Mommyhens greenhouse rebuild

[JohnW]

Mommyhen,
Thanks for the reply. Anything I should be aware of while building the harbor freight greenhouse? I've looked online and they seem to be notorious for bad instructions. I plan to work on it this weekend.

John

[Big Al]

hi johnw, you are right they are horrible instruction's to follow, i built one of them 2 year's ago.
just make sure you have the bolt's for the corner brace's in before you install the roof. also
if you can make some sheetmetal angle to hold the panel's on. the clip's are not that great
in the wind. nothing like being up on a ladder in the middle of a snowstorm. good luck Big Al

[wolfracer]

Look at this Blog, some wonderful info on modifying the harbor freight greenhouse.

http://hfgh10x12.blogspot.com/2007/08/p ... n-two.html

[Big Al]

hi wolfracer, that site is great i wish i would of known about it before i built that greenhouse.
there is alot of information on there. look's like i'll be making some modification's to it soon. thank's Big Al

[wolfracer]

I have the same greenhouse and I will say that if you screw down the polycarbonate panels it goes along way to beefing it up. Mine has withstood 60 mph wins and golf ball size hail. Also strengthening the header above the doors is an absolutely necessary.

[Big Al]

hi wolfracer, i agree with you 100%. thank's Big Al

[JohnW]

Thanks to everyone for all the info on the greenhouse. I built it this weekend with my daughter. I did need some help from the internet post but it wasn't as bad as I expected. My thirteen year old did most of the work.

I will silicone the panels in this weekend and maybe put some aluminum cross braces on the inside for extra support. As for now, I'm enjoying the 94 degrees inside. Guess it's time to think of putting the aquaponics together!

JohnW

[mommyhen42]

Thanks to everyone for all the info on the greenhouse. I built it this weekend with my daughter. I did need some help from the internet post but it wasn't as bad as I expected. My thirteen year old did most of the work.

I will silicone the panels in this weekend and maybe put some aluminum cross braces on the inside for extra support. As for now, I'm enjoying the 94 degrees inside. Guess it's time to think of putting the aquaponics together!

JohnW

Did you build the 6x8 or the 10' one?
mine is the little 6x8 and the only real problem I had was the roof...did not do the corner brace bolts first... what a pain that was!

I had to make a trip back to harbor freight twice...
my first greenhouse was missing pieces
And the door instructions made no sense to me... Luckilly they had a miniature one in the store that I looked at and had them remove the door so that I could take a better look

I had no problems with the clips and they have held the panels in place through 100 MPH gusts... Although I have no idea how the vents have stayed on the greenhouse!!! I always watch check them after a storm.

I had to install a lock on the door as it does not close correctly. All I did was take a 2" corner brace and attach it through one of the top screws that hold a brace on the door. The bottom door refuses to run on the track, but ah well.

I did bolt 2x4's to my patio and then bolted the greenhouse down to that so that it would not get blown over in the high winds we get in the winter.
My cold frame is frequently flipped and torn, so I keep extra plastic to keep it covered during the winter.

Next spring I plan on building a large shadehouse if I am up to it...

Of course that will be run aquaponically too!

[JohnW]

We also built the 6x8. I also have a problem with the door sliding open and closed. I might have a simple fix that I will try this weekend. We had a lot of rain this week and noticed the roof panels leaking at the seams. Some silicone caulk might fix the problem.
Otherwise, it went together easily. We haven't used the door too much but I hope it holds up. For the price I paid (273.00 with tax) it doesn't seem like a bad deal.

John

[mommyhen42]

We also built the 6x8. I also have a problem with the door sliding open and closed. I might have a simple fix that I will try this weekend. We had a lot of rain this week and noticed the roof panels leaking at the seams. Some silicone caulk might fix the problem.
Otherwise, it went together easily. We haven't used the door too much but I hope it holds up. For the price I paid (273.00 with tax) it doesn't seem like a bad deal.

John

My panels don't seem to leak even after all this time, but I do understand that for some silicone calk and directly screwing the panels down prevents this problem