Nope never no turning back once we get committed! :-)

I have to be honest, I haven't had this good of a chuckle in a while. Let me show you how this all went down... ha ha hah ahha h hahaa!

You said in unison:

"I'm convinced that wind getting under the vents is what caused the mass destruction"

"Then the wind just swirls around in there and creates havoc"

Then you came to the conclusion that, "...if I can keep the vents solidly down, the rest should be just fine (esp. with bubble wrap all around the inside)."

"price shopping" - hilarious!

Thank you so so much for your understanding that this just hit my funny bone oh so hard!

Regards :-)

Dax

I'm glad I could give you a laugh, Dax. It is rather humourous in the right (or wrong?) frame of mind, isn't it. I was going to say "window shopping", but that seemed out of place with all the talk of "vents"! :-)

You gave me a fantastic laugh! :-) "vents!" hahahaha

Best regards,

Dax

The vents on my 8x6 stick so bad the wind can't lift them. As soon as the weather warms we have to grind the sides and add auto-openers. Mine has 2 roof vents also.

The roof vents on my 10x12 were bad about blowing up an inch or so even when I had them in the tightest "lock down" position. A bad wind could still pick up that edge and pry them up just a bit, then they'd fall back down (bang.) I haven't figured out what to do about this. I have them wired down tight for winter now, and it's sort of nice not to hear that "bang-bang-bang" when we get a big wind gust (and we get lots of those here!)

We got everything put back together again yesterday, and the panels all screwed in place to the frame, so there's no moving them now. They're much more solid, even with just a few screws per panel...it's really amazing how well that works!

One of the window vents is like greenhouser's now though...very much "stuck" in place (our frame got bent a bit with all the panels being torn out, and there's just no way to straighten it now). The other roof vent is so loose I have to keep it on with clamps. So rather than deal with those vents, I think we're just going to keep them shut for the most part, and I'll buy some auto-vents to put in the top front panel above the door, and the bottom of the far-back panel, and I'll use the fans for exhaust (I saw some in the Charlie's catalog that aren't all that expensive). I won't be using the greenhouse when it's super-hot out anyways (everything should be out of there by the middle of June), so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I can open the looser vent by hand if need be in May, but taking the insulation down at that time will probably help too.

We also got a thermometer with a remote sensor this weekend, and set up the sensor in the greenhouse so we can start monitoring "normal" temperatures. It's pretty cool being able to tell the temperature in the greenhouse from my kitchen, and already this morning by 8am it was warmer than the outside temps by 4 degrees - on an overcast, snowy day (27 deg. outside, 34 in the greenhouse). A fun & useful gadget, to be sure, and we have no problem getting the remote signal in the house.

We found an oil-filled electric heater this weekend as well...it was $40, but we figured the extra safety of not having semi-exposed heating coils or electrical was worth the cost. It has three levels, so I'll run it on the middle one (it will run more often, but not pull as much power), and it will work with a 14 gauge extension cord, so we'll get a 10 gauge for "extra" and it should be fine. The internal thermostat should be easy to set (same type as the one in my office). We picked up pavers from my MIL's house she didn't need anymore to create a solid base for the heater to sit on out there.

I'm thinking of using foam insulation paneling all the way around the bottom of the walls about 1.5 ft. up (starting in the fountation), since bubble wrap is more expensive, and I won't be growing things that low anyways. Then I'll insulate the rest of the walls and the roof with bubble wrap, and hang a sheet of plastic inside the door. I'll get all that next Saturday, along with benches, fans, and a garden "sink" (that hooks up to a hose).

Slowly but surely...all the seeds I planted this weekend should have a good home to grow out in by next Monday.

Wow Jamie, sounds like you are making terrific progress! I may well not use my roof vents anymore either, I think I can get by with using my exhaust fan and various air intakes. I'll be using mine all summer, so screens help me too.

Here's where I bought my exhaust fan...I'm not sure but they might be a tad less expensive than Charley's, so you can do some price shopping there:
littlegreenhouse.com

Sounds great! Keep us posted!

Hi All,

From experience, the panels MUST be screwed in at the top and bottom for the side panels and at the bottom of the roof panels....Those clips are fine but because the panels are 4 mil, they need the extra security of the screws. The winds make them flex and the panels can pop out. The shortest self tapping screws are usually the best with perhaps a rubber washer between the head of the screws and the panels.

Dave
Milwaukee

Yep Dave...we found that out the hard way, after having half the panels pop out due to wind. That's why we screwed them in last weekend...with the self-tapping screws and neoprene washers. Much sturdier all the way around - it's really amazing!

Thanks mudhouse, I'll check that out. :-) The greenhouse was 99 degrees today when we went home for lunch, and the outside temps are around 47 deg. So I guess I'll need the automatic vents sooner rather than later if it gets that warm in there now.