Where The Madness Began

Or, Why I Started Building Glass Enclosures.

I’m not exactly sure what my problem is, but I have a good idea. Maybe you have this quirk too, eh? The thing is, it hurts my soul to discard things of value, especially items where I see beauty. And since beauty and value are largely subjective concepts, what I find precious, others consider junk. I could no more trash an old wood-frame window than cut the tail off a puppy! In fact, I feel it is morally wrong to discard something that still has ‘life’ left in it.

Could the upbringing by my antique dealing parents have influenced me? Or is it because of the abrogation of quality in manufacturing now days? Or has my unshakable contempt for the ‘throw-away’ society made me soft-in-the-head? I’m not a ‘pack-rat’, or at least insofar as my stockpiles of used materials are orderly :) But I’m serious, why do I work so hard and invest so much into an endeavor that I don’t even show any semblence of profit? Maybe the answer is tne fact that I drive, and always have driven, old cars. I just love old stuff, and using old relics and time-honored materials gives me a thrill.

One day in the autumn of 2013, our neighbor got a bunch of old windows that had discarded from a remodel. She asked if I could fashion a greenhouse out of them. “I’m on it!” was my reply and I set to it immediately. So, it zeems that I can blame the neighbor for the loonacy I have embarked upon! Sounds legit, right ;-) Anyway, I dove right in on that lovely fall day and below are pictures of the first greenhouse I built and what my wife now considers something I need therapy for.

Looking through the roof at the second floor of our house.

Now, to be sure, this project is nowhere near as inventive as what I do now. I stick-framed it and used very conventional methods to jam it all together the way any dude who spent the past 25 years building houses, you just bang it together.

Unfinished but taking shape, this one was a plan-as-you-go job.

I added some nice features, such as these shelves with diagonal cedar surface..

Hey, if you’re going to do it, do it right! A beautiful thing deserves to be beautiful inside too, right?

Even the homeowner got in on the act and supplied this birdhouse (and later other things) to pretty it up.

There is nothing quite like the sight of all that glass gleaming in the night.

Yes, the site was a tight one!

I shoehorned that thing right in there. Of course 10 years ago I was a touch skinnier.

Cute little thing.

So now you have the story. She was pleased with the results and began using it straight away. It does get wicked hot in there, so later on installed a thermostatically controlled fan, lighting ndf power outlets for whatever one needs.

Do you see my problem? I’m all alone here and could use some moral support. If you have read this far, you have smarts, so why don’t you kindly support my efforts with a like, or comment, or if you really think I ought to be put in the boobyhatch - sign up for a free subscription!

Thsnk you for reading, please come back soon. — Dave