WAITING 40 YEARS FOR THIS!

The greenhouse kit from Gardener's Supply arrived via FedEx in 5 boxes weighing a total of 43 pounds. Since it was only 4' x 6' x 88" tall, we figured it would take us about a day to prepare the site and erect the little wonder.

.The recommended base of cedar 4x4's was easy to level and secure to the ground using rebar pounded through holes we drilled in the wood. So far so good...

Then we constructed the frame made from extruded aluminum pieces. The directions (7 pages) were pitiful considering they were written in the USA by the folks in Burlington, Vermont. Many holes were not pre-drilled properly and the undergardener had to re-engineer some of the frame. Once the frame was ready we moved it on to the cedar base and began to put in the UV treated, double-wall plastic panels (made in Connecticut.) The panels had very ragged edges and were difficult to fit in the frame channels. We used some silicone spray on the channels and trimmed the edges of the plastic. Even with all the panels in, the building was floppy. Day One was over and we were exhausted!

On Day Two, once again Jack added some reinforcing. He had to re-bend several pieces to fit. Then the roof had to be put together and set up on the walls. That was fun! Good thing Jack has long arms! "Fine tuning" was done with a length of 2x4, pounding on the roof top ridge to get it to fit the walls. Then, even though we were tired, we installed the shelving kit. We had to add 1/4" aluminum shims to make it fit across the sides to the frame pieces. Nothing new, as we were used to doing that by now...but it sure stiffened up the whole building!

The fun for me came the next day when we got to arrange the inside. We added 2"x12" cedar shelves to the bottom, resting on the base. I put in all the stuff I've had in boxes stashed all over the yard because I didn't have any place to store them...pots, tools, fertilizer, baskets, saucers...

Jack made lots of hooks from his special heavy-duty wire so I could hang up tools & supplies. We added a very safe, electric heater to keep the plants happy when it was cold outside this spring.It also keeps the gardener happy while she sits in there (dreaming of garden stuff) and it's 35 degrees outside!
OUR ADVICE? UNLESS YOU ENJOY THE CHALLENGE AND HAVE A MACHINE SHOP, BUY A GREENHOUSE THAT IS ALREADY PUT TOGETHER!
MY ADVICE: DON'T WAIT 40 YEARS TO GET A GREENHOUSE!
DID I MENTION THAT DESPITE THE HASSLE, I DO LOVE MY LITTLE "CASTLE" AS JACK CALLS IT.