Greenhouse Wall Repair 2021 - Garden and Stuff

In the fall of 2021, I partially copied what Michael McGee did in 2014 to repair one side of the greenhouse. Seven years after his repairs, the wood on the other side, too, had a lot of rot.

Between the two 4″x4″ corner posts on the long sides of the greenhouse, there are eleven vertical 2″x3″ supports that go from the ground to the roof. Six of these supports had bad rot and half of those six were no longer providing any support whatsoever to that wall.

There were also rotted boards that needed replacing in various locations around the sides of the greenhouse.

To start, we built a 2″x4″ structure to help support the roof while I was doing the work. Whether it was needed or not I don’t know since some of the supports along that wall were still ok….

The most complicated and worrisome part of this project was that the 16′ x 2″ x 6″ board that goes all the way across the length of the greenhouse just below the glass windows was especially rotted. That board was cut very specifically for my greenhouse and it was impossible for me to replace. So my goal was 1) to replace the parts of the vertical supports that were rotted, and 2) to repair the 16′ board from the inside as much as possible, then cover the mess with new wood.

A third goal was to keep water out of that wall in the future. I’m still working on that. 🙁

This is the wall before repair started in the fall of 2021. One of the vertical supports is completely rotted away below the bottom row of windows. Five of the other supports are in various degrees of rot.

Closer up. Note that where one of the 2"x3" supports is missing, the board above it is gone as well -- from rot. That horizontal board is actually part of the 2"x6" that goes all along the greenhouse and protrudes on the outside. The outside surface is nearly flat and does not drain water very well. I think water also seeped in through the window sills.

The temporary support structure.

I removed six of the cedar boards between the windows along the bottom wall. They had rot and needed replacing.

I used a lot of two part wood epoxy to fill in areas where wood had rotted.

The big problem with this area was that it was open to the outside -- the wood that was supposed to prevent that was gone from rot. Water seeping down the inside wall had done damage to the inside wall too. In some cases I replaced the wood, or if the damage wasn't too horrible I patched it.

More two part epoxy wood patch.

Rebuilding 2"x3" boards with two part epoxy wood patch.

Rebuilding 2"x3" boards with two part epoxy wood patch. It takes a few iterations to make corners.

I used to like working with clay when I was a kid.

Having six out of eleven of the vertical supports out, even with the 2"x4" frame to support the roof, made me nervous. I always had one or two other temporary supports rigged up at the same time. One day there was an earthquake and the greenhouse didn't even rattle.

New shiplap cedar siding.

This is the section where the 2"x6" that goes around the whole greenhouse was not so damaged. I added a new 2"x3" board under it and attached two new supports. The original supports, when the greenhouse was built, went from the ground to the roof in one piece. Now six of them on this side are in two pieces.

This section was more of a mess because the 2"x6" was more rotted.

A view of the two sections, one finished, one not.

Getting ready to put in the last four supports.

Looking again at the finished part...

The last four supports are in place, along with the triple row of what looks like 2"x3"s, but the middle layer is the 2"x6" and I had to carve out chunks of a 2"x3" to make it fit and look as if it was really the inside edge of the 2"x6".

All the rot of that 2"x6" is hidden now.....

The second set of cedar shiplap boards have been installed, replacing older rotting boards.

All repairs finished!

Wall repairs finished. Wall cleaned and painted.

Wide angle shot of whole interior. See the slipped glass pane in the upper right of the image? That got fixed in 2024.

Shiny, clean wall with no sign of wood rot. Six new cedar boards, six new 2"x3" supports, lots and lots of wood epoxy, and a triple layer of 2"x3"s that wasn't there before, under the windows.

This is the outside of the repaired wall. The ledge under the windows is the 16' long 2"x6" that had a tremendous amount of rot in places.

A relief to one's eyes after all the photos of the rot.

Must take photos while everything is so clean and the paint fresh.

I began prepping the roof rafters for painting, too, but didn't get around to painting them until 2024.

I replaced rotted wood in a few other places on the greenhouse at the same time I was doing the other work. Here's a board with rot at one end, near the door. I cut off the rotted end of the board and used the good end to replace rot in the wall on the other side of the greenhouse.

New board where rotted one was, near greenhouse door.

This corner has a huge and scary amount of rot. It is not just the siding, but also the 4"x4" vertical support. I replaced two of the side pieces and sealed the corner trim with new caulk but did not do much about that 4"x4"... at least not yet.

Rot!

I replaced this board.

Endless....

Looks as good as new now!

This angle too!

The corner trim reattached and recaulked.

This corner got recaulked as well.

These are replacements for the strips of wood that are above and below each pane on the greenhouse sides. I replaced ten that were on the south side and in poor condition. The two pieces on the left were the originals.

Another corner recaulked.

Everything put back together. Three years later the roof replacement began.