Day 2 - Finishing the roof sheeting

After a good rest over the weekend, we continued the process of installing the plastic sheeting on the greenhouse structure.

Upon arriving at the farm on Monday, Feb 28, we were pleased to see that the wooden structure and plastic sheeting installed last week were both still in good shape.  And though the weather wasn't sunny, it wasn't raining, either.

So, we got started, with renewed determination to finish this project up this week.  We also had a new member of the work crew, Paul Stockley, a member of the UK board of trustees who is visiting IMiC in Colombia for the next few weeks. 

Henry Rairan, left, with Paul Stockley securing the plastic sheeting to one of the trusses.

Fortunately, it only sprinkled a few times during the day, nothing to compare with our experience of last week.

We did improve our techniques, but most of the crew had to leave to do other tasks by mid-afternoon.  So we were only able to finish the rest of the roof.  The process of installing plastic on the roof is definitely tedious and time consuming.

Here's the greenhouse progress after the second day of installing plastic.  The roof plastic is secured, but the gutters remain to be formed.

Installing the plastic sheeting on the greenhouse

We knew that installing the plastic sheeting on the greenhouse wouldn't be that easy with just ladders, so we rented two sets of scaffolding to make the job safer and easier.

When we got started early on April 24, we were in good spirits, the weather was good, and we thought we were prepared.  By the end of the day, we were cold, wet, tired, and rather daunted by the task that still lay ahead of us.

It all sounded pretty straightforward - tack down the end of the sheeting, pull it tight, and then secure it.  But we didn't fully appreciate the issues of alignment, the number of times that we'd have to move the scaffolding and ladders, nor how hard it is to drive nails into seasoned eucalyptus wood, etc. etc.

About mid-morning, while we were patiently working through our issues, the weather turned sour, and it started raining and blowing.

Henry Rairan, staff member for IMiC, tensioning the plastic at the eve level, and securing it with staples to a guy wire.  We have secured the first sheet of plastic and the rain is falling.

We weren't about to be daunted by a little bad weather, so we pressed on.  We had installed the first sheet of plastic along the length of the greenhouse by lunch time.

After lunch, a group of boys came down to help.  Based on a good suggestion by Henry Rairan, we altered our procedures, now tensioning and securing each section of the roof plastic to the truss one at a time, instead of trying to cover the whole length of the roof at once.  This worked better, because we could easily gain access to nail the little strips of wood to the top of each truss along the way, rather than trying to do so from the edges after the whole length of plastic was in place. 

But after we'd installed one section of the second sheet this new way, the rain and wind really let go.  We knew we couldn't just let the plastic ride out the storm, because it would get shredded for sure.  So we blundered along, soon working with soaking wet clothes, numb fingers, and boots caked with mud.  Every movement became harder.  Most of the crew huddled under the completed sheet of plastic roofing while a couple of others stapled, hammered, and pulled sheeting out in the rain.  Late in the afternoon, the storm abated, just about the time that we finished securing the second sheet.  We started to install more cables in order to secure the edges of the plastic into gutters, but ultimately decided it was too late and that the loose edges wouldn't be damaged over the weekend.

Here's how the south bay of the greenhouse looked after a hard day of installing plastic.  Note the muddy ground and tired workers.

So we put everything away and tried to figure out how to make our efforts more productive next week.

We left, thankful that we didn't suffer any accidents or injuries working up at the 4+ meter heights during the difficult conditions, and thankful also for the best efforts of the entire crew in facing this challenge.

Finishing the structure of the greenhouse

Tuesday, February 22 was a day of success and rejoicing for all of us at Granja Peniel.

Today, we mounted the trusses on top of the posts for the greenhouse.

Here's how the process went:

In the morning, the staff (including Leo Guzman, John Egson Fonseca, Gonzalo Osario, and Grant Bye) sorted out the process for installing the trusses - installed half of them, plus the long poles at the ends of the bay.  We don't have pictures of that work in progress, but here's a shot of the greenhouse structure at mid-day:

The first four trusses installed, with long poles also in place

In the afternoon, after the boys came home from school, they helped install the rest of the structure as you can see in the following shots:

l to r, Einer Posada, Gonzalo Osario, Duvan Guayara, Leonardo Guzman, Andres Castro, and Camilo Castro installing a truss into position between the carevacas.  Gonzalo and Duvan are steading the truss with long poles while Leonardo inserts a 3/8" bolt into the pre-drilled holes in the truss and the carevaca.

On the second truss of the afternoon, Duvan takes over the role of inserting and tightening the connecting bolts.

Einer holding the free end of the truss, Duvan tightening the bolt while John Egson assists.

At the end of the day, the entire structure of the greenhouse has been installed, along with several more guy wires to stabilize the posts and trusses. 

The assembly of the wooden structure had been completed in just two days.  We had been blessed with nice weather to work in, by electric power from our neighbors to make the drilling feasible, and by plenty of helping hands on the part of the staff and boys at Granja Peniel.

And, as so often happens when things are going well, we got overconfident and began thinking that the project was about over.  As Nancy Centeno, the IMiC director said the following day, "all that is left is installing the plastic".  So much easier said than done....as we were soon to find out....

UP they go! - the greenhouse posts

After several weeks of preparation, we finally began to put the pieces of the greenhouse together this week.

We began by attaching the Y-shaped truss supports (called carevacas here in Colombia) to the tops of the posts.  We used two 3/8" diameter bolts to secure the carevacas in place.  We soon found that drilling the 7/16" holes through the hard eucalyptus wood was a significant challenge for our drill bits, so we had to sharpen them frequently.  Fortunately, our Drill Doctor bit sharpener was up to the task of quickly and accurately resharpening bits, and kept us being productive in the drilling.  Otherwise, we'd probably still be burning our way through the 4" (10 cm) square posts!

Leonardo Guzman drilling a hole to mount the carevaca laying in the background.

Once all the carevacas were attached, we then stood the post assemblies up on the footings, and drilled two holes through the bottom of each post, aligned with the holes in the stirrups that are imbedded in the concrete footings.  We then installed 3/8" bolts through the holes to secure the posts to the footings.

A typical concrete footing with the imbedded stirrup made from 3/16"x 1-1/4" strap.

A huge help and blessing in all the drilling was that we were able to use electric power from one of our neighbors - which allowed us to use the 1/2" corded electric drill.  We do have several cordless drills, but the largest is only 3/8" capacity and wasn't up to the demands of this job. 

Camilo Castro, Alexander Guayara, and Anderson Mora tightening the bolts on a post while Gonzalo Osario observes.

The post installation team, left to right, Camilo Castro, William Gomez, Anderson Mora, Gonzalo Osario, and Alexander Guayara, with the posts in the background.

 It was gratifying to finally see something standing in the place where we soon expect to see a greenhouse.  And we were excited about getting on with the next step - which was mounting the trusses on the posts.

All the posts standing in place.

 But, since the stirrups are only designed to attach the posts to the footing - and not to support side loads - we first needed to install guy wires to help better stabilize the posts before mounting the trusses.  More guy wires will be added to the trusses after they are installed.

This job of installing the guy wires (1/8" cables) was pretty easy and quick.  We ran the cables through fencing staples hammered part way into the posts, tensioned the cable with a come-a-long, and then secured the cable to the anchors on each end, and finally drove the fencing staples completely into each post.

A line of posts, stabilized by a guy wire, ready for the trusses.

Building the roof trusses

Using 3 meter lengths of 2"x4" eucalyptus wood, we built roof trusses for the greenhouse.

We layed out the pattern on the shop floor to make the trusses all the same size, then drilled holes and bolted the pieces together.  Leonardo and John Egson did most of the assembly, but Gonzalo and Grant also got involved.

Leonardo and Gonzalo tightening the bolts on the crown splice plate we welded together from 1/8" strap.

The trusses in progress outside the shop.  These trusses were waiting for the splice plates to be finished.

Anchor bolts and truss supports

The stability of the greenhouse will depend upon the 1/8" cables running along the length of the structure.  So, in order to have a secure anchor for these cables, we made up some steel anchor bolts and then buried them in concrete.

These are the eye bolts that we fashioned from 1/2" round stock.

We installed 10 of the anchor points at a distance of 4 meters from the ends of the greenhouse.

The next job was to cut and weld together Y-shaped supports to connect the posts with the roof joists.  The hardest part of this job was cutting the 2"x2"x3/16" angle into pieces with a hacksaw. 

Leonardo cutting the big angle with a hacksaw.

Then Grant welded the supports together, getting some good practice using E7018 welding rod.  We don't usually get to weld material this thick, so it was a treat not to have to worry about melting through the steel.

 The beads were pretty nice after  making 8 of these supports...

Here are the finished products, stacked upside down from the orientation they will be installed.

Footings for the greenhouse

The two previous greenhouses built at Granja Peniel have had the wooden posts buried in the ground.  These posts have suffered rot, which shortened the life of the structure.

This time we have been blessed to be able to install concrete footings for the posts - so we hope and expect they will last much longer.

Neider, Leonardo, and John Egson all helped digging the holes for the footings.  They dug the holes down to a depth of about 60 cm (24 inches).  At the same time, Grant and John Egson cut and welded stirrups from 1-1/4" x 3/16" strap to be imbedded in the footing to support the wooden posts.

John Egson showing some of the stirrups to be imbedded in the footings.

Most of the older boys at the farm got involved in the actual mixing of the concrete and pouring of the footings.

William Gomez (l) and Duvan watching as Einer and Andres Castro load the wheelbarrow with concrete.

Henry shoveling and John Egson guiding the concrete into the hole.

We used short pieces of 8" inch diameter cardboard tubing to form the collar of the holes and support the stirrups at their proper elevation.

Now it is Alex Mora's and Duvan's turn to mix and load the concrete.

Gonzalo holding a stirrup before it is inserted into the concrete, while John Egson and Henry look on.

In the end, they mixed about a cubic meter of concrete in order to pour footings for 12 normal posts, 4 long posts, and 10 anchor eye bolts.

Slicing eucalyptus blocks into lumber

With the help of a couple of volunteer veternarian students, today we processed enough large blocks of eucalyptus into lumber to build the structure for the greenhouse.  We had lots of people helping in the process, which helped make the work not too heavy, and also gave each one some experience in using the table saw.

In addition to the two volunteer students (Abram and Felipe), we were blessed to have the help of Neider Posada, who is back at the farm for a few days while on leave from the Army.  Neider lived at Granja Peniel, along with his younger brother, Einer, starting in 2004.

Also involved in the effort were Henry Rairan, an IMC staff member who fills in for the caregiving couples on the weekends, among other duties; Gonzalo Osario, a pastor and designated father for the older boys at Granja Peniel; and John Egson Fonseca, one of the program boys who works on the farm during the week and goes to school on Saturdays.

Henry (left) and Neider (light shirt) feeding a block to Abram, Gonzalo, and Felipe.

Left to right, Gonzalo, John Egson, Abram, and Neider.  The saw is a 10" Delta contractor saw with a 3Hp motor.



The saw only cuts about 3" deep, so we had to cut the 6" blocks from both sides. Given that the blocks were cut by a chainsaw, most had problems of un-square sides, varying widths, thicknesses, and other irregularities.  Considering that we were only looking to make rough dimensional lumber, we didn't take the time to run the blocks across the joiner and planer.

We ended up with 10 each 4"x4" posts and about 30 2"x4" members to form the roof trusses for the greenhouse structure.

The only problem that we experienced was that the table saw tripped the 20 amp breaker a few times.  After one such incident, the saw wouldn't start up even after re-setting the breaker.  I later found that the breaker was damaged and wasn't allowing current through on all three phases.  So, I replaced the breaker with a better quality unit and since the breaker hasn't tripped.

We're GO for building a greenhouse!

In late January, God provided a large, unexpected donation that enabled us to buy the remaining materials to begin building a greenhouse for Granja Peniel.

We have been seeing the need for and planning the greenhouse for several months now, but God just now has provided all the elements that will make it possible to proceed. 

Above you see the gravel for making concrete footings that we purchased this week.  In the background notice some of the eucalyptus blocks that were donated by United Church of Bogota last year.  These blocks we will cut into 4"x4" posts and 2"x4" boards to make the wooden structure for the greenhouse.

From the donation, we were also able to buy cement to make concrete.

This photo shows the steel angle and strap purchased to make anchors and connections for the wooden structure.

We also bought plastice sheeting to cover the wooden structure. 

The completed greenhouse will enable the children and staff at Granja Peniel, Lord willing, to grow many more of the vegetables that they eat at the farm on a daily basis, as well as help them provide vegetables for some of the other operations in the IMC ministry.