Well, despite my recent repairs to my greenhouse and my efforts to be more careful when maneuvering my trailer it would seem I haven’t learnt. I’ve got into good habits of late, turning my van and trailer around when I get home in the evening when visibility is good and the sun is dropping to the East. One night last week however I got a little complacent. I visitors car parked in my turn spot prevented me getting the job done when I first got home and as the evening wore on it completely slipped my mind. Next morning I found myself reversing into a low morning sun that was in just the right spot to completely blind my left hand mirror. As I slowly edged back a tell tale crunch of glass brought me to a halt, my head in my hands unable to believe I’d done it again. This time however it was much worse than previous hits, the frame was badly twisted beyond repair causing about 50% of the glass to break.
Unlike my winter damage this time my greenhouse was fully planted with tomatoes, aubergines, chili peppers and cucumbers. It was definitely beyond repair and I needed a replacement quickly.
I started tracking adverts on eBay and Preloved and soon found what looked to be a nice second hand 10×8 around sixty miles away in St Helens. It has perspex panels instead of glass and I started to wonder if I could move it complete without dismantling. The perspex should make it much lighter, more flexible and of course much safer.
Heavy rain forecast to last all day on Friday meant we cancelled all jobs for that day and took our opportunity to head over to St Helens. I took the sides off our trailer and grabbed a good supply of ratchet straps and rope before heading off over the Pennines on a very wet M62 motorway with Brian who works for my landscaping company.
The seller had the greenhouse located in a rear garden surrounded by a high fence, but with a little ingenuity, and not too much swearing, myself, Brian and the seller managed to lift the whole unit in one piece over the fence and onto my trailer. A few ratchet straps and plenty of rope later I was happy that it was secure and wasn’t going to move. I wasn’t however going to risk coming back down the motorway, having visions of the perspex panels popping out at high speeds and us getting home with just an empty frame.
The old pre motorway freight roads over the pennines are a lovely drive, passing through many old mill towns and offering fantastic views on the higher reaches. Although visibility was poor due to the heavy rain and thick fog on the tops it was still an enjoyable drive back – although a little worrying at times as the winds got stronger on the higher sections.
Once home it was a quick job to remove what was left of the glass from the old greenhouse and lift the twisted frame out of the way. We then simply lifted the new greenhouse into position over the growing plants being careful not to damage them. Once secured it was job done. Very quick and easy solution to my greenhouse disaster!
Wary of hitting it yet again I found a couple of traffic cones we use when doing highway work and positioned them either end of my new greenhouse making it much easier to spot it in my mirrors when reversing and hopefully preventing another hit – to which my old Dad would say “Nay lad, tha’s a bit late shutting t’stable door after oss’s bolted”
Quite right. Couldn’t agree more.
