I have taken advantage of the presence of Kimbo and his boys to erect this poly-tunnel.
It will house 'Rory' my mower, for the gardener to use during our absence.
We didn't make any glaring mistakes during its construction (regardless of the Chinese instructions) and the whole thing was built within about an hour or so. It seems quite solid, and is much bigger than I'd imagined; 4.50 by 2 Metres.
I've added a black plastic floor, so the whole thing should be perfectly water-tight. I've also put a few very heavy blocks on the 'flaps' that surround the base, and am keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't blow away.
Cost?.... A remarkably low €107....
I left the orange petrol can in there for a while, and with the crazy heat we're having at the moment it almost exploded. When I released the cap it deflated with a huge sigh of relief. I won't do that again!
News item on the French TV ... devastating wildfires break out; probably cause, an exploding petrol can in an expat resident's garden...
ReplyDeleteAlmost. When I saw it all bloated, it really did look as if it was ready to explode!
DeleteHa!! We have one of those....the plastic degenerates in sunlight quite quickly, the first bits to go being the grey bits that hold the guy ropes and strap the rolled up door....
ReplyDeleteOur first one, despite having the bottom of its skirt dug in under sods and weighted down, and guy ropes over the top,blew half off , ripping one end in the process. We managed to get a replacement FOC...complete as the frame was also damaged.
The second one only lasted one year..luckily the plastic on the first hadn't deteriorated like the first which is in some places reduced to the green reinforcing....so until next spring that is over the first as protection .
I think these may be just designed as a summer shelter, not to be kept up all year...normal polytunnel plastic should last at least three, if not five or more years. £150 not well spent...
The next one will not be another of these!!
I shall buy a wooden garage for Rory before long. This is very much a temporary measure.
DeleteEat your hearts out Christopher Wren, Inigo Jones, Frank Lloyd Wright! Rory's Shed is an architectural wonder!
ReplyDeleteThe only 'wonder' will be if it doesn't blow away!
DeleteNice idea, good job getting it together.
ReplyDeleteThat was the best bit; getting it all together.
DeleteAh, Barn Raising.
ReplyDeleteWell, sort of.
DeleteA wooden garage is a sensible idea.
ReplyDeleteI must work out an alternative for our so called polytunnel as well.
It might be a bit more expensive!
DeleteGlasshouse greenhouse?
DeleteThe comments above show this is only a short term solution. A friend had one of these to store his boat and it did blow away. You and the boys might have to plan a barn/shed raising project.
ReplyDeleteAs long as it lasts for this winter I shall be happy. I'll think of something more permanent next year.
DeleteCondensation may be the problem with a plastic floor. Otherwise, I could live in that.
ReplyDeleteHeat is the problem at the moment!!! it is so HOT in there, even with the door flap open.
DeleteMy daughter sent us a juicer. It was made in China and the instructions are terribly amusing: 'In any season and any morment, you need a cup of nutritions juicer to keep you and the family a healthy life.'
ReplyDeleteI don't see anything wrong with that; cups of nutritions keep my family a healthy life!
DeleteYou really must be enjoying having the boys there to help you. So much more seems to get done when I have willing hands to help
ReplyDeleteThey really are 'big strapping lads', and always will to help.
Delete'willing'
DeletePoly tunnels do get very warm inside so I am glad you noticed the petrol can before it exploded. I have been thinking of poly tunnels myself lately and wishing I'd had the foresight to place one where my "garden" now is. Nothing much grows there because of the tree roots and hard packed clay soil, so I filled it with succulents that are now huge. A poly tunnel would have been better with shelves and pots for vegetables and dwarf fruit trees.
ReplyDeleteI imagine they would fend-off air born diseases as well, which would be useful here. Yes, seeing the petrol can totally bloated was quite a shock. It was pure luck that it didn't explode.
Delete