Harbor Freight 10X12 Greenhouse

17 years ago

Greetings,

I just ordered the 10X12 green house from Harbor Freight. What can I expect when it arrives? Is there really a problem with parts?

Do I need a floor or can I just set it on a flat piece of land?

Any hints,ideas, suggestions are most welcome.

Do I need to place it where is receives full-sun? What have all of you done? I am new to this greenhouse thingie. I grow all or most of my annuals and perennials from seed.

Thank you all very much!

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Comments (7)

gardenerwantabe
17 years ago
Use the search feature on this site. Search for
10x12 HFGH be sure to put in the space just like I have it here and after you have read all the previous posts then if you have questions post again.
katrina_gardener
Original Author
17 years ago
gardenerwantabe,

Thank-you so much for your reply. I spent several hours reading though all the posts, and now I am more confused then ever. Now, I am not so sure that I made the right decision on ordering this GH.

The info on this site is so scattered and causes me mass confusion.

Ah well, I guess I will just wait until it arrives and start putting it together.

Thanks for your advice.
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MissAgnes, I doubt that you will be able to locate specific statistics for snow or wind load for the HFGH (and I am very doubtful that Harbor Freight has this info, or will attempt to estimate it for you.) To be honest, their focus is not on long-term durability; it's on selling as many inexpensive kits as they can. The rest is up to us, as HFGH owners. I honestly have no idea how this might be calculated for the modified greenhouse; I can tell you that we estimate our modified greenhouse has handled wind gusts over 50mph on numerous occasions, and possibly a few 60mph gusts in the last six years, with no damage. However, our greenhouse is sheltered on the north side by our house, and we don't have any monitoring equipment, so this certainly isn't any kind of scientific evaluation. My guess is the wind resistance of the Harbor Freight greenhouse, built out of the kit, with no modifications, is ridiculously low (laughable.) In my opinion, it's almost certain to fail; it's just a matter of how much time before the event happens. There are many old posts here with sad tales of those who have watched their (unmodified) structure being permanently destroyed by wind. Also, many sad reviews on the Harbor Freight website, from folks who didn't know how critical the modifications were. Same story with snow load; I have no idea who would have exact figures, but I can tell you there are posts archived here of roof failures from snow. The weakest portion seems to be the center of the roof studs, so that's the area most folks focus on, when trying to build for snow load. I have gathered some links to older threads here regarding snow modifications, and they are posted in the Comments section of Part One of my blog (scroll down about 2/3 of the way through the comments at the page below, and look for the question posted by snwplwdrvr.) Part One, Building our 10x12 Harbor Freight Greenhouse Hope this helps!
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Hello Fespo, I think you're right on track with your comments about reading. Lots of good posts here from helpful Harbor Freight owners, including older archived posts too (although the manual and a few parts have changed, recently.) If it helps, here is my blog with ideas mostly gathered from GardenWeb members in the past: Building our Harbor Freight 10x12 Greenhouse I need to make time to update my blog to reflect some of the recent changes to the kit, but we basically believe it's really important to make a few modifications to the kit for strength, and to secure the panels against loss in high winds. Our HF greenhouse has been up for 6 years now, with no damage or panel loss. Even though you won't build until fall, you might want to check the parts against the parts list in the back of the manual. Recently someone posted here that their kit was missing a part (it happens.) If it's missing a part, your store might exchange the kit for you, if you find the problem quickly. Certain replacement parts used to take a very long time for Harbor Freight to ship (months) so this is just a friendly heads up. Good luck with your build!
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gardenerwantabe
17 years ago
Well this greenhouse has very poor instructions unless they have improved them. I build the first one on this forum I made several modifications to strengthen it. How much you need to strengthen it depends on your location. I highly recommend putting it in a spot that it is protected from strong wind. This spring we had a storm come through with 80 mph wind no damage to the greenhouse but mine is reinforced and in a protected area. If you put it up without modifying and sit it in the open it will be gone the first bad wind storm. Did you read the post that I posted about the mods that I did to mine.
I'm happy with mine after the mods I now nave a $3000.00 greenhouse for $700.00
stressbaby
17 years ago
Here is a link that might help with siting.

Here is a link that might be useful: GH construction link
stressbaby
17 years ago
And another.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alabama Extension link
djonathang
16 years ago
Can someone point me in the direction of strengthening modifications for the HFGH 6x8. I'd like to make sure it sticks around for a while.

Thank you.
greginshasta
16 years ago
katrina_gardener - a few of us went through nightmares assembling the 10x12, but as time passed and I tracked the posts here, it appeared that they really improved the instructions, etc. You will likely be very happy with the greenhouse.

I made a few of the upgrades that gardenerwantabe described in his posts, including the cross-bracing at the top of the walls with rigid conduit, and aluminum angle-iron across the door.

You asked about placing your unit on the ground. I did not choose to do that, as many did not. Personally, I built mine on 2x12 pressure treated lumber. If I were to do it again, since I am growing veggies, I'd use cedar. I learned of its availability several months later. Then I used lag screws to secure the greenhouse to the 2x12 footing. (I used some regular non-treated wood as a divider between the PT and the metal base because the chemicals in pressure treated lumber react badly to metals.)

Others have used 4x6 timbers, for example. I used the 2x12 because I am in snow country and wanted a bit of height. The 4x6 results in a shorter step in and out of the greenhouse.

When you receive it, read all of the directions start to end. That way you will have a sense of the assembly process. I discovered that knowing some steps that were coming ahead allowed me to better understand the prior steps and short-cut some of the assembly. Just make sure you get everything very square so that when you start installing the operable panels in the roof they will fit properly and open/close with ease.

Post your questions and you will find there are many here with experience building the unit. You should be just as happy as many of us are.

Here is a link that might be useful: My HFGH 10x12

Harbor Freight 10X12 Greenhouse

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gardenerwantabe

katrina_gardener
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Harbor Freight 10X12 Greenhouse

Comments (7)

gardenerwantabe

katrina_gardenerOriginal Author

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gardenerwantabe

stressbaby

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greginshasta

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katrina_gardener
Original Author