or 2 x 4, and use a 3 inch screw to pull the shelf against the 2-by.

5. Treat the floor with several layers of deck preservative and plan to cover the selected floor surface. As long as it is kept dry, indoor and outdoor carpets are a good choice.

1. At the place where the garden house is located, cap the 4 x 4 ends and the top of the side column, and 2 x 6s centered on the column.

2. Lay 2 x 4 window sills on the floor between the pillars.

3. Cut and fix 2 x 4 vertical studs, each 16 inches, between the door sill and the center bottom of the cover rail.

4. Fill the space between the uprights with reflective insulating material. Cover the inside with a moisture-proof layer. Cover the inner half of the wall with 3/8 inch plywood.

5. Use plywood or other sheathing to fix the wall panel of your choice on the outer guardrail railing: 1/2 inch-CDX layer is the safest because it can fix partitions, plaster, brick veneer or any other cladding.

6. Fix an 8-inch wide aluminum waterproof board on the top of the guide rail. Bend on each side to act as a drip edge.

1. In the open area of ​​the deck, cover the top of the column with a 2 x 6 railing-the front edge extends beyond the front edge of the column, even in line with the adjacent half wall.

2. The rail will also extend an inch or more on the inside edge of the post. Lay a 5/4 inch x 4 inch square deck plank on the inner side of the top of the column, which is tightly attached to the bottom of the cap as a guide rail support. .. Another horizontal run 5/4 x 4s one inch from the floor. .. And run 5/4 x 6s at the midpoint of the track.

1. Construct a conventional staircase at the break of the railing.

2. Place the stair riser (notched board for fixing the horizontal treads) and the ground handrail post on the galvanized fittings, which are connected to a section of landscape wood laid on the gravel base.

Now, how to build a garden house on a modular platform that is lightweight, easy to assemble and disassemble and move. Strong enough to withstand the weather in our New England-but not strong enough to be considered a permanent structure requiring a permanent foundation.

We first studied those dome-shaped portable garages made of transparent or colored UV-resistant plastic cloth or waterproof cloth, which are tensioned on curved metal pipes. The cost of a car size is 300 to 700 dollars. If placed on bare ground, spread them on 2 pieces of wood or 44 pillars fixed with piles. The frame can be easily fixed on the deck platform.

We found that the cheapest model was too fragile. A better quality model can be inserted into the ground and provide shelter for trucks, but is too inflexible in design for deck garden rooms. .. Even if it is covered with a translucent plastic sheet. There is no easy way to install windows or screens without compromising the integrity and strength of the covering material.

At first we thought we had to dream of our own design. But it was pointed out that all these ideas were done for us by the company that provided the greenhouse construction kits sold in the seed and garden supply catalog (multiple times). They advertise in MOTHER and other gardening, car, boating and construction magazines.

We sent all the literature we could find and found that the price of shelter building kits used to enclose about half of a typical deck ranged from 8'to 10' deep and 20' to 24' long ranging from more than $300 to more than 5,000 Dollar. You can choose from basic frame accessories to complete structural kits, as well as various raw materials for the frame and cover your own or stock designs. These buildings have gable roofs, semicircular (Quonset) and pointed dome styles (for inclined models you can cut them in half) and the slope itself. The cheapest ones are small (8 ft x 8 ft or 12 ft x 8 ft) hobby designs with aluminum or size timber frames, you can find them in the seed and garden supply catalog for $200 to $1,000. Manufacturers offer more complex and expensive designs (see source list).

We also came up with a pyramid design, which is economical, flexible in design and materials, and can be disassembled in an afternoon.

The illustrations in the image gallery show a house using the "Stimson Bow"-one of our favorite designs (described below). Like the bow house, any design can be adapted to the biggest innovation in greenhouse/garden house construction, because plastic panels replace glass: corrugated polycarbonate or polyethylene panels with thicknesses of 3.5 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm and 8 mm. Each sheet of paper is a flat sandwich, with longitudinal films between the surfaces, forming a series of air channels-so the product is similar to translucent corrugated cardboard. The channel contains dead gas and has excellent insulation value; the thinnest panel has an insulation coefficient of R-3-more than twice that of a single piece of glass. This material is light, flexible and tough, but it can still be cut with scissors. It is non-tearable, can handle snow and hail, and is semi-flexible, so it conforms to Quonset style and other curved designs. It contains ultraviolet inhibitors, which can slow down the decomposition of polymers in the sun, at about $1.65 per square foot, which is reasonable in price compared to alternatives. In comparison, the cost per square foot of a thin plastic covering is US$0.05 to US$0.07, a rigid fiberglass panel in resin is US$1 or US$1.20, and a single frame glass is US$2 to US$2.20.

The following is a selection of MOTHER's brands in each greenhouse/garden room category. They are light enough to be installed on the deck (can be removed and carried with you).

inch The Little Greenhouse inch was designed by Powell & Powell of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. It is a gable roof design with a frame made of white PVC pipes. We particularly appreciate being able to permanently weld inch pipes and connectors, or friction fit joints with inch solvents, and hold them together with small nails, through the holes drilled through the joints. If we choose this option, we will modify it to tilt, weld the structure into a flat module that is easy to transport, and connect the modules with pin friction joints. One advantage of this product is that if the parts are damaged or you want to modify the plan, you can buy white PVC pipes and fittings in the plumbing department of any hardware store.

The price of the kit is very complete, including color-coded tubes for the frame, a pre-cut plastic film cover that guarantees two years of anti-ultraviolet aging (use an optional shading cloth for longer use), wooden floor mounting hardware, and shelf support shelter Systems, exhaust fans and hinged doors with latches on both sides of the station, as well as step-by-step instructions. The cost of the 8.5 foot x 10 foot model is less than $400; the size of the 8.5 x 12 foot model is less than $500. A pleasantly simple spray system costs less than another 100 dollars. Purchase through Mellinger's garden supplies catalog.

The Best Buy inch we found was the Hobby Green House inch system under $50 in the Stokes Seeds catalog. The kit provides plastic connectors and orientations for building a 7 ft x 7 ft pitched roof greenhouse for connection to the deck. Buyers provide 2 x 2 frame timbers (and 2 x 4 base plates and anchors if needed). The instructions show how to wrap in a flexible film and use elastic bungee jumping through slots molded to the end wall connector for teaching, and how to construct doors, vents, and planting stands. You can cut suitable wood by yourself, so it can easily adapt to any deck space, and can use semi-rigid fiberglass or flexible corrugated board as the roof or side panels.

The most technically elegant design we have found is a bow-shaped roof shed by Boothbeestimson Marine, Maine. You can use thin wooden slats to build any size you need. These wooden slats are bent into shape and combined with thin wooden panels. The spacing between the fixed pairs. The covering can be plastic sheeting, corrugated polyethylene, or fiberglass. The instructions tell how to build a shed large enough to hold an ocean-going vessel, but you can easily reduce the size. A set of plans that includes a scale drawing of the greenhouse, complete instructions, photo instructions for making bows and arrows, and how to bend the plan cost $20.

For the most reasonably priced large greenhouse, MOTHER chose Hoop House in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. A set of 10 x 7 x 12 hoop house greenhouse is only 330 US dollars, a set of formed metal pipe brackets, door hardware, 6mm/three-year greenhouse film covering, tape, fasteners and plans. You need to buy plywood, frame wood and fasteners. The kit is 48 feet long. This year, you can choose between a circular design and the new Plus 2 kit with a pitched roof that UPS can ship. Sold directly and through Johnny's Selected Seeds catalog in Albion, Maine.

Farm Wholesale (Corrugated Plastics Technology Division) in Salem, Oregon offers the best mid-range prices we have found in a family garden house. They make sheds and Quonset free-standing, quarter-circle inclined designs, and provide wooden frames framed by metal-reinforced PVC and their own designed structures, and they are completely covered with 3.5 mm corrugated polyethylene, each cost only 0.65 USD square feet, three-year warranty to prevent UV damage. It is also recyclable! Our favorite deck installation design is their lean kit, complete with a pair of shutter vent components, a pre-hung door, metal reinforced PVC frame, workbench frame and boom, trim, fasteners and instructions. The 8 x 8 x 8 backrest seats are priced at US$829, and the 8 x 8 x 12 seats are priced at US$1,149. These designs are a big improvement in cost, but the frame is strong enough to make you stand up to the next level. The floor fit, finish and appearance are better than the laminate kit.

A more complicated step is the curved front canopy model, such as the model of Sunglo Greenhouses in Seattle. They use an aluminum frame and double-wall acrylic cover-a smooth outer panel bonded to a corrugated inner panel to provide high strength and 1 1/2 inches of insulating dead space. The panel not only diffuses light, but also contains a UV filter to minimize sunburn from internal plants (and people). Prices range from less than US$2,000 for a 5-foot-tall building to more than US$7,500 for a commercial-scale house that is more than 15 feet wide and 30 feet long. The cost of a 7 1/2 ft x 12 1/2 ft lean model built according to our specifications is $2,300. All models are equipped with pre-suspended aluminum doors, automatic ventilation systems and bench supports. Sunglo also offers a 12-year warranty!

Our favorite convertible sun/screen garden house was carefully designed by Sun Porch, a vegetable factory company in Westport, Connecticut. It is a sunny and insulated paradise in winter and a breezy screen room in summer. This is the concept behind the versatile Sun-Porch. This two-in-one solar space uses a sturdy aluminum frame (optional bronze or white) and GE Lexan insulated roof, which guarantees 10 years of hail resistance. The wall is plexiglass DR, which is also shatterproof, with a 1-inch gap. The roof and walls have transparent or bronze glass windows to choose from at no additional cost.

Sun-Porch has the characteristics of do-it-yourself assembly and can be easily installed on decks, terraces or landscape belts. The main consumer benefit is the QWIK replaceable window system, which can transform an insulated winter sun room into a summer screen window room. The 9-foot x 12-foot Sun-Porch is affordable, priced at US$4,710.

For a complete color catalog and pricing, please send US$2 to the MENE department in Westport, Connecticut/

The products of Santa Barbara Greenhouses are made in California and made of (second-grown) mahogany, which is the kind of garden house you see in the movie. Provide free-standing or inclined configuration, full glass fiberglass, double wall 6mm polycarbonate, tempered glass and combination. A basic 7-foot x 12-foot freestanding "standard model" with corrugated fiberglass covering for slightly more than $1,100-or (really) equipped with a bench, atomization system, heater, fan The prices of, thermometers/thermostats, automatic blinds and shades range from approximately US$1,900 for fiberglass glass to US$2,600 for double-walled 6mm polycarbonate. Or, like us, you can drool on the 6 x 12 "Luxury LeanTo", which has an unbreakable fiberglass roof and tempered glass windows. The price of the self-assembled parts kit is US$2,500, and the price of the pre-assembled glass panel is approximately US$4,400. Even the (heaviest) glass panel model can be disassembled and carried with you.

Located in Irmo, South Carolina, JADDERLOON will build a professional bipolymer or corrugated polycarbonate greenhouse for you anywhere in the world. Their free 100-page business catalog contains everything a custom home garden room builder might want. This is where the custom frame goes, the "S" clip adds opposing pipe frames, ground anchors and pillars, climate control equipment, and even a computerized greenhouse manager.

Located in Vermont, GARDENER'S SUPPLY provides a catalogue every fall that contains their own greenhouse series. The cheapest is Grow House, which is an arched design with PVC ribs and a 6mm plastic cover. You provide wood. The 12-foot x 12-foot model is less than $300. The Garden Starter greenhouse is an 8 ft x 6 ft x 7 ft aluminum frame, polycarbonate glazed gable roof model, and the price is slightly less than 1,000 US dollars.

NORTHERN (Hydraulics) lists frame kits in their main catalog, but this spring also provides a special greenhouse sales catalog. This year (1997), it listed a series of greenhouse tools and supplies, as well as several aluminum frame houses made of polycarbonate glass, including canopies, bay windows, and cold frame models. There is also a hut called Garden

The room greenhouse uses an aluminum frame covered with 1/4 inch polycarbonate. Approximately 6 1/2 feet x 2 1/2 feet-5 feet high in the front and 8 feet high in the back-it weighs only 183 pounds. The price of more than $2,000 is not cheap-but Northern offers a four-month payment plan.

Join us for the long-awaited return of the Lone Star State! Early bird discounts are now available online.

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