Saturday, November 27, 2010

Building Cold Frames - the finishing touches

Both of the cold frames are completely finished! "The Italian" and I put the finishing touches on them a couple of days ago.

There they are side by side.

I put misc. latches that we had on both of them to secure the lids from the wind.

"The Italian" came up with this great idea using Simpson straps to hold the tops open at different heights. The straps are attached to the base of the frame with a screw and a washer. A nail was placed in the top and bent a little to keep it from slipping out of the hole. We purchased the straps for a couple of dollars a piece at a big box store. I added some weather striping around the entire frame to eliminate the small gaps.

 They are very easy to open and close and stay very secure.




Here's "The Italian's" design drawings for the cold frames

I think he did a great job designing and building them!

12 comments:

  1. Wow! He did a great job designing and building those for you! What fun to have a new season extension tool at your disposal. :D

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  2. Wow Robin, this looks totally amazing. I can't wait to show my husband, we've been talking so much about cold frames that I've put it on his "list" for garden projects. Haha. He's not amused that his list keeps growing.

    What are you going to grow in the cold frames?

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  3. Robin-they look fantastic! You're so very lucky. I hope you get lots of enjoyment out of them--and great veggies for a few extra months!

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  4. Your cold frames are awesome! "The Italian" did a wonderful job designing and building them. I can wait to see what you will grow in them.

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  5. Wow, nice! You're a lucky girl. I like the idea of latching it to the bed it is resting on. Great idea. I know you'll really enjoy it this coming year, and in years to come.
    ~~Lori

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  6. I think the Italian did a great job on them, and you'll be growing all kinds of goodies in no time!

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  7. thanks everyone, I have a little growing experiment going on in the cold frames right now. I will post on it this week or next

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  8. This is a professional work! The Italian did a great job!
    I'm looking forward to see what is growing in there.

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  9. My boyfriend is planning to build a coldframe for us, so I appreciate the detail you put into your post! I'm going to show him your blueprints.

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  10. wow...wow...wow!!!!
    Those drawings are awesome! They look like my house plans!

    Beautiful cold frames Robin. Can't wait to read more!

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  11. Toni, Thanks, my husband a/k/a "The Italian" is an architect...so, he always makes plans for his/our projects.

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