I worked all day on Thursday to finish installing the pool cover on the greenhouse ceiling ... ALL DAY!
Here's where things stood when I started the day. The pool cover is attached to 2/3 of the ceiling. All that's left is the west end, where the exhaust fan is ... working around this is what took so long.
Even in winter, the temperature in the greenhouse can reach 90 degrees. It's important to have the exhaust fan operable, to vent this heat when needed. It's mounted in the eaves, above the pool cover 'ceiling', so I had to devise a modification to the plan.
It's a good thing I know how to sew, because my solution to the problem was to install a 'gusset' to allow the cover to make a sort-of chute and go up and over the fan. Here's the best photo I could get before it was installed.
I sliced the cover on the one end, and attached little triangular pieces to make the 'chute'. The 'seams' are reinforced with duct tape, and 'sewn' with staples. So far, it appears that this is going to hold. The duct tape you see on the edge of the triangle is my flange, to staple it to the wall.
Now comes the tricky part ... actually getting this onto the ceiling. I had to bring in reinforcements to help hold the weight of the cover while I screwed it to the back wall. You can see my chute a little better here.
This is what it looked like after I stretched the pool cover across the ceiling, and began to attach it to the beams. It's not quite tight enough yet, but you can sort of get the idea.
... and here's where I left things at the end of Day 2. The pool cover is firmly attached at the ceiling beam and along the top of the south wall. There's some trimming to do, so it doesn't look so trashy (or harbor too many over-wintering ladybugs).
One more day should finish the job. I have to secure the pool cover to the top of the north wall, bring in the propane heater, install shelves, and load the plants.
P.S. Take a look at the sticker that was attached to the bubble wrap that I got from the canoe company. This should help keep things nice and toasty.
Part 3 coming soon.
(written by Hartwood Roses. Hartwood Roses blog)