# Greehouse thread?



## locolobo

Got Momma Lobo (and myself) a 10 x 12 greenhouse from Harbor Freight for Christmas. I have barely got started, Basically still ground level. Was wondering if there was an interest in a build thread. If so I would try to document as much as possible. If so and you want photos, someone will have to mentor me in that aspect as my Apple, combined with my lack of computer skills has kept me from posting many. Anyway, what do Y'all think?


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## Meadowlark

Go for it!!

I'm pretty well set on NOT building one at this point but would be very interested in following your progress.


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## Rubberback

I'm with Lark. I need another quail flight pen first. But post up. I'm gonna build one for sure.


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## locolobo

Wanna give some pointers on posting photos? Will be using digital SLR and downloading to photo storage on desktop. From there it is hit and miss as to getting them on 2 cool. Any surefire technique?


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## jm423

Give or take posting pics, thanks for waking me up to the fact that "Horrible Fright" has greenhouses. Will have to look into that. BTW, your best bet at posting pictures (or anything else computer or cell phone related) is to conscript a teenager if you have access to one.


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## locolobo

jm423 said:


> Give or take posting pics, thanks for waking me up to the fact that "Horrible Fright" has greenhouses. Will have to look into that. BTW, your best bet at posting pictures (or anything else computer or cell phone related) is to conscript a teenager if you have access to one.


All de chillen done gone. Closest one 1 mile from home, Furthest is 400 mi. Can't get none ofem here unless someone is born or dies. And bein born is a hit or miss.

That said, there is a thread on the techie board that has worked before but that too is a hit or miss as to whether I can find it or not.


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## locolobo

Okay, I will start off by saying: the Harbor freight greenhouse is a cheap greenhouse. They are made in China. The instructions are not real clear (imagine a Chinese person writing them). Regular price is $799. They are frequently on sale for $699. During Christmas sale time they were $599. I stopped off at the Pearland store about Dec 15 and they had one that had been "ordered but not picked up" for $525. That's the one Mama Lobo got for Christmas. That's a whole lot cheaper then the the $2-4 grand for the "Good" GH from other places for the same size house. The thing I liked about this one is that it had a 10'3" peak, which is quite a bit taller than most. And Mrs Lobo already has some plants that will reach that and do not need any kind of freeze.
Another plus is that many have been bought and if you Google, Bing or any other search, There are blogs, Youtube videos all all sorts of i-net tutorials on how to build the D^#n things and how to make them sturdy enough to last a long time, Provided you take the time, look at how it is going together and "will this work or do I need to add something to help it out"? Most folk on here are mechanical enough to figure a lot of that out.
My start? The first thing out of the box, there was no assembly manual. Called HF and they would send one. I knew from the research I had previously done that there were two GH models. The person that I talked to assured me that they're was only one manual and it would work for either GH. It didn't. Took me a couple weeks to get the right one and when I did. I got one from a lady whose blog I had been following, and pretty much the same time A PDF download from HF for the right manual. So now I have two. 
Have Had the foundation done for a week and got started on the above ground stuff today. Will get another post started MaÃ±ana about the foundation and what I have accomplished lately. Hoping someone can help out with some photo posting tips because I did take some today and will be happy to post of possible.

Later, Locolobo


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## locolobo

We'll see if this works.
How about that. Got pics.
OK. the 5" tall metal thingie is the intended base that came with the kit. Supposed to dig a trench about 3-4" deep and bury it to keep it in place. I figured 4 X 6 pressure treated timbers might last a little longer. I sat the timbers on top of pavers and leveled that. put the metal base on top of that for a couple of reasons. One being the given attachment method with kit attaches to the top and second, it will give more height to the GH. All the little orange dots are part numbers. Just beware, When you need part #s bad they may not be there


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## Johnny9

Just got a catalogue from a Texas Company that makes GHs in Fort Worth and they are d??? proud of them !!!


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## locolobo

Yep. That's why I went the cheap route. Y'all can figure out for yourselves ( as will I ) If the cheap one was worth it.


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## locolobo

I wanted a way to keep things level and tight to the ground so I dug a hole about 16"deep @ each corner. If you look closely you can see the metal strap under one of the lag bolts. Made a large hook @ the end of the strap, Built a little cofferdam out of dirt around the hole and up to the bottom of the timber and filled with concrete. Hopefully the concrete will help keep it level and the strap/hook will keep it in the ground I know there are large gaps under the timbers and my plan is to lay about 10 layers of the anti-vegetation cloth down and fill the whole thing with gravel at least halfway up the timbers, That way the timbers should stay dry most of the time. Help 'em last longer


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## BSchulte

If you are much of a DIYer, you can build a hoop house for much cheaper. Just takes a bit of elbow grease.

http://doorgarden.com/2008/10/27/50-dollar-hoop-house-green-house/


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## locolobo

First pic is what happened Wednesday. Didn't look like much but took most of the day. With a nap in the afternoon. Bottom pic, Got much more done yesterday. Starting to look like something. Will be working on rafters and maybe doors today. Will be shutting down about noon. Starting a set of night shift tonight and will be taking another nap. Instructions have not been as bad as I thought they might be (as I'd read)but were kinda frustrating at times. Just take a deep breath, step back, Look everything over think what you got and where you want to go with it and can figure it out.


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## locolobo

Nope! Didn't do squat on the GH today. Had some honey-dos and a few other things that needed to be taken care of. Be back soon.


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## Dick Hanks

Looks like it is coming along nice. Glad to see that you anchored it down really well. That is usually what most people miss. Those big surfaces, with very little weight, can be in the next county very quickly on a windy day. Will it have some kind of ventilation system? I'm enjoying yours posts.


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## peckerwood

I got ours at Home Depot.Ordered it through them and it was shipped free to our house.It's 7 years old now and still in great shape.The reviews for it were almost all good except it's advertised as a 4 hr. job to set up,and everyone said it took 2 days or longer.It took me 2 days.I'll see if I can find the booklet to give ya'll the name of it.


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## locolobo

Dick, it has 4, 2 X 2' (approx.)operable vent panels that can be placed just about anywhere on the roof that you want to put 'em. They have manual openers and I am pondering some auto openers from Farmtek. they are proud of them though. Even the cheap ones. I am thinking about vents from ground level. What with the space between ground and foundation timbers I could fab up something out of sheet metal to bring outside air from ground level into the house in order to vent out the top. Say 2 on each side. I was just gonna plug up those areas with gravel anyway.

This afternoon after my nap I figured I would see if I could figure out the rafters and maybe get a few of them up. It went better than expected and before I left for work, I had all the rafters up. No pics though, rafters are kinda boring. Still have some cross bracing and the vents then I should be ready for some glazing.

Later, Lobo


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## locolobo

Rafter pics. nothing else done lately.


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## POC CAT

*Looking good!!*

We have the smaller Harbor Freight GH. I will try to post pics. Love mine


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## peckerwood

Just found the paper work on ours.It's a DuraMax I bought 7 years ago through Home Depot.It has a 10 year warranty for any defects or workmanship.Ours has been hammered by terrible high winds and hail and is still in great shape.I highly recommend it.8X10


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## dmc63

*hoop bender*

This is where I got my hoop bender from. Very good site.

http://www.buildmyowngreenhouse.com/hightunnelbenders5999.aspx

I would send pictures but can't figure it out. Also I've picked tomatoes last two days. Not the best but fresh.


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## locolobo

Sorry for the delay in posting but really I haven't done much worth writing about. I have had 3 days off in almost a month now and with 12 hr shifts I don't have much time to do stuff while I am working. About a week ago I put together the vent windows but could not install them because obviously the roof is not quite square. I will have to loosen things up a little and try to square it up. Will get back with y'all when I've done something.


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## Dick Hanks

Those are some longer hours that you are putting in. Doesn't leave a lot of time to do other stuff. Hope that you will be able to finish in time to still get some of the benefit of the greenhouse this spring. Hang in there!


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## locolobo

Thanks Dick, but looking at the schedule and the fact that we are shy two people and when we do get them it will be 4 to 6 months before they will be trained. Also it tends to get a little warm in the summer if you do not have fans etc which I don't plan to have think I will not be using it much in the summertime. Although have had thoughts of planting deciduous vines or trees along the south and west sides to try to moderate the temp inside


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## locolobo

It's been a while but I got some time off so I did a little work on the greenhouse.


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## Dick Hanks

locolobo said:


> Although have had thoughts of planting deciduous vines or trees along the south and west sides to try to moderate the temp inside


 Also look into buying shade cloth instead of using plants to control temp.. It comes in varying percentages of sun blocking. This allows you to control the amount of sun hitting the greenhouse on a day to day basis.

It's really coming together now. Looks great. Is that a banana plant that I see through the greenhouse?


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## locolobo

Thanks Dick, I have investigated that. Not only to help control temps but scuttlebutt has it that the UV coating is not real great on this GH and some other means of protecting the poly is recommended.


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## locolobo

Program said I had only 20 minutes to edit the previous post and I type slow so here is a little text to go with the photos I did this morning. 
I have been reading a blog that has quite a few people contributing that are building the 10'x12' Harbor Freight greenhouse. They post things that did not go right when building, Things they did to strengthen the structure and clarifying the instructions which were written in China. One thing they point out is that the twin wall polycarbonate panels have a tendency to get water in the panels and grow algae. The suggested fix was to put foil tape on the upper edge, sealing it against water intrusion. That is what is shown in the bottom photo and if you look close enough you can see it at the top of the panel above the doorway in the top photo. The blogs can be found by googling 10'x12' HFGH. There seems to have been quite a few built and lost of info out in Webville.
I got the doors built and installed yesterday evening but did not get a photo. Will do so soon. 
The caulk gun is for caulking the panels. Not so much for sealant but to help hold the panels in. Seems the spring clips that are meant to hold the panels in are not enough to hold in anything past about 35 mph breeze. The caulk I got was on sale but was latex caulk and it is not sticking to the panels very well. I have a few tubes of silicone caulk and that should stick to the polycarbonate better We will see as we are expecting some nasty weather this weekend. Anyway, it was suggested and I got some extra spring clips and am double clipping as I install the panels. Another method is to use self tapping screws through the panels into framework. I will be doing that and will take photos when I do. 
Well, gotta go. Till next time!


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## locolobo

Photos of the doors, open and closed. Reading the blogs about how a lot of people had trouble getting them to slide properly I was amazed at how easily they worked.


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## locolobo

First photo shows one of the spring clips that are supposed to hold the poly panels in place. I have doubled the amount of clips used and if you look closely you may be able to see the silicone behind the panel, behind the clip. Also if you remember previous post saying I plan to install self tapping screws through the poly panels into framing pieces, all of those cross braces are what I will be drilling into. There are a lot of them


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## locolobo

Was reading through the thread and ran across some topics that needed to be addressed.

Poc Cat: I showed you mine, now you need to show me yours.

Peckerwood: WOW! You got a 10 yr warranty? I got 90 days. And if you can do modern math, my warranty is already gone and I haven't even got it built yet!

Big Dick: Yes, those are banana trees. Got the darn things scattered all over the place and hardly ever get any fruit from the them. Almost like weeds.


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## locolobo

Doggonit, You guys are slow on the trigger this mornin! I've been up since 7am yesterday and his is the best you can come up with? Holy horse hocky Batman! what kind of zombies we dealin with?


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## POC CAT

*Greenhouse*

.........


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## locolobo

That's the 6 x 8'? Cool


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## POC CAT

Yes it is. Almost 2 years old. Has held up well. Just have to be careful with the sliding door.


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## Dick Hanks

Nice greenhouse POC Cat! 

Do you put a potting bench, and other shelving for started plants when you start a season? Anything else go in there?


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## POC CAT

Thank you!! I love it!! My boyfriend made shelves to go in the back out of old wood pallets. I'll have to post another picture. We put an old oil filled heater in there the year before. Didn't need the heater this year.


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## POC CAT

*More pictures*

Here ya go!


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## Dick Hanks

That works! Thanks for posting up the extra picture. I put very basic shelving down both sides of mine and that leaves about a 2.5ft walkway in between the shelves.

Have you been working on plants during heavy rain yet? ?... Gets really noisy in there.


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## POC CAT

Not yet. Got everything out about a month ago. Kind of worried about my new raised garden bed with all the rain coming.


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## locolobo

My thread and POC Cat takin over! Just kidding. Actually Have been wanting more ideas for shelving and pallets are a good option. Have got a few ideas from other places and an idea or 2 of my own. That should be coming soon. We'll see what happens. Have ideas for a couple zero cold tropicals Mrs Lobo has that maybe permanent in the GH. Not fond of that idea. To dragging them into the GH every fall and back out in the spring. Not fond of that idea either. Darn things are getting big and for now they are making the trip in and out of the garage each winter. Have told her they are quickly becoming her problem. Other options are 2 tier shelving for at least some of the shelves and no shelves on the other side for the big stuff Leaning toward that. Just gotta find a way to make it happen!


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## locolobo

POC CAT said:


> Yes it is. Almost 2 years old. Has held up well. Just have to be careful with the sliding door.


Yeah I know whatcha mean. I had read horror stories about the doors on the blogs I look at. Mine went together good and installed easy but I can see where it may be a problem down the road. Kinda flimsy, no real way to reinforce them and gravity is the only thing holding them in place.


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## peckerwood

The only weak part of ours is the door too!Hasn't broken,but I have had to put them back in the tracks after a couple bad storms and the cheesy little handle has sun rotted.Down near my barn,the previous owner had a slab poured where they pressure washed their cars.It wasn't level and looked like the only troweling it got was with a garden rake,so I was always going to bust it up.My wife came up with the Idea to put a greenhouse there.We bought the 8x10,the slab is 10x10,so it has a little porch on the front.Since it wasn't level,I poured a 2ft. foundation for the house to set on giving it much more head-room inside.The old foundation not level worked out great.All the water from watering plants runs to one corner,so I drilled a bunch of holes for a drain.I built her shelves out of cedar,put in a water line and garden sink,and now need to build a step on the in and outside of the door to help her get over the 2ft. wall.She had a hip replaced and struggles a little.It's something I should have done 7 years ago.She's filled it completely full all these years with plants she's saving through winter,so it's by far paid for itself.Sorry I'm picture challenged "cause I'd love to show it to ya'll.


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## locolobo

Got a little done yesterday. Putting more panels up. Going slower than I'd expected what with the caulking before installing and doing the self drilling screws . I got 4 panels up. But I had other things to do also. The caulk is getting expensive too. I have used 6 tubes so far and am less than 1/4 panels installed. Also, at first I was just spot caulking( to provide holding power for now). Then I decided, in order to keep from having to come back and re-seal all the panels after install, I would go ahead and fully caulk each panel @ the initial install. Took a whole tube for each panel. That's gonna be a lot of caulk as there are still 20+ large and about 10 small panels to go. Oh well, it will have to be done eventually anyway. 
The photos: top photo- Showing one panel with screws in the center @ each crossbar. 2nd photo- closeup of screw. The blog I was reading said to use 1/4" screws but the bars are only 1/2 ". In order to leave more metal in the x-brace I decided to go with 1/8" screws. Caulked around each hole and the head of each screw. 
More updates later Locolobo


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## POC CAT

Looking good Lobo!!


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## locolobo

Got a few panels on the top yesterday but nothing to get the camera out for. Need to remove fence that is around what was that end of the garden.Need to be able to access the outside of the GH with ladder and the old fence is in the way. Working 12's for the next 8 days and will not see much progress. 
Till then/when Lobo


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## 4 Ever-Fish N

locolobo said:


> Got a few panels on the top yesterday but nothing to get the camera out for. Need to remove fence that is around what was that end of the garden.Need to be able to access the outside of the GH with ladder and the old fence is in the way. Working 12's for the next 8 days and will not see much progress.
> Till then/when Lobo


Update? Just started thinking about a greenhouse and saw your build thread.


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