Greenhouses

My wife wanted a greenhouse to start seeds AND grow vegatables all year long (if possible). After extensive research, we selected Riga V. It was the largest greenhouse we could afford to buy and we are very satisfied with the purchase. The greenhouse came with 4 roof windows and automatic openers, which work like magic. The 8 mm polycarbonate panels (10 mm for the ends) are a must for year round gardening. The onion shape had no problem with the 20+ mph wind we occasionally have here in Oakwood. The design I like most about the greenhouse is that the aluminum extrusions are continuous pieces even for the 17' long Riga V. This makes the greenhouse very sturdy. The mid-section of the greenhouse roof does not sack due to the bending reaction of the side polycarbonate panels, even with no internal trusses. The greenhouse mounted perfectly fine on my level concrete footing without the optional base kit. It came with 10 brackets (supposed to be 12) for me to screw onto the concrete footing. The assembly was slightly tricky and took three of us a full day to install the major pieces and finish up the rest the next day. We could have gotten it done in one day if we didn't have to go to [...]for missing M6 screws and brackets (both floor and window brackets). Riga V is apparently not a very popular model that the retailer sells. It got mixed up with the Riga IV part count. The only drawback is that the roof windows do not seal very well and they leak when it is raining. Overall, a very functional greenhouse that is going to last a long time. I consider it good looking also."..."  Read more

This is not a project to rush into - at least we tried to take our time to ensure area, foundation, etc. would be just right for our yard, wind, and garden space. We selected the 6'x8' and ordered the 6'x 4' entension. I have wanted a greenhouse for a few years. We built the wood deck, setting 4 posts in concrete, then extended it beyond the 6x12' size. This worked nicely for us. The greenhouse directions are all visuals, which caused us to back up and revisit a few steps, but we did it in one day. When we set the frame on the wood deck base, we had to rescrew to make adjustments for the sides - as was expected. So we were glad we only set a few screws into the base. The windows (we have 2 with the extension)gave some problem as one side won't sit correctly in the hinge track, so we modified with their tape. Other that working out a few kinks as we went along, I have to say this greenhouse stood up to 50-60 mph winds! We had just installed the inside supports when the storm hit! So, this project - backyard hobby greenhouse, turned out well for us. I would caution to purchase/add any extension prior to assembly, as this appears to work much better. We would not want to dismantel it to add a section later (just a thought). [...]"..."  Read more

Directions on setup are sparse, so I did it My Way next to my deck. Assembled the roof bars, and the used Duct Tape to secure all connections. Flipped the roof on it's back, like a bug, and stuck all the legs in. Secured those connections with duct tape. Now I flipped the bug back on its legs, and secured the bottom poles, this time using duct tape around the poles to protect them. All done, I climbed on the deck with the cover, and slowly but surely pulled the cover on by standing on a step stool inside the greenhouse. I folded the cover Into the greenhouse, fastened the legs to my fence with boiler straps and put cinder blocks and heavy 2x4x10 wood on the inside of the cover to keep it all in and secure. It already survived a few Windy SF nights without pains. and it gets HOT in there. By 10am it's a sauna! This is my new den. The cover lets so much light in, that my deck light is enough to work inside the house at night."..."  Read more

Presently I am using this greenhouse to start my garden plants in. As the season progresses I plan on moving a couple of tomatoes in large pots into it to extend my growing season.The directions at times on how to build this unit were a bit off, but we did manage to get it built. We had to work on it for several days as the husband works, leaving on an hour or so each evening to build this.For the price paid for this greenhouse we did not mind the confusion we did deal with. [...]"..."  Read more