Preparing for troubled times ahead - Advice on what is needed.....

[Toddy]

We put up a 'canopy' right along the back of the house, it kind of works, but it really needs to be deeper/wider.
The difference it makes over the back door is excellent though. Shelter to strip off wet waterproofs, wellies, boots, etc., Keep the veg bins (I over winter veg in peat) out of the rain.

I looked at Herman30's photos and thought of just how very wet it is here through Winter. There's a reason we call clotheshorses Winterdykes
There isn't a hope in hell of drying bedding outdoors here for the majority of the year.
I am so tempted to have a carport built right along the gable wall just for extra outside dry space.

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Out Neighbour has a car port for that exact reason and it works well... apart from the corrugated plastic sheeting which snaps freely in heavy wind!

 

[Toddy]

Our canopy had issues with that at first too. In the end loads of greenhouse repair clear Duck tape and extra silicon seems to have secured it. It's tidy enough, but I admit I was not best pleased when the panels shifted with the wind.

 

[TLM]

There isn't a hope in hell of drying bedding outdoors here for the majority of the year.

Well, I would not try a washed Japanese futon in wintertime. There are limits, normal sheets though dry nicely.

 

[Toddy]

Even sheets and pillowslips come in damp in Winter. It's just the climate.

I confess, I refuse to ever live in a damp house again. I'll use the tumble drier and I'll use the dehumidifier, even if they are going to be more expensive.

 

[Winnet]

I always remember putting stuff out to dry in winter and it coming back in frozen stiff.

G

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

 

[Toddy]

My Granny said that if it were a really, really hard cold Winter, then the clothes ice dried I do mind stuff steaming when it came back into the house though.

 

[Broch]

Well, you can freeze dry food

 

[Kadushu]

We put up a 'canopy' right along the back of the house, it kind of works, but it really needs to be deeper/wider.
The difference it makes over the back door is excellent though. Shelter to strip off wet waterproofs, wellies, boots, etc., Keep the veg bins (I over winter veg in peat) out of the rain.

I looked at Herman30's photos and thought of just how very wet it is here through Winter. There's a reason we call clotheshorses Winterdykes
There isn't a hope in hell of drying bedding outdoors here for the majority of the year.
I am so tempted to have a carport built right along the gable wall just for extra outside dry space.

I built a canopy along the south side of my bungalow - my BIL calls it a carport for people, I call it a porch. It's just a corrugated plastic roof and trellis sides but helps regulate the temperature in the house and provides a reasonably dry area for life's paraphernalia. I've often pondered what it would be like to cover the whole garden so that it's pleasant to be in whatever the weather.

 

[TeeDee]

I built a canopy along the south side of my bungalow - my BIL calls it a carport for people, I call it a porch. It's just a corrugated plastic roof and trellis sides but helps regulate the temperature in the house and provides a reasonably dry area for life's paraphernalia. I've often pondered what it would be like to cover the whole garden so that it's pleasant to be in whatever the weather.

Covered outdoors areas are just dang super useful.

( Thats right - I said Dang - deal with it. )

 

[Toddy]

I am incredibly tempted by one of these
Not ridiculously expensive, very diy, and yet look at that dry light space
Boots, basketry, washing, dyeing, even just sitting in the light in the gloom of an overcast winter with a crossword puzzle and a mug of coffee.......

 

[Broch]

When you say DIY, is it a kit?

 

[Toddy]

Pretty much. It comes in 2' increments. They are made by Palram or Rion....and really do check about for prices. B&Q had the 8' x 16' one not so long ago for under 2K.
To put that in perspective I have a quote on hand for a 1.5 x 2m porch and the bill would be £12, 750

I reckon that big airy lean to greenhouse/sunroom is a much better buy

 

[grizzlyj]

Polytunnels obviously come as a kit and are less than I thought? Opaque though, and a bit flappy

 

[Toddy]

You can buy clear polythene though, and the stability is pretty much dependent on just what you're prepared to build.
Thing to mind is to make sure there's ventilation if you're going to use it to work/sit/store stuff in. They can run with condensation.

 

[Kadushu]

You can buy clear polythene though, and the stability is pretty much dependent on just what you're prepared to build.
Thing to mind is to make sure there's ventilation if you're going to use it to work/sit/store stuff in. They can run with condensation.

And just plain cook inside. 40°C is easily achieved in an unvented polytunnel on a summer's day.

 

[Toddy]

If you get the venting right though, and that can make it vulnerable to winds, you can create a through going draught. A bit like opening both the back and front doors of the house and wedging them open instead of letting one slam shut, kind of thing.

Other than that, we didn't find even shading the polytunnel worked to cool it down.
Miserable to work in on a warm day.

 

[amindfulmuse]

A varied range of vegetables and in the poly tunnel there is green salad pretty much all year.
We grow squash, have a fruit cage and an orchard which is now over ten years old so there is a broad range of home-grown organic food.
My wife puts pretty much all the hard work in as I am on ‘infrastructure’ duties with a renew fencing programme about to start replacing 15 year old failing posts with creosoted items.
S

that's pretty cool!

 

[grizzlyj]

One home made polytunnel near here blew away because with the whole thing moving some of the internal timbers snapped, snagged the plastic and away it went. He re-did it with more bracing, just amazon not expensive plastic, and it survived this winter so far. Totally exposed to all wind except from SW to NW.
Another "proper" one is used to grow tree saplings with plastic over the top as normal but with about a 2' high strip all the way around the bottom of chicken wire sized mesh, more sheltered but has stood for years so far.

 

[British Red]

Poly tunnels are great for people but not always the best design in our experience. They are high sided and so wind vulnerable. They also contain a lot of air so don't hear up as well in the early season. Given that they are fixed in place, they can get too hot in the Summer as observed. We find that a plastic raised bed cover that can easily be opened and closed, present a lower wind signature, heat up more quickly in the early season, can be removed easily in Summer or replaced with bird / insect netting and are MUCH easier & cheaper to make