I was just going to close this thread and start a new one. But I see @Dave has changed the title for us. I look forward to sharing tips with you Dave, as we move along, step-by-step in this project. I am hopeful we can Git R Done and have a comparable quality greenhouse with a little elbow grease, but perhaps not as much as it may seem? I charge forward, undaunted by the giant task!

I have my own set of power tools, handy and powerful for their size. Plus they fit in my hand. It's time to charge them up! DH will be helping me with the lower part with his drill. By the time I am up on a ladder doing the upper parts, I will have it down pat. I plan a Raise the Roof party with friends and neighbors when we get to that point. DH has his plans of wiring for electricity and adding the A/C window unit somehow, all from his wheelchair??? He dreams big like I do! We have the A/C unit that we bring out for hurricane power outages. Might as well put it to year-round use.

And yes, good point about the shipping charges Dave. You know me. The simplest ideas usually flow through this empty head of mine! There is a Harbor Freight across the freeway where DH has hit physical Therapy. It has become my favorite store! I will just stop in with my little coupon and buy them up one at a time. The dangerous part is I will probably by more stuff beyond the cost of shipping the little openers! Have you looked at the opener that comes with the kit?? I am thinking, since I would have to get a ladder to get to the top of that 10 ft ceiling anyway, what difference does it make that it is a gas cylinder-operated one if I'm up there anyway?? The blog says the vent handle is not that great. We shall see.

I did see the 4 x 6 timber idea. Ours will sit on a deck highly treated with Thompson's Water Seal. I know some blogs warm against putting it on a deck in fear of rotting. But we have no choice in our small yard. The deck was build originally for a shed 12 years ago. The Greenhouse Project won out! I will use the foam insulation between the frame and probably on the floor in the end as well as bolt the GH to the deck boards.

Did you see the updated note on ordering the clips, Dave? The Blogger was kind enough to update the part number and published phone number order a package of 130 clips ($14) allowing 10 clips were panel. That might be overkill since she is in the windy desert of New Mexico. But then I assume New Mexico cannot compare to the likes of hurricane force wind gusts. So I will go with her recommendations.


RE: foil taping the panel closed. I saw a YouTube that has a different take on the panels. He says in order to gain insulation, we have to seal off the panels by using weatherproof/waterproof tape WITHOUT holes. The tape creates an air pocket and being waterproof, I am thinking it wouldn't allow moisture in as does simple foil tape. Here is the YouTube. Let me know what you think? The Blogger says "I sealed the ends of each panel with aluminum tape to help keep dirt, condensation, and bugs out of the channels." But if it has holes in it, how does that keep bugs out???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Gonna actually print out the entire blog and take it to work with me so I can study it. The photos will help me as I am a very visual person. Please post your experiences on here as you go along. That will help me and DH a lot.

Special thanks to @Bubbles/Sandi for getting my butt off the ground to get my lean-to greenhouse installed. Finally. This has been years in the making and seeing Sandi's temporary lean-to made it look easy enough to construct. Your instructions were great, Sandi! So far, my plants are loving it and I am loving the bit of added space in the house and garage. The coming freeze will test my construction ability!

Thanks to to @DrDawg/Ken for all this pointers. You are truly The Tested One when it comes to all things greenhouse!! I appreciate your opinions. They have helped me make the right decision for our family budget. A building structure on the property is not to be taken lightly. I have HOA's to consider as well as The City of Houston regs. I am hoping to sneak this one's too-large-size-by-regulation by both of them seeing how it will be built temporarily permanent. If they ever do find out about it, I will carefully take it apart...wait some time....then put it up again. That is the way I fight City Hall.

I spent my morning studying that blog very carefully and I will, of course, return to it again in the near future.

I'm not going to climb a ladder each morning to open the vents so the automatic openers are a must for me. If something relies on my memory or doing something on a periodic basis, that's a failure point for sure.

Regarding those clips: I actually couldn't find them on the HF website. I searched by name and by SKU and wasn't able to pull it up. Were you able to find them?

Taping the ends: as far as I can tell, the holes are a necessity. Moisture WILL build up inside the twinwall poly sheeting because of temperature differences inside and outside. Condensation will form and it needs a way to drip down and exit the system. Thus, the holes. Will insects get inside? Not if the holes are small enough.

By "automatic" I thought it mean that they were pneumatic as opposed to just propping them open. You mean they are electronic or battery operated some how? No ladder??? That would be my wish! Maybe I missed that part?

I think you have to call HF directly for the clips. I haven't gotten that far. Maybe we can use the coupon for those, too? Here is that part of the blog:
"We ordered extra clips from Harbor Freight, by calling the 800 number on our manual (1-800-444-3353.) They seem to keep these in stock in the Harbor Freight warehouses, so in my experience they ship pretty quickly. (But it never hurts to order early.) We ordered one bag of 130 extra clips, and I used all of them, in addition to those that shipped with my kit.

As of March 2013: If you are ordering extra clips for the Harbor Freight 10x12, the part number for the clip is 53, and the SKU number for a bag of 130 clips is 29457, price $15.99."

Oh yes, the insects get inside! That's the part I hate!

I bought my first GH used, a Charlie's. My mother and I sprayed a jet of water down each channel to get the bugs and algae out but now that the GH is up, it would be a lot trickier to get the bugs out. I think they got in because the panels don't fit as square or snugly as they should so if you construct it carefully, it may not be an issue. So far my second (purchased new) GH hasn't suffered the insect invasion!

I'm going to be following this thread. I don't think DH will want to put up the temp. GH next year. I just need to find a spot that won't show from the street (HOA), and be on flat ground. Great information here.

ShadyGreenThumb said:By "automatic" I thought it mean that they were pneumatic as opposed to just propping them open. You mean they are electronic or battery operated some how? No ladder??? That would be my wish! Maybe I missed that part?

The greenhouse comes with a regular hinge system that requires you to get up on the ladder to open and close them.

But those $26 vent openers have sealed cylinders that have a gas inside that expands when the temperature rises. As the gas expands it drives the piston up and causes the vent to automatically open when the temperature rises. When evening comes and the temperature plummets, the gas contracts and brings the piston back down, closing the vent automatically.

In other words, the $26 vent opener means no ladder.

^^^^ I'm sooooo IN!!

Automatic vent openers are a MUST! What if you had to be gone all day and forgot to open the GH or it was too cold when you left but the sun came out and the temps inside soared? Everything inside could fry! I speak from experience of being too cheap to invest in automatic vent openers at first.

I printed out the Blog instructions. These people have really thought it though even updated years after original construction. Good photos, too. I like that. But it came out to over 200 pages. Don't print it out unless you are highly inept person like me who needs pictures and other visuals to understand things, and who loves to waste Company time reading personal material.

UPDATE on the clips from the Blog comments:

"It's good to know that Harbor Freight is now including some extra parts, including clips..."

The blogger user approx. 360 clips or 10 clips per panel. Gonna actually count the clips to see how many are in the current kit before ordering more.

That's what I'm going to do, too.

Update: I am busy reading and studying the long blog as the greenhouse is on it's way. I am amazed that one person wrote in such great detail about the construction, took photos, and then takes the time to answer blog questions about it. And she is so nice about it! I am up to part 3 and getting a lot of good hints. I am taking notes along the way with references to blog part and page numbers of the information I think might come in handy later. I will copy and paste it here as sort of an Index to the comprehensive blog.. There is a LOT of great information in there both from the Blogger as well as the comments and hints.

I've decided we are going to try to protect the cheap panels the best we can with the $7 UV spray. I don't need the shade protection via Shade Cloth in our yard as much as I just need to preserve the panels. If it can protect artwork, I ASSume it will help with polycarbonate. The panels with the kit last about 4 years according to the Blogger. The cost to replace them with good quality panels is around $500 from greenhouse supply companies. IDK if that is worth it for a $600 greenhouse? Harbor Freight has replacements for $135. I am thinking, with a little UV spray on them I might be able to make them last 10 years in my shady yard.

I'll be following your notes and progress!

I bet you're right that your shady yard will mean a longer life for your panels.

My yard is 100% full sun and the greenhouse will be in the sun morning through evening. I guess I should start shopping for shade cloths...

Yes, do keep everyone informed how the UV block works. You may just be on to something!

My harbor freight greenhouse arrived yesterday, in a long (8 foot?) box that weighs an incredible amount. I haven't opened it yet. Now it's time to contemplate the location and get started!

Pictures as you go, please!

Is the lean to GH put on hold for later or not doing it now?

I abandoned the idea of a lean to greenhouse. I went back and forth on several ideas of a lean to greenhouse but ultimately decided that for now a regular greenhouse is the path of least resistance. One of these years I'm going to make a solar greenhouse from scratch but that's off in the distance.

Keep us posted on your progression, Dave.

P. S. Spend a lot of time on the foundation. That can make or break the entire project and don't forget about good drainage (if necessary) and perhaps doing the underground electrical before the GH goes up.