On Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:10:08 -0800 (PST), Sheldon
wrote:

On Dec 18, 11:25?am, Lou Decruss wrote:
On Tue, 18 Dec 2007 05:09:56 -0800, Jack Schmidling
wrote:





We have always dreamed of having a green house. This one isn't exactly a
dream come true but it was a place to start.

I have put together a Greenhouse page for more background, pictures and
a place to post futures pictures of our activities therein.

js
We decided to invest "a bit more" money into the program and came up
with this one after much shopping around. The 4 hours estimated assembly
time turned into more like 4 days due, primarily to the very poor quality of
hardware supplied with the kit.
The actual structural parts and glazing are very nice but it's like the kingdom
that was lost because of a faulty horseshoe nail. For some reason, the
Chinese just can't get the nuts and bolts right and the crude instructions
didn't help much either. I definitely would not recommend this model to
anyone without a gift for improvising.

Great pictures Jack. ?The whole DIY thing is rather silly. ?I can't
tell you how many kits I've bought and had to get replacement
hardware. ?I bought a New Braunfels smoker years ago and had to drill
all the holes out bigger and use bigger and better nuts and bolts. ?I
had to have a bit of welding done because the wheels would have fallen
off. ?

I've had the same experience with DIY kits, often terrible
instructions and poor fasteners... the last one was a simple trash can
cart, cost like all of $16, took me about four hours to figure it out
and retool to make the parts fit.

That's why it was so cheap. The parts are all chinese made, and the
hardware is cheap. Many times I just toss the hardware in the
recycling bin and use all new. Mini-blind hardware is the worst.
Just use real screws for those.

Anyway ?I'd love to have your greenhouse.

I wish I could have something so simple but I doubt it would last very
long in this climate. I've been tossing around the idea of a sort of
greenhouse for the five years I've been here and finally decided it
would make more sense for me to have something like these:
http://www.patioenc.com/Products/Conservatories.aspx

http://www.greenhousesetc.com/conservatories.shtml


Those are cool. But do you need an extra room? In your situation I'd
dig down a bit to use the earth as insulation. Sounds like you need
to decide if you want a room or a greenhouse. Either way, attached to
the house is the way to go. I don't and never have had a greenhouse,
but Louise has more gardening books than I have cookbooks. From what
I've read, using the earth is the way to go. It depends on the
budget. Paying it forward you'll save money, and enjoy your
investment.

Lou