Looks like they want 6k for the 2700. That my friend, IS expensive. It's only 12x24. Although the high price is the 6mil double poly. (better insulation) From the description it doesn't include all the extra's. Exhaust, Vents, HAF fans, thermostats, ect.. Add another grand or two on top of the 6k.

Rule one:
The Smaller the house the harder it is to control the environment.
Rule two:
Always buy the widest house you can. You can always go longer.

Look into Atlas Green houses, and there are others, that will give you more bang for the buck. Granted in the larger houses most likely youll cover with 6mil poly. Depending on the size of the house you should be able to get the poly for less then $400.00. You should be able to get a 30x40 house (frame only) for less the $2500.00. Plus you still need to by the extras. (add 2 grand here at least)

Don't forget the concrete for the anchors. If youÂre like me the labor is free. Oh yea and the floor canÂt forget the floorÂand the shade cloth, and the auto water system, and temp alarms, and the electrical, and the water line dugÂ..and theÂ.and the  and theÂ..
If you need some help give me an email..
Good luck.

For 8 grand I could have another REALLY nice (at least me) green house.
Ah thatÂs right we are building anotherÂ

You also really need to look over at farmtek.com.. They have the best deals going on greenhouses, and are great people to deal with.. They also finance them..
BB in SC

I looked at the farmtek site. The professional greenhouses seem quite reasonable. Does anyone have experience using them?
Mike

I am in the industry and have had personal exeperince with Farmtek. I would not purchase any of their products or do business with them for any reason. They were once selling well made greenhouses but they copied them and have them made cheaply overseas. In my opinon they are unethical at best.

I have a 9x12 Clearspan greenhouse sold by FarmTek. So far, it has performed very well. I bought a package that included vent fan, motorized shutter, a couple of thermostats, shade cloth, a 18,000 btu propane heater and a potting bench. In addition, I purchased greenhouse shelves, a large shelving rack on wheels, and a waterproof flourescent fixture from the company. It has 4 mil polycarb that is held in both with extruded molding and silicone caulk. I needed to do a little engineering to mount the fan and shutter. The two thermostats are insufficient to operate the fan and heater by themselves. Additional relays or some kind of controller are needed to sequence the shutter and fan (operating at variable lower speed and a fixed maximum speed). I am currently building a microprocessor-based controller that will provide for two temperature zones, a humidity monitor, a timer for a misting system, high and low setpoint alarms and a data logging function with an interface to my home ethernet network. I also have an Oregon Scientific temperature/humidity monitor that sends a signal back to my office in the house. The weather station built into this unit has also proven to be substantially more reliable than the tv weathercasters around here (an unexpected side benefit, I guess).

The FarmTek online website is pretty Spartan but the search engine works fairly well. My experience with the phone representatives was quite pleasant and my orders placed through their website were handled quickly and efficiently. One remarkable thing was that most of the items were delivered from their warehouse in Iowa to my home in Wisconsin in one to two days. My overall reaction is that this is not a "snap together" weekend project but if you know a little about plumbing, metal working and electrical wiring, you can have a greenhouse that is equal to any small commercial unit for about 2/3 of the price. There are a few gripes, lest I be accused of being a FarmTek employee. The sealing tape (aluminum and cloth) to seal the panels was not provided. This cost me an extra $50 from another supplier. The greenhouse manual is marginal and has some fairly confusing sections, even for an inveterate kit builder. The steel base had some issues with sizing and required some modification. It is best to assemble this piece, measure it, make the modifications and then build the foundation on which to place it. The base could be used without a foundation if you have a perfectly level site. I, of course, live on the side of a mini-mountain, apparently. I did a lot of research before buying this one and noticed that a lot of the other greenhouses in this size range had limitations that this one didn't have, even the more expensive ones that start with a J for example. Here is a picture of the finished unit. I have also included a link to my construction pages, if you are interested in a laboriously detailed tour of construction.

{{gwi:297595}}

Cottage you did a great job on your house. Curious after all said and done and this thread is about cost. How much did it cost in the end?

Not sure, actually. I will see if I can figure it out. The package from FarmTek, excluding the mentioned add-ons was $1795 with free shipping. I notice on their current site (apparently they got the message about the other one, this one is substantially improved) the price of the 9X12 house with the "equipment kit" is now $1900 and $80 for the shade cloth (to make it comparable to the kit I bought, shipping is still free). They were threatening a price increase due to the cost of petroleum going up (even though, if I understand my chemistry correctly, polycarbonate is not a petroleum product but is actually made from formyldehyde, carbolic acid and some other stuff) and that seems to have happened but considering that you get a fairly complete package, still a good deal, I think. I was a little unsure of the heater, but the one I got was well made, works well and uses the propane efficiently. 20 gallons lasted 5 weeks from third week in March to the end of April.

What about electrical, water, flooring, knee board, ...that nice light on the front! Are we at $4k yet?
The 2700 is 12 x 24 also.

Wish Mbrown would come back. Lots o folks post a question then seem to fall of the planet. Never know if they got the answer..

The FarmTek 12x24 in green finish appears to cost $4400. The Gardener 2700 (mill, aluminum, finish) appears to sell most places at around $5800. To add the green powder epoxy looks like it might cost $1200-$1500 extra to the Gardener model. I need to add up all my receipts to see what the total was. To run water and electricity the approx. 200 feet to the greenhouse from the house is going to cost about $3.50 per foot. A project for later this summer. Right now camels bring in the water and I have to continually remember to pick up the extension cords before mowing the lawn. I do have several GFCIs just to be safe though.

Make sure you run your electrical and the water at the same time (phone line for the alarm also!). And for gosh sake put the electrical in over-sized conduit in case it fails. So in Wisconsin you gotta put water about 5 ft deep? Just kidding but I'll bet you go 4 ft.

Where in the world is Mbrown???

Greenhouse construction budget: Greenhouse, base, tape $1820; Extra rack, shelves $267; Hardware $38; Lumber $67; Electrical parts $205; Gas parts $152; Gravel, blocks $83 Total cost so far: $2636 Ratio cost of greenhouse::cost of add-ons 2.23::1

Love what you've done with the place, cottagefarmer!
I'm looking at a FarmTek GH also, and it has really helped me a lot to see what someone who's gone before has done. Would be nice to get some more specifics from gardenallyearlong on the bad experience. I alway get suspicious of people who post such things on the first day they registered...although it could certainly be legit. We may never know!

So in conculsion 6k for the 2700 IS expensive. To bad Mbrown will never know.

"Wish Mbrown would come back. Lots o folks post a question then seem to fall of the planet. Never know if they got the answer.."

MBrown may never know, Mylu, but I know now and appreciate the info extremely. I usually lurk here, but thought I'd "uncloak" to let you know, in case you didn't already or didn't think of it, that more people than just the OP benefit from these threads. Yes, the nice thing would have been for the OP to come back and atleast thank y'all for the info, so since (s)he didn't, I will. Thank you, Cottagefarmer, for taking the time to post all that incredible information and you, too, Mylu, for prodding her to do it! :)

Your very welcome... Back to pouring concrete.

fts074,
I became a member specifically to respond to the question about Farmtek. I've read these posts for years but I've never wanted to discuss my professional opinion. This issue was just a bit too close to home.

Several years ago Farmtek purchased several products from us that we developed. They carried them in their catalog and then developed copycat products of inferior quality. They used our pictures and the text we provided but sold a different product. We had their product tested and discovered that it was grossly inferior and would not hold up to normal use. It would be very easy for a consumer to be misled, especially if they saw the same pictures for a product for a different price listed elsewhere. Most consumers who purchased that product knew about it from our advertising dollars and efforts.

This is troubling because people thinking they were purchasing our product ended up with junk. This makes us and the entire industry look bad. This was not an isolated incident with Farmtek. They have done this with quite a few companies.

If price is your only consideration, then they may be a good option. If you want to buy good product from honest businesses there are many other good options out there.

I just set up a Farmtek Backyard Pro 12x25 and I've found it to be very good quality. It's strong and sturdy and very functional. I spent a lot of time and did a lot of research before purchasing and there wasn't a better deal to be found. Maybe gardenallyearlong could point out the "grossly inferior" highlights for me?

If you do go with the Farmtek Backyard Pro, the 60% shade cloth they sell with it isn't really big enough to cover the whole thing. I'd recommend you save your money and go with another option. I wish I'd have not got it and gone put the money towards the Aluminet.

It's strong and sturdy and very functional. I spent a lot of time and did a lot of research before purchasing and there wasn't a better deal to be found. Maybe gardenallyearlong could point out the "grossly inferior" highlights for me?

Fried Fish, A lot of generalized statements are made in the above post. What is "strong and sturdy and very functional" for one person, may not be for another. There was a better deal to be found, fit for you, but for me, I wouldn't have a metal framed GH, so it wasn't such a good deal for me. Everyone is different, and everyone has there opinions. Let's try and respect our differences.

friedfish:

Didn't you just answer your own question?