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Greenhouses & Garden Structures

HFGH Panels are deteriorating

17 years ago

I will be replacing the west facing HFGH panels this fall because the panels are slowly deteriorating. The are becoming brittle and full of small holes. Anyone else had problems with these?

James

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Comments (7)

agardenstateof_mind
17 years ago
I have had the small (6x8) HFGH since November 2005 and so far see no holes, brittleness, deterioration or discoloration of the panels ... they look like new. I'm sorry to read yours are not holding up as well and hope that someone has a more helpful response for you.

Perhaps it would help if you could describe the problem: Is it inside, outside, or both? Is it worse in any particular area or on some panels? To your knowledge, have the panels have been exposed to any chemicals?
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troykd
17 years ago
I've only had mine a little over a year but haven't seen any detioration. Any spraying that may have caused this?
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I lost 2 panels before I posted a fix earlier this site. I ended up buying a lexan panel at Lowes, that are thinner and way more costly than the original. Since it was only a temp fix and had to be done, I paid the price. After drilling 1/8" holes 1 foot from the bottom and top (on the vertical supports), I threaded a 12.5 gauge galvanized wire (TSC) thru the holes in a horizontal fashion. Curled the ends over at each corner. Repeated the procedure for the front, back and top sides. Used a single self tapping screw in the vent window. Winds since then have not bothered the HFGH. I checked the prices for replacement panels, and if you order nearly any quanity, the base price is high and then you have to add in extra shipping and possibly a crate charge, which makes the whole deal too much for each panel. Figuring everything all together, it is just cheaper to first secure the panels with the method I mentioned above. If you have lost a panel(s), then order another kit when they are on sale. My first HFGH was $299 + $20 Ship. The second one was $329 + $62 to ship. That is still cheaper than ordering any panels from anyone. Plus I have extra parts forever, to - add-on, repair, replace, etc. As far as a base for my unit. I used 2 ea 4x4's PT stacked. Used the PT wood to allow the base to be leveled, with 1 to 1.5 PT showing above ground. At the corners and mid-long side, I sank a 4x4 PT down 2 feet in the ground, anchored with 1 bag of concrete in each of the 6 holes. All the base is bolted together with carrage bolts. On top of the base plate, I screwed in a 2"x7'x1/4" Poly Trim that is used around garage overhead doors. Use a sealer between the poly trim and the PT wood to stop leaks. It won't rot. Then I used stainless steel screws (2"#10) every 6 inches to fix the alum base to the poly trim and PT 4x4's. Everything else is per HFGH Instructions. Then I topped it off with the reinforcement I mentioned above. In the center of this frame, I tamped Stone paver sand and rock base, topped with 24"x24"x2" colored concrete blocks. There is a 60W Solar Panel 15 feet away that runs the fan in the greenhouse to help keep it cooler. It helps.
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johnnyq, I'm not much help, since I've been shamelessly kicking the can down the road for years now. Made it through the last two winters with a layer of 6 mil greenhouse plastic sheeting over my own badly damaged polycarbonate roof. We've replaced the roof panels once already, and I only get about three years in the HFGH panels before small holes start showing up in the outside layer of the roof poly panels (even with shadecloth in place all year.) I'm lucky we didn't have a wet heavy snow this winter, or we would have been out there rigging up emergency interior bracing! All of my wall panels are still original, and are now about ten years old. They've finally yellowed and developed small holes too, so I'm looking at a sizeable investment to replace all the roof and wall panels. To be honest I'm doing some soul searching about keeping the greenhouse, but I probably will go ahead with the replacement, since all is fine except for the panels. And I'm not sure I want to give up the hobby quite yet. My plan is to buy 4mm twinwall poly elsewhere (not Harbor Freight, as I'm just getting too old to deal with the work of replacing the roof so often.) Last time I checked, FarmTek seemed to be my best source price wise. Did you mean that HF is offering 6mm panels with a warranty now? One (potential?) heads up is there might be a slight glitch with getting 6mm thick panels to slip into the aluminum framing at the roof peak - as you know the panels slide into a channel up there - and there has been past discussion that anything thicker than 4mm might not slide into the channel easily. I don't know if this is a problem with the kits that are newer than mine, though, and it might not be an insurmountable problem. Maybe others will chime in with panel replacement updates.
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I don't know where in Arkansas you are, but if you're not too far from Oklahoma City, you can buy polycarbonate panels at American Plant Products, a wholesale greenhouse supply store not too far off Interstate 40. This is where I bought my twinwall polycarbonate panels, although they're 8mm in comparison to the 4mm HF panels. You might ask if they sell the 4mm panels. Here is a link that might be useful: American Plant Products Wholesale Greenhouse Supply
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Hi oldlady59, our 10x12 has been up 8 years now, in a windy climate, using the screws and extra clips method. I didn't want to use caulk to secure the panels, because I like the flexibility of being able to remove them (the south wall of mine is replaced by screens in the summer time.) But I've heard good reports about using the caulk method, too. I don't know how hard it is to remove caulked panels, years later. People seem to report different experiences with the panels; my only guess is, it's based on climate and how severe the sun exposure is. Maybe there's even some variability in the manufacturing of the panels? I dunno. We had to replace our roof panels after a bit over three years. They were under Aluminet shade cloth, but our very intense sun in southern NM took a toll, and they were yellowed and full of small holes in the outer layer. Most of my side wall panels are now in the same state, but it took those almost 8 years. The panels on the north side of my greenhouse (sheltered by our house and interior insulation) still look like new. At the end of this thread, there's a discussion about a clear product that may be helpful in extending the life of the HF poly panels. I've used it and so has another GardenWeb member. So far it does seem to help, although I can't say for how long (time will tell I guess.) Harbor Freight Greenhouse polycarbonate panels failing When I order new side panels, I'll be using this product on them before installation.
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mudhouse_gw
17 years ago
James, I remember last time you posted [in this thread,](http://forums2.gardenweb.com/(http%3A/forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/strucs/msg03230435933.html) you said the south panels were deteriorating. So, now the west side too?

I tried Googling for other reports of polycarbonate panel deterioration or damage, but the only thing I found was the same problem mentioned by googoo_dahl in the previous thread about exposure to mosquito repellant.

I have seen ammonia included among the chemicals that can attack polycarbonate...since this is on two sides now, I wonder if it could it have been caused by some type of ammonia cleaner used on the greenhouse?

I also wonder if Harbor Freight might have any info...if they've any previous reports of this problem.
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greenhouser
17 years ago
My 6X8 HFGH will soon be 2 years old and the panels are like brand new. I've washed them with Palmolive dish soap and hosed them off. I don't use anything harsh on them. Have you sprayed anything that area? How about a neighbor?
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joeurda
15 years ago
I put my HFGH up in the Spring of 2007. In 2009 I noticed that there were small holes in the roof panels. Notice that I said roof panels. All of the roof panels have many holes in them and they are very brittle. Several have cracked.

What's odd to me is that all of the wall panels show no sign of problems. They are still clear, no holes and are not cracking.

To me, it's apparent that the ceiling batch were cut from a different batch that the walls were cut from. The ceiling batch is obviously defective.

I've never complained to HF, but I really thing that certain supplies of polycarbonate panels really are defective.

Now, I'm debating whether to find some other material to replace them with or order another HFGH just for the panels.

Joe

Here is a link that might be useful: My HFGH
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mudhouse_gw
15 years ago
Joe, in case you didn't see it, Laserfan posted this information recently about a 4mm polycarbonate product now available from Tek Supply:

"I notice today that teksupply is carrying 4mm in the (much higher quality with UV protection) PALRAM polycarb. Expensive as all get-out, but here you go. If you look at this page, be sure to download both of the pdf files there as they contain excellent information about both the product and it's application/handling/installation etc. that you will find valuable I'm sure.

Link to Teksuppy 4mm page:

laserfan"

If we eventually do have to replace our panels, I'll at least give a more expensive option like this some careful thought, since I figure it will be a major ordeal to replace the panels in mine (I'll have to empty out the greenhouse, which remains stuffed year round.) I don't want to spend big bucks...but I'd rather not replace the panels very often, either, and I now know the HF panels may well have a limited life span in my climate.
Sheri
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joeurda
14 years ago
OK, I did it. I've order the roof replacement panels from HF. The lady said that they would arrive in 5-6 business days.

I double checked the prices and find it hard to believe that they are so inexpensive compared to Charlies. His shipping was almost as much as the HF order.

I'll see what happens to these and keep you all posted. I will probably get what I paid for, but if I can get a few years out of them, it will be worth it.

See my order confirmation below.

Joe

Thank You for Ordering from Harbor Freight Tools

Here is your Order Confirmation
Order ID:xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Order Date:2011-01-04 07:18:40.453
***Order Summary***
4 13361-0ZZA 93358 ROOF WINDOW PANEL 1'11 X @ $9.72
8 13366-0ZZA 93358 ROOF PANEL 1'11 X5'9 @ $9.41
Subtotal: 114.16
Tax Rate: 0.08
Tax Total: 10.17
Shipping: 12.99
Handling: 0.00
TOTAL: $137.32
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