Greenhouse brick foundation

[HawkEye244]

Hi all,
Pretty straightforward really except it's not for me ... I've got a mini alluminum greenhouse I want to put up 6*4 foot.
I'm digging out some soil and lining bricks into it along the perimeter but perpendicular to the greenhouse base. Laying and levelling each brick individually as I go is proving to be a nightmare. Is there a better way to do this ?
I can't use cement because it's an allotment. I can use some hardcore and sharp sand but that's a lot of extra work and materials and might not be any better a job.
Help appreciated.

 

[SFK]

Use sleepers as foundations. They will rot, but slowly. And you can screw greenhouse into them to add mass and stop wind lifting greenhouse.

 

[JBR]

Our greenhouse (10' x 6') came with six anchors. I dug down a foot or so deep and wide for each and poured in Postcrete (and water, of course). Apart from that, it just sits directly on (levelled) heavy clay. It's as steady as a rock now and has neither sunk nor lifted despite Storm Dennis!

 

[cwhaley]

I once used pressure treated posts coated in car under body seal. I drove these into the ground and attached to those. It still stands 6 years later but appreciate it is not a permanent solution.

 

[HawkEye244]

Allotments prohibit cement because if/when a new tenant takes over your plot it can be extremely difficult to remove. And I respect that to be honest. I like the sleeper idea but it's pricey.
I've decided to put a sublayer of bricks with a screed of sharp sand on top of them. That will make the top layer of bricks easier to level off. Not the best solution but I think it'll have to do. I already have the bricks and sand so just elbow grease and patience needed and I have those as well.
Last time I try to level a run of bricks on just soil.

 

[lostinthelight]

Laying bricks on sand and hoping the GH won't blow away that could pose a real danger to anyone close in a gale

 

[HawkEye244]

Laying bricks on sand and hoping the GH won't blow away that could pose a real danger to anyone close in a gale

You and me both mate. Talking sense into the people that run the site is like trying to draw blood from stone. There seems to be an obsession with not having any cement and I like to have an easy life and not bother people who are clearly incapable of understanding a problem like this so no cement it is.
I will clearly need to drill through the alliminum frame into a brick or two and secure with fittings of some kind. Either that or dot and dab splodges of cement around the internal perimeter of the frame in contact with the brick below to give it some rigidity and argue that the cement/mortar used is above ground level and so does not constitute part of the foundation. It would at least provide some pinning to the ground.
I've made a point of siting the door to the opposite of the south west where most of our winds blow in from.
What more can I do ?

 

[lostinthelight]

The only extra mass your greenhouse will have are the number of bricks it's fixed through frame to they if are not bonded to each other and to the course below .
What about 18 X 9 concrete blocks sunk in the ground, that stands more chance of holding it?

 

[HawkEye244]

The only extra mass your greenhouse will have are the number of bricks it's fixed through frame to they if are not bonded to each other and to the course below .

You saying I should break committee rules mate ? Lol.

 

[lostinthelight]

You saying I should break committee rules mate ? Lol.

Loose laid oncrete blocks are only bricks on steroids and are not cast in one lump so where's the infringement?

 

[scbk]

I think this is the best idea:

Use sleepers as foundations. They will rot, but slowly. And you can screw greenhouse into them to add mass and stop wind lifting greenhouse.

Sleepers all around will add a fair bit of weight

 

[lostinthelight]

I think this is the best idea:



Sleepers all around will add a fair bit of weight

Sleepers would be my first choice and have erected a few greenhouses myself in them but OP seems to be persuing other means?

 

[HawkEye244]

Loose laid oncrete blocks are only bricks on steroids and are not cast in one lump so where's the infringement?

Good suggestion. Sorry I must have replied to you before you edited the last paragraph into the post about the concrete.
I think blocks would be absolutely fine so long as I don't bond them. Perhaps I could put in a block every 500mm or so and drill the frame onto it and infill the rest of the area with brick

 

[HawkEye244]

Sleepers would be my first choice and have erected a few greenhouses myself in them but OP seems to be persuing other means?

I like the sleeper suggestion but I think it would be a tad pricey including delivery and not sure about weight and shifting it around? My plot is quite a distance from the entrance and cannot use a wheelbarrow in some areas because of poor access

 

[lostinthelight]

I'm sure you'll get there one way or another, good luck with it