Woo hoo! Exciting news! Where do you live? Will you have help with the construction? Now that there is an ever-growing population of Riga owners here, you know where to come when you have questions. And you also know that photos of the build are required!

Karin

Karin- I live in New Jersey and will attempt building the Riga on my own. I am going to have somebody install electricity and possibly a water line.

I am going to use the greenhouse to overwinter my fig tree collection in the winter and in the summer I will grow tomatoes and other veggies. I am going to try and keep the greenhouse above 32 degrees with an electric heater. Can anyone give me an idea of the temperature difference inside vs outside for daytime/night time?
Thanks,
Jason

Nice. NJ is friendly garden territory. I grew up near Red Bank.

For the install, there is much you can do solo but for the actual assembly of the main frame and panels I think a second person is necessary. Or at least I can't envision a way that one person could do it solo. And there is one moment at the end when the last wall goes on where three people makes it way easier.

As for the temps, I can manage up to 10 degrees warmer inside the greenhouse at night if conditions are ideal (such as a sunny day the previous day that warms up the greenhouse). But we don't heat ours so I don't try to keep it above freezing in winter. During the daytime the greenhouse can easily be 50 or more degrees above outside temperature. On a sunny winter day it gets toasty inside no matter how cold it is outside.

You will probably want a strategy for cooling too if you plan to grow in it during the summer. We've had great luck with misters but there are many possibilities.

Oh and you'll definitely want a water line if at all possible. Not having water is nearly a deal-breaker.

Wow 50 degrees! I might not overwinter my figs I might grow them for 10 months.

Yes, by late Feb it gets pretty nice in the greenhouse and things will start growing again. How do figs tolerate big swings in temperature between day and night? That would be a concern.

Also, NJ is not as bright and sunny at MT so you might not see that much of a temperature bump. But if the sun is out, the greenhouse will get nice and warm.

Congratulations 7deuce.
You must've been really excited about it.
Cheers!

I just dug out my yard for the base foundation. I am going to use rock inside and around the greenhouse. Any tips for getting the foundation level and keeping it that way?

7deuce-
When I assembled my kit greenhouse, I put in a serious foundation: I dug down to below the frost line and poured a concrete footer and, then laid cinder block to raise the base slightly above ground level. I am assuming you are going to do something simpler. What you might consider is digging a trenching about 6" deep all the way around where you want the foundation; then fill it with several inches of 5/8 minus gravel. Get a good 2' level and work your way around to get the gravel level. Then use the end of a 2 X 4 to tamp it all down good and solid. After that, get some pressure treated lumber, like 4" X 6"'s; cut it to size and lay it on the gravel to form the foundation. For good measure drill the pieces of pressure treated lumber on the ends so you can pound some 1/4" rebar through it and into the ground to anchor it. Then you an attach your GH to the nice, stable, wooden foundation.

This actually is less work than it sounds, if you have any skills. And you will benefit from it later. There is nothing worse than investing in a GH, and not installing it level, or having it start to lean after a while.

Here is a link I should have included in my post...

Here is a link that might be useful: Greenhouse foundation

Are you using the Riga foundation kit? If so, I can share the details on what we did with ours.

We located where each corner was going to be and dug a concrete cinder block into the soil below each corner of the frame. The elevation should be such that the top of the frame is just a bit (2 inches?) above the soil line.

Put the frame so that each corner rests on a cinder block. Check the level. Go to the highest corner and shave the dirt out below the cinder block. Repeat this process until things check out level. The cinder blocks under each corner should provide a firm and level place for the foundation.

Getting the frame level is essential, as building it up will be next to impossible if it's not level and square.

We took an additional step and dug a 16" trench underneath the foundation frame and put 4" thick styrofoam sheets in there. (Sort of like a deep, narrow moat filled with styrofoam) This gave us an insulated perimeter below the soil surface, which keeps the cold soil right outside the greenhouse from sucking the heat out of my warm soil inside the greenhouse.

Happy digging! As you probably know, there are no shortcuts here, but the payoff is totally worth it. :)

Almost done! I just have to install an exhaust fan to keep the temps down.
Did anyone else have problems with the lower door sticking?

Pics coming soon...

Yay! Nice work!

Our lower door used to stick. The bottom panel was not square so the bottom corner opposite the hinge would sag a little bit. We fixed that (by "we" I mean my husband) by attaching a stout length of wire diagonally across the door panel. I can send a pic because I don't think I can explain it adequately with words. :)

Please post a picture Karin that is my project for Monday.

Disregard my request for a picture I already braced my door with some aluminum L bracket. Works great! Thanks for the tip.

Excellent - nice work on that! That's great that you are just down to the little details now. Fun.