The HFGH is a great option for getting into the world of greenhouses on a low budget. However, it is made of such lightweight materials that I am not certain that it can be reliably reinforced to withstand 120MPH winds without a lot of work and additional expenditures. If you haven't already bought this greenhouse, you might want to consider spending more for a different brand that may already meet the code.

I was just reading about windstorm code, and at least from what I got at a quick glance it is for making your home insurable correct?

Well as long as the GH is a free standing aka detached structure i would not thing this would need to pass wind storm code, but thats just what makes sense to me, and I could be wrong.

I dont think there is any way that you could make a HF greenhouse reliable in 120 mph winds. I dont think that any of our production greenhouses could withstand 120 mph winds, and they are build with 6" steel pipe in 4' deep concrete footings with tensioned braided steel cable X's for cross support.

"I dont think there is any way that you could make a HF greenhouse reliable in 120 mph winds. I dont think that any of our production greenhouses could withstand 120 mph winds, and they are build with 6" steel pipe in 4' deep concrete footings with tensioned braided steel cable X's for cross support."

This fits in with what I was thinking, thanks for the good input ggarner. I also told Teresa I doubted it was possible to fortify the HFGH to withstand 120mph, but I also think it's going to be pretty hard to find a greenhouse of any kind that can reliably withstand that force.

Sometimes, in my experience, city codes guys cite requirements without completely reviewing the specifics of a situation when you call for info. It may be that structures that are not attached, or not considered permanent, may be exempt. We don't have wind code here, but my HFGH did not require a permit to construct since it was not over 120 square feet. Each municipality is different.

I was not familiar with Storm Wind Code when Teresa contacted me, but in my reading about it, it does seem to be heavily connected to insurance.

The tricky thing about this kind of situation, to be honest, is how to acquire good information about the specifics of the code requirements, without drawing undue attention to your plans to build it...(if you catch my drift.)

Mudhouse, you hit the nail on the head with this statement:
"Sometimes, in my experience, city codes guys cite requirements without completely reviewing the specifics of a situation when you call for info."

After finishing construction of an additional stand alone greenhouse that was around 25,000 sqr ft we had all the inspectors come out and give us the ok on all the work (keep in mind this is out in the country). Then we had to have the fire department come out and sign off on it. Jr. Captain Patty S. (or something along those lines) was the charmer who came out and was responsible for this. She had quite a chip on her shoulder, as after meeting her I said "Patty if you will follow me" and she responded, "it's Jr. Captain Patty...". HAHA Sorry Boss...

So we showed her around, all the exits, isle widths, etc etc, and she asked for the square footage etc. Then she asks us how much water storage do we have that fire fighters could hook up to in case of a fire. We have 80,000 gallons worth in storage tanks up the hill. She says we need more storage and according to the square footage of all the greenhouses we should have something like 250,000 gal of water that firefighters could use to fight a blaze.

I couldn't help but laugh outloud, and said you need a quarter of a million gallons? We will see what we can do... She had some other snyde remarks as she headed back to her truck, so I thanked Patty... she said jr capt patty... I countered "if we are being formal its Dr. Garner to you" and she left.

Talked to an actual captain a few days later, he apologized for her snippy attitude and said she was recently promoted and she apparently didn't know the difference between a greenhouse and an actual house and was demanding things according to codes for homes that didn't apply here.

Moral of the story don't always trust the first city employee you talk to, and try to talk to inspectors when they are in good moods :)

Why would you need a wind code permit to erect a tent on your property? I mean, aren't you just putting up a non-permanent frame which is being temporarily covered with a fabric? What is that if not a tent?

One man's greenhouse is another man's tent. Does your code apply to tents?

I have a HFGH and need a replacement roller for the top of the door. Have looked at Home Depot, Lowe's and local hardware stores without success. Any ideas where to find a replacement roller?

Derra-
Since your query has nothing to do with windstorm codes, you should start your own, separate post. You will have a better chance of getting a responsive answer, and you won't be hijacking someone else's post on a different subject than yours....

Have you tried calling Harbor Freight, as well? They keep some common parts in stock (panels, for example) and can ship those pretty quickly. Parts that are not in stock are a different matter and can can take forever. My HF manual doesn't list the door roller as a separate part, so I can't give you a part number, and it might be a challenge to get them to understand what you're talking about. (Sometimes calls to Harbor Freight are a bit of an adventure.)

But, if others have called with the same question, they might have started stocking these. Just a thought. Their number is 1-800-444-3353.

We have purchased various kinds of door rollers from glass businesses for our old sliding glass doors, but I don't know if they'd have anything that could be retrofitted to the Harbor Freight.

I agree with kudzu9, you might get more eyeballs on your question if you start a new post with a title like "Need ideas for Harbor Freight replacement door roller." You might even find someone with a damaged door who can salvage that part (a person can always dream...!)

Hi tltbirds,
I'm now just getting around to building my own HFGH that I bought in 2007 (I't a long story, and thank heavans that I have a very patient and understadning wife). While reviewing this forum I came across your post and am wondering how this code issue worked out for you. I am also an architect (in Arkansas) and know a bit about building codes, and hope that you were able to resolve this with your local official without having to actually comply with the wind code. I am not in Texas, and each inspector can pretty much call their own shots, but the code that you are referring to applies to "habitable" structures. I don't want to get into this if it's resolved, but if it's not, I can maybe help you with some points for discussion with the code official. I've never heard of one requireing wind, siesmic and the like for non-inhabitible out-buidlings.

Anyway, I was just curious how this went.

I do have some questions for all of you about bringing utilites to my GH but will ask them in a new posting.

Mudhouse, You and I chatted back and forth a while back. I'm getting started finally and want to thank you, again, for all of your information.