Applying the aluminet shade cloth...elementary? I think NOT

15 years ago

Aluminet is ON, sort of and that was a 3 person job. I purchased a 14 x 20 piece...any smaller and I absolutely would not have had any coverage on my West facing wall (the back wall)

My GH is positioned with the front door facing East. So the major areas of concern are the roof and the West (rear) wall. This is where the intense heat comes in from.

So As it turned out, we were able to put the covering on the entire DEPTH of the roof (going from the front door to the back wall)and almost all of the width of the roof is covered.

There is about 4 feet hanging down on the South facing side and the back wall (West facing) is nearly completely covered.

It did come out a bit cock-eyed, I guess because of the varying heights of the back end. It's longer on the side that is closest to the side with the overhanging fabric.

I figured that I could wrap it around (kinda like wrapping a present) secure the sides first then wrap the excess on the back wall around to the sides.

Anyhoo....I just cannot imagine how any one person could get this cover on. I found it hung up continually on the sharp edges of the crown of the roof, and also on the sides (gutters) and especially on the window vent areas.

It was not easy. But it's up..and tomorrow I'll secure it and take picutres.

Also will compare temps and see how that looks.

I"m going to take a hot bath now...oh my aching bones :)

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Comments (6)

wetfeet101b
15 years ago
This is how I put up mine:
1. I laid the aluminet on the ground, drawing a centerline across to represent where the apex of the GH roof will be.
2. I then measured and made cutouts on where the roof vents will be and sewed hems on the edges of the new cutouts.
3. I rolled the left and right edges towards the middle, so it looks like I had two rolls of aluminet. Tie them with garden ties or any thin rope to prevent them from unrolling.
4. Once rolled up, I folded the aluminet into a few sections and lifted the compacted product on to the top of the GH.
5. I unfolded the aluminet, keeping the center line aligned with the apex of the GH roof.
6. I then anchored the aluminet to the top of the greenhouse's front and back via the grommets.
7. Once secured, I then cut the garden ties that kept the two sides rolled. This unfurled the aluminet over the roof and two sides of the GH that I wanted to cover.
8. I aligned the cutouts to the roof vents and secured them in place. (Duct tape, super glue, whatever works)
9. Using the grommets again, I then anchored the aluminet throughout the length of the GH.
birdwidow
15 years ago
We got the aluminet up yesterday, on the coldest May 27th in our memory.

I have 2, because I underestimated the need to cover the side facing NE, but it may be just as well, because while at 12 x 16 my GH is not all that large, it's over 12 ft. high, so for oldsters like us, hanging one on each side is easier than trying to get one huge one over the whole GH.

We mounted SS screw hooks into the GH ridge, spaced 1 ft. apart to match the grommets on the aluminet, so getting it up is easy enough.

But it take two people on ladders, one at each end. We pull the aluminet up and hook in the first few grommets, then reach through the vents to get to the rest, then attach them to more hooks set in the base using bungees, to allow movement, as the netting needs to stretch a bit.

I did not make vent cut outs because if mounted with the warp(?) (Or is it woof?) lines running horizontally, aluminet has more then enough stretch for the vents to open under it, creating screening as well as shade.

But I was concerned about the vent corners tearing the aluminet, so put 3/4" square, 1/2" thick self stick bumpers on them. They are just enough to keep the corners from poking into the mesh.
rjinga
Original Author
15 years ago
All great ideas, NONE of which I thought of ahead of time!!! Well actually I did think of the rolling up idea, (tieing it up was very smart) I had it gathered into 2 sections, one side to unroll down the right side (the distance we wanted it from the roof pitch and the other with the remaining fabric bunched up, so that when we got it to the top we would position it and let it fall down the sides (well I guess I had both ideas, I had tried to convey this to my helper (the idea of 2 people on 2 ladders at opposite ends)

Well the best laid plans, my helper (who cant hear) didn't follow my lead, and it ended up we put it up initially with me on the ladder and him with a big long pool hook at the other end. Problem was that we positioned it wrong and had to rotate it.

Tape on the sharp edges would have been BRILLIANT!!!

Keep posting your trials and success here, I cant imagine that this wouldn't help someone!!! I wish I had read it before we started!!!! (oh ya, I started it ;)
troykd
15 years ago
We struggled trying to get it on also, then we figured out to fold it like a curtain. Tied rope on one end and through it the middle and pulled it over. After that, it was simple to spread it out over the roof. Today I'm putting bubble wrap on the corners to keep the cloth from ripping.
funnylady
15 years ago
How about some pictures to see how it looks now.
laserfan
15 years ago
Rather than cutting or re-inforcing the Aluminet at the vents, make a "bridge" of 1/2in PVC pipe using two tees and two 90deg elbows. Think "tent" that's tall enough to be able to open the vent fully underneath it and you'll get my drift.

Another idea for securing the edges: Use PVC pipe again, filled with water (for weight), and tie-wrap the aluminet grommets to it, then bungee-or-tie the pvc pipe at the ends rather than at all the aluminet grommet themselves. You could do this on the diagonals too with a little more work, and add tie wraps at other-than-grommet positions to secure the cloth better than just at the standard locations.