Put a screw in the lower edge.

When it warms up, try some silicone caulk--ge has some especially for polycarbonate. And extra clips are good, too!

Alia

I put a self tapping screw in the middle of the panel then into the brace, like mudhouse suggested in her blog, and used extra clips.

Thanks pelicanhead, I was just going to post that too! Greenhouser, I think a screw would be a good idea. If your panels are loose enough to slide, I worry they might be loose enough to be lost in a bad storm.

Old dawg: There's nowhere to screw the bottom of the pannel to the frame since this is the 6X8 GH which as a very narrow, barely 3/8" piece it rests on. Extra clips haven't kept them from sliding down. And I don't know why they sagging since we haven't had any snow or pounding rainstorms.

alia: I have that and it doesn't stick to the poly panels I have. When it cures it lets go.

Pelecanhead: What brace? The 8x6 doesn't have braces under the panels. The bottom of the panel rests on a very very narrow piece of aluminum.

Mudhouse: Where did you get such narrow aluminum screws to screw them into that very narrow piece the bottom of the poly rests on? I don't know why they're sagging either since they have no weight on them. Extra clips haven't helped.

Greenhouser, I'm sorry. I see that the 6x8 has no brace in the roof like the 10x12. (You're just gonna have to buy a bigger GH so I stop giving you wrong answers.) ;-)

I did not put a screw in the lower edge...I put it in the center of the roof brace, which you don't have. It does look like it would be tricky to put a screw into the small ridge that the panel rests on, as shown in the illustration below from your manual.

{{gwi:288585}}

Trying to go by the illustrations in your manual, it looks like you might be able to put a screw in the top center of the panel, up by the roof peak; it looks like the panel rests on a wider piece of aluminum there. Would that work?

Ahhh, the 8 by 6. Sorry.

You can't reach under the small lip to screw it in at the top. It kind of slides into a grove at the top. I'm not sure if a very small narrow screw can be put in at the top to catch the panel from the topside. Poor design as there is nothing to keep the panels from sliding down. I just had to go out and push them up again this morning. Our last electric bill was outrageous that's what made me start looking for problems when I was out there. We may be able to get a small screw into the sides but I don't think they make them that small in self tapping for aluminum or if that would even work. It's still drizzling so we can't work out there.

How about if you used the alumimum tape and tape the panels to the gutter at the lower end of the panels.

That is what I did to my I couldn't keep my panels above parts #36 like in the picture that mudhouse posted above

Ok, just brainstorming. Back to the bottom of the panel...what if you drilled a hole through the panel, and drilled a hole through the aluminum frame piece below, and put a bolt through with a nut on the inside?

{{gwi:288587}}

Sorry, I'm no good at drawing with the Paint program. That red blobby thing is supposed to be a bolt with the head on the outside of the panel, and a nut on the inside of the greenhouse. You'd have to be careful not to crank it down tight (it would deform the panel if you did) but it seems like that would prevent the panel from slipping down.

Maybe somebody has another idea...

One more thought...I understand what you mean about the top groove (where the panel slips in) not having enough room for a screw, on the outside of the greenhouse.

Is it the same on the inside of the greenhouse? Would a screw from the inside (at the top of the panel) be able to hit the aluminum framework?

Yeah jba3fan, I had the same problem with my panels. They were not quite long enough to overlap the gutter as the illustration showed they should. The fit like this:
{{gwi:288578}}

So I did taped them to the gutter with aluminum tape, just like you said:
{{gwi:288581}}

Since some 10x12 owners have not had this problem, I thought the 6x8 Greenhouser has might have avoided that problem too...(not sure why some of us are unlucky on this point.) But if your panels don't overlap like the illustration shows, Greenhouser, tape might be another helpful thing to try...

jba

{{gwi:69967}}Tape may work. I can't find anywhere to get a bite with even a very skinny screw the way the 8X6 is designed. Today I jammed some insulation between the poly and frame at the top to stop the sagging and air leak at the roof. I couldn't reach one panel because of all the plants on the back shelf. It's too cold to put them outside to work in the back area.

{{gwi:69967}}That may work. There's a 1/2" or more gap between the panel and that part where a bolt can go. I'll show him the pic when he gets home from work. We have to do something because the panels have to be pushed up several times a day. Am I the only person whose 8x6 has sliding roof panels? :*(

I had the same problem with my panels. They were not quite long enough to overlap the gutter as the illustration showed they should. The fit like this:

{{gwi:69967}}The 8x6 doesn't look like that. It has a narrow useless gutter that forever jams with tiny bits of leaves and twigs. The panels overlap OK. It's the whole panel itself that's slipping down their tracks despite 6 clips per panel. Looking at your other pic I think a small bolt can be put through the panel bottom, past the 1/2 gap and into the aluminum frame. I hope my husband can do this because running in and out to check the panels and push them up is getting old. I shudder at another huge electric bill. He retires in a few months so we're trying to cut back on expenses as much as possible.

If you go with the bolt idea, your DH might be able to find something to use as a spacer in that 1/2" gap between the poly and the aluminum frame...nuts that fit loosely over the bolt...just something that would allow you to tighten the whole thing down securely, without pulling the poly panel down.

It does sound like a major problem. :-(

Six clips per panel is not enough, especially for the roof panels! What I did with my hfgh 6x8' was:

1. Climb on a rickety step-stool while the front legs sink into the soil.

2. Slide panel in place so that the bottom edge of the panel just meets the aluminum edge--no overlap.

3. Hold panel in place with chin while jamming clips in to stabilize it.

4. Add clips at about three inches apart until completely secure.

5. Caulk with silicone--there was only one that was rated a 10 on adhesion to polycarbonate, GE brand with black and tan print on the white tube. Mine's been done for over a year with no loss of grip.

:)

Alia

{{gwi:69967}}I think we'll need a spacer. It's been a cold, windy and rainy day here today. It's a sea of mud around the GHs so we couldn't get out there today to do anything. I hope we can get it taken care of in the next few days. Meanwhile the insulation I poked under the roof/panel area is keeping all the heat from escaping - and the panels from sagging.

{{gwi:69967}}Did you put the silicone on the outside or the inside of the panel? Where exactly did you put the silicone?

For the most part, the silicone was applied inside the greenhouse directly between the alumnium and polycarbonate. Some of the gaps were substantial, so I just kept squirting the stuff until it was flush with the frame and smoothed it flat. I must've used about ten tubes on the whole greenhouse, but it was totally worth it.

Alia

Thanks. I'll have to wait until spring to do that because it's packed with plants. :) I have put insulation in all the places I could "see the sky." I hope that #10 stuff sticks to the poly because the other silicone I used wouldn't.