Planning a greenhouse before spring..

[TammyWy]

I don't know why you couldn't find the Halls greenhouses in the US. They are available. The supreme model is not, but there are other models. I personally owned a Halls Magnum that got left behind in the last move. I loved it. We were located about an hour north of New Orleans when Katrina came through. My Magnum held up to the storm, but a brick wall about 4 feet away got totally destroyed. It is available with a twinwall polycarbonate or tempered glass option.

 

[CanadianLori]

I have never been a fan of twin wall - only because of the aesthetics. I know that they are more efficient than single layer polycarbonate but I just like "clear" . One of my greenhouses was originally twinwall and I converted it to clear.
Before conversion

and after conversion

Fun discussions - just goes to show, to each their own!

 

[TammyWy]

Well, the biggest problem with the clear polycarbonate is that it will not last as long as the twinwall. It only has a warranty for 5 years. The twinwall has a 10 - 20 year warranty depending on the manufacturer. I have personally seen the 10 year warranty looking good at 15 years. I have always been a function over form type of person. So, naturally, I prefer the twinwall.

 

[CanadianLori]

Hmmm, that's weird - one of mine is at least 8 years old and still looks good.. As I say, I chose mine for aesthetic reasons because I like the clear look. I still have all the twinwall panels and toyed with the idea of building a lean to style with the panels but decided if I didn't like the look in a greenhouse what would make me like it any better as a lean to.
....
Just went and looked at my warranty. The entire greenhouse is warranted for only 5 years but I have yet to see signs of any failure. Panels are lovely and clear, frame is sturdy. Guess it's like the 3 year warranty on a fridge, you know that it's not going to die in that time frame it is just limiting the manufacturers liability- a good move!

I also chose mine because I had to assemble them myself. No extra pairs of hands to help and these are doable for one person Lots of variables to sway a person's choice.

As I said before, it is an individual choice. All three of my greenhouses are in view from my kitchen and I went with the clear look because it is a personal preference.

 

[Rey]

So I got the Climapod Virtue 9' x 14'. How hard is it to build you think? I will have to take 1 week vacation so I can concentrate on building it. I am still thinking of the base. Maybe 4x6 all around with rebar driven 1 ft deep to hold it and screwed on with a harness so the wooden base is secure. I might have to use pressure treated wood. The kit includes an aluminum base and it will lay on top of the wooden base. You think this might work? It kinda look like this...

 

[CanadianLori]

oh @Rey I like that! Took me 9 hours to put my 6x8 together and funnily enough almost as long for each of the 6x4's! Once you get your base set up you'll find it goes pretty fast. Before your vacation is done, you'll be filling the house up

Usually these companies have their assembly manuals in pdf form on their websites so you can study it before you receive the shipment. Always fun putting one together - if it wasn't, I wouldn't have carried on getting more. units

 

[Rey]

ahhh, I was reading the PDF file and get familiarize, thanks for the tip, at least this will reduce time but I feel this will be a whole week project hopefully I can finish this in a week.

 

[CanadianLori]

Nah, once you get going, you'll be having so much fun you won't want to quit.

Two more tips.

I used a mechanics magnetic bowl for the nuts anf bolts.

I put all of the parts in numeric order on my deck. Easier to locate and smoothly work on.

I REALLY envy you. There is nothing more rewarding than putting together your greenhouse. You're outside, you're taking on something new and later you get to grow things in there and if you're like me, you'll keep tweaking and adding bells and whistles. .. honestly, it does not get better than that

 

[Daren]

Rey Looks like a Great Greenhouse your have fun with that for sure

 

[Bluesamurai]

A word of advice, do not use bio degradable pots in a greenhouse! The cardboard sucks up all the moisture and takes away any from the plants. In the greenhouse where i worked, we made that mistake and payed for it. The seeds in the bio degradable pots ended up burning , and the ones that did make it had to be constantly watered. This is because the sun reflects through the glass, and heats the place up. Similarly, find a way to cool off the greenhouse in the colder months, as the heat can become unbearable.

Congrats on doing this though, despite all the issues described above it truly was a good choice.

 

[Rey]

ok, slowly but surely , I made a mistake by mounting the framing first because I was thinking that the aluminum base will sit on top of the wood frame. Ideally, I have to assemble the base first and drive the four corner stakes where the base should screw in. So I improvised, I cut the 4 stakes and screw the base to it. Then, I mounted it on top of the frame I made and I drill holes on the alum base and screw it in the wooden frame. Then I use iron stakes with holes and screw that to the wooden frame. Then I plan to puor concrete on the bottom of the wooden frame. I then measured to make sure the diagonal measurement is the same on both. So far I assembled the rear gable. I had to use 4 chairs since it is impossible to do it on the ground... Still in progress..

 

[Rey]

slowly but shirley

 

[Rey]

Just got the time to put some shelves..To be continued..