You dont need the vents to open in the winter. I never could figure this out with people. I shut my windows up, seal them off and dare anyone to open anything during the winter. If the temps gets to 90F, its like YES! I guess its the type of plants I grow. Maybe yall want your greenhouse cool during the winter. I just never could figure this part out. Vents and winter dont go together.

Rob

orchiddude

What's so hard to figure out? Not everyone has plants that enjoy 90 to 100F days in winter and spring. One of us has to go out and open the vents and door, then close them again as the temp drops. That gets old fast. They should work no matter where a person lives or what they grow, or why have them in the GH package at all? Or have the instructions say, "We supply vents that do not work properly." My Rions vents open when it reaches about 75F and close on their own. No one has to open and close them or have steam-cooked plants. I'm sure you can figure out why people like the doors on their GHs to work. ;)

greenhouser,

My greenhouse was really cheap.

My door does not fit right, in fact if it snows really hard then gets cold I cannot open the door at all! (the snow melts, the water runs under the door and freezes) I have to unscrew a blanking plate that is over an intake vent and then crawl inside.

(the cats have a sneaky 6" by 6" opening into my greenhouse, one day I will train them to chip the ice off the door frame .....)

You bought a cheap greenhouse, so did I.

Adapt it, modify it, learn to live with what it can and cannot do.

""If it were a real door we could replace it but what do you do with a door like this?""

put in a real door!

""Auto vent openers wont work on them. The frames of the vents are too large to fit the alloted hole for them""

Get creative. Buy ten bucks worth of pressure treated lumber and some exterior plywood and a jiggly saw and have fun!

You greenhouse can be adapted, it may look ugly but it can be fixed.

orchiddudes greenhouse is ugly on the outside, but great on the inside,

:)

If the vents do not fit the opening that should of been obvious when it was assembled.

Trim the metal or enlarge the hole where it bolts together and make it fit.

This is why I have said repeatedly this GH is NOT FOR EVERYONE.

Building one of these requires some understanding of how to make things work and doing the mods to make it work.

If anyone who has been here long enough to remember all my posts about all the things that were wrong on mine they know what I went through but now it is fine I have no issues with the doors.

I have a pool cover on mine and do not ever open the vents but they will work it is just that when I need to cool it I use a exhaust fan much more effective and reliable than the cheap openers that have far too wide of a temperature range between open and closing.

Several people on this forum have built home made greenhouses from scratch.
If they had not had good building skills and taken time to be sure that every thing was square and fit right they would have these problems.

The 10x12 HFGH as shipped requires modifications to make it stronger and it may even require some elongating of a hole but in my case I found that once it was square and level at the base everything fit.
I think a lot of problems come from the base not being level if one corner is a little low this will cause problems.

As Chris pointed out this is a cheap GH and it has been said many times this GH is not for everyone.

Anyone reading this and other posts about this GH stop and think before buying one of these.

If you have the tools and the patience and building skills this is a way to build a nice GH with out spending a lot of money but for many you will be posting how this GH is a big P.O.S. it all depends on how you go about the assembly.

I'm not picking on you Greenhouser but this has been discussed many times anyone who reads this post look in the FAQ section about the article on modifying this GH before you buy because this GH requires much more than just bolting it together.

Greenhouser: Is it possible that, as suggested by gardener; the base under your GH may not be quite plumb, or if it was when you erected it; may have shifted a bit?

It may be that one of the the keys to success with any of this type of GH structure, regardless of cost, may be a really solid, secured foundation, to assure it is and will remain- dead plumb, and level.

Greenhouser...it must be the size of the greenhouse that makes the difference. All the people I know with big houses, do not open vents in the winter. When you can get free heat, bottle it up and keep it. Yours must heat up to killer plant stage so you need vents or something.

Chris...I caught ya. :-) yo mama should slap yo face for saying words like that in public. This reminds me of a party I went to the other day. We all played dirt Santa, you know, where you pick a gift and someone can steal it from you and so on. Well, there was a small little sack on the table. It looked so cute, but no one was picking it. Everybody wanted the big ones or the heavy ones. Well down toward the end, someone picked that little gift and it was the best one on the table. Everyone faught over it. I guess thats kinda like my greenhouse. Looks like an army bunker on the outside, but has more gold in it than fort knox on the inside....lol

Greenhouser, I don't have the 6x8, but on my 10x12, two screws (one top, one bottom) in the door track make it totally impossible for the door to come out of the track. Maybe someone else with a 6x8 can chime in about that issue, but I'm sure sorry you're having trouble with it. I love the doors on my 10x12, especially since I have them all snugged in with weatherstripping. They work great (I can slide them with one finger.) Short of an ice storm, I don't anticipate trouble with them.

My four roof vents worked well until I removed them to fix a problem with the poly panels. I managed to reinstall them back in a different order (big mistake) and now they fit very poorly. When I installed them the first time (before the roof panels were in) I spent a lot of time fiddling/adjusting/testing/opening/closing until I had the fit right. I think that mine would still work OK if I hadn't messed up the original installation order, so I tend to agree with Gardenerwantabe...very careful assembly will most likely result in workable vents...mine did.

But, in my experience, once the roof panels have been installed (and screwed down) all around the roof vents, it's really hard to make any adjustments to the vent frames to improve the fit. I think it's a one-shot deal, and I had a good fit, but I messed it up! I think I could fix it by unscrewing the roof panels and uninstalling/reinstalling all the vents to fix the fit problem, but it's not worth it for me. However, it might be worth it for you. (I'm sick of having the stepladder in the greenhouse anyway, the 10x12 vents are so darned high!)

My vents are wired shut for the winter and I doubt I'll use them again. If I did not have an exhaust fan and screens, I would not be able to abandon them, but I think/hope I can get by without using them. I know exhaust fans are expensive, but there's no way I could use my GH without mine, even if the vents worked perfectly.

I really like Chris's statement about adapting, modifying, and figuring out how to work with what you have. With that attitude, an inexpensive greenhouse isn't going to defeat me. When something goes wrong, I know I have to get stubborn and figure out a new way to fix it. I hope you don't misunderstand...I'm not saying it's easy, and I know it's frustrating. I just don't want you to be defeated by these problems...I can tell by your posts how much you love your plants and greenhouses!

My HFGH has been one of the best purchases I've ever made, but it sure does require a hands-on approach, as well as some creative problem solving. I could actually afford a more expensive gh, but this one allowed me to try greenhousing without sinking $3000 (and more.) It does everything I want, and my plants are thriving. I would buy another one in a heartbeat, and I probably will.

the vent frames can be modified to fit. all you have to do is trim the 2ply panel down and elongate the 4 corner holes and trim the width to the size you need.

I have to open and close mine also as when the sun shines it get 100 degrees easily and cooks everything.

Something must not be right on your door for it to come off the track.Make sure the rollers are on the track on the bottom.

My greenhouse was really cheap.

So was mine. But I foolishly expected the door and vents to work right. Silly me! :)

You bought a cheap greenhouse, so did I.
Adapt it, modify it, learn to live with what it can and cannot do.

I don't guess I have a choice. I was hoping someone else figured out how to fix these problems since we have so many HFGH owners here.

""If it were a real door we could replace it but what do you do with a door like this?""

put in a real door!

How, since the size isn't standard and the frame is too flimsy to attach it to?

""Auto vent openers wont work on them. The frames of the vents are too large to fit the alloted hole for them""

Get creative. Buy ten bucks worth of pressure treated lumber and some exterior plywood and a jiggly saw and have fun!

I have no idea how that stuff would fix the sticking vents.

You greenhouse can be adapted, it may look ugly but it can be fixed. orchiddudes greenhouse is ugly on the outside, but great on the inside,

Looks are not an issue. I'm not a builder and have no clue how to fix this little GH's door and vents. The doorway is a non standard size, flimsy aluminum and the 3 sided shelves are built in. They can't be removed without destroying them.

* Posted by gardenerwantabe (My Page) on
Sun, Dec 23, 07 at 6:57

KEEP IN MIND I HAVE THE SMALL 6 X 8 HFGH.

If the vents do not fit the opening that should of been obvious when it was assembled.
Trim the metal or enlarge the hole where it bolts together and make it fit.

Trim it with what? We have nothing to cut aluminum dead straight. The space between the supports can't be enlarged. We have nothing to cut THAT alumunum dead straight with either. And if it fits the vent, it wont fit the piece of poly stuff below it. Cutting the short piece were it bolts together wont work unless we had something to cut one side of the poly about 1/32" and it would have to be near dead straight. Then there would be no way to bolt the frame back together because the edge would be gone. Have you done this yourself? What tools did you use and how did you get the vent's frame back together?

This is why I have said repeatedly this GH is NOT FOR EVERYONE.

You're right, but people don't know that before they buy these little 6X8 GHs. These GHs are for either unusually handy women and/or men will a good selection of tools and equipment to cut and repair aluminum.

Building one of these requires some understanding of how to make things work and doing the mods to make it work.

As I said, how can people know that before they buy them? I didn't find this Forum until after I bought it. The damn sliding door is a joke. It's just a poor design, nothing more.

If anyone who has been here long enough to remember all my posts about all the things that were wrong on mine they know what I went through but now it is fine I have no issues with the doors.

And how did you fix the sliding door on your 6X8 HF? Either the top wheel comes out of the track, or the bottom tab jumps the guide. My husband worked on it more than a few times but it still happens over and over.

I have a pool cover on mine and do not ever open the vents but they will work it is just that when I need to cool it I use a exhaust fan much more effective and reliable than the cheap openers that have far too wide of a temperature range between open and closing.

Well I don't have pool covers and exhaust fans on and in the 6X8 HF so that doesn't apply to me. Your climate is apparently different from mine.

Several people on this forum have built home made greenhouses from scratch.

I'm sure they have. Some people are good as such things and some of us are not.

If they had not had good building skills and taken time to be sure that every thing was square and fit right they would have these problems.

The frames are square. We made sure of that. The doorway is square. We made sure of that also. The door fits perfectly. The cheap poor quality tracks, tab and wheels are the problem. The space between the roof supports are too narrow for the vents to close freely. See above. We don't and didn't have the tools needed to start cutting and working with aluminum. We were not advised by HF that special tools would be needed to fix the GH as it was being built, or afterward.

The 10x12 HFGH as shipped requires modifications to make it stronger and it may even require some elongating of a hole but in my case I found that once it was square and level at the base everything fit.

I know nothing about the 10X12 as we have the 6X8 and they're not the same.

I think a lot of problems come from the base not being level if one corner is a little low this will cause problems.

I'm sure it would cause problems with the 6x8 as well. That's not what's causing the door to keep falling off or the tab to jump the bottom guide. It's very flimsy and poorly designed.

As Chris pointed out this is a cheap GH and it has been said many times this GH is not for everyone.

But no one can know that until AFTER they bought it. I didn't find this Forum until AFTER I had the GH already built.

Anyone reading this and other posts about this GH stop and think before buying one of these.
If you have the tools and the patience and building skills this is a way to build a nice GH with out spending a lot of money but for many you will be posting how this GH is a big P.O.S. it all depends on how you go about the assembly.

It's more than just the assembly. Don't put the blame on assembly. My husband took great care to get the foundation level and square for starters. And people shouldn't have to have to have expensive tools to modify and fix all the problems with the vents and flimsy sliding door. How many people have such tools or knowledge to fix these things? Not that many of us.

I'm not picking on you Greenhouser but this has been discussed many times anyone who reads this post look in the FAQ section about the article on modifying this GH before you buy because this GH requires much more than just bolting it together.

I don't have the 10X12' HFGH. I've seen no posts covering how to fix the sliding door on the 6X8 or how to actually get the roof vents on the 6x8' HF to open and close freely.

My door does not fit right at all. Some silly idiot that built my greenhouse could not wait for the lumber to dry. The solution? Lots of draught excluder, and a new smaller door next spring. P.S. I am the idiot.

""put in a real door! How, since the size isn't standard and the frame is too flimsy to attach it to?""

Well, imagine a wooden frame attached to the end where the door is with a sort of trelliss surrounding a door. You could grow stuff outside of your greenhouse on the trellis, and have a door that opens out. Take off the sliding door. Make the end of your GH a "feature"

If I could draw I would draw it.

""Auto vent openers wont work on them. The frames of the vents are too large to fit the alloted hole for them
Get creative. Buy ten bucks worth of pressure treated lumber and some exterior plywood and a jiggly saw and have fun!

I have no idea how that stuff would fix the sticking vents.""

Build a frame that the vent fits in then attach that over the too small hole. Again I wish I could draw.

I do not have a HFGH but I am sure someone can offer you sound advice. Wood is very easy to work with to adapt and strengthen things with.

* Posted by birdwidow No. IL Z-5 (My Page) on
Sun, Dec 23, 07 at 9:00

Greenhouser: Is it possible that, as suggested by gardener; the base under your GH may not be quite plumb, or if it was when you erected it; may have shifted a bit?

It's dead plumb and dead square. There's no shifting because the heavy steel bars through the foundation 4X6's go deep into the ground. It would take a serious earthquake to shift it's foundation. My husband took great pains to make sure it was, so the frame ect. would all line up and the polycarb fit the supports. The vents were always a problem because they're too large for the space between the roof supports by a fraction. They're not cocked. They're just too large by a fraction that's more than can be rasped off. The door fits perfectly. The cheap flimsy wheels either pop off their holders or the bottom tab jumps the track guide on the bottom. Remember, this is the 6x8', not the 12X10 HFGH.

It may be that one of the the keys to success with any of this type of GH structure, regardless of cost, may be a really solid, secured foundation, to assure it is and will remain- dead plumb, and level.

I assure you that's not the problem. Also, just looking at how these GHs go together you can see they simply wouldn't go together at all unless they were on the square. Even I could see that when we saw them at the GF store. :)

* Posted by orchiddude +7b ALabama (My Page) on
Sun, Dec 23, 07 at 12:58

Greenhouser...it must be the size of the greenhouse that makes the difference. All the people I know with big houses, do not open vents in the winter. When you can get free heat, bottle it up and keep it. Yours must heat up to killer plant stage so you need vents or something.

Yes, my small HFGH will heat up to 100F on a sunny winter day. That's too much for the plants, and myself for that matter. It also needs some fresh air in winter. So we crack the door and vents on sunny days. A fan circulates the air 24/7. The Rion also heats up but the auto vents open and close by themselves, keeping the Rion under 80F this time of year.

"it must be the size of the greenhouse that makes the difference"

Yes, yes, and yes again.

That is why some of us went from coldframes (and I do not mean unheated hoophouses but small frames on the ground covered with old windows) to as big a structure as we could build/afford.

The smaller the structure the harder it is to keep cool/warm.

TO: mudhouse

Don't get me wrong as I dearly love both GHs. They're a big part of my life, them and the plants. When we built the small HF the vents never did work freely. The frame for the vent pane itself is too large to fit between the supports. We know of no way to shave off a fraction (maybe a 64th) of the aluminum. We'd have to unbolt the frame and cut off a bit and find a way to shave off a small fraction of the polycarb itself so the frame fit the poly after removning some of the frame. And it would have to be done to precision or it could end up a worse fit than it already is.

The door slides. See my other posts. The wheels are so flimsy and poor quality they either fall off or the bottom tab jumps the bottom guide which is pinched up as far as it can be without binding the door.

To: chris_in_iowa

The small HF is very easy to heat with a small heater from Wal*Mart. It's also easy to cool in winter with the vents. If the vents fit right and opened and closed freely as they do on the Rion, we wouldn't have to do it manually which is a PIA. We have auto-openers for the HF vents, but the vents wont close and open freely so they're sitting here in the sun room.

* Posted by chris_in_iowa 4b (My Page) on
Mon, Dec 24, 07 at 1:47

""put in a real door! How, since the size isn't standard and the frame is too flimsy to attach it to?""

Well, imagine a wooden frame attached to the end where the door is with a sort of trelliss surrounding a door. You could grow stuff outside of your greenhouse on the trellis, and have a door that opens out. Take off the sliding door. Make the end of your GH a "feature"

I have no idea how to build something like that and attach it to the flimsy aluminum frame. The weak aluminum frame would likely not be stable enough to hold a wood door-frame and door in place. It would start to twist out of square.

""I have no idea how that stuff would fix the sticking vents.""

Build a frame that the vent fits in then attach that over the too small hole. Again I wish I could draw.

The opening is flimsy aluminum and will not likely support a wood framed vent. I would have no idea how to attach it to the top spine so it opened and closed freely and was water proof. I'm not a builder. I'm not handy with tools.

I do not have a HFGH but I am sure someone can offer you sound advice. Wood is very easy to work with to adapt and strengthen things with.

Indeed it is if you have the right tools and know how to work with it. If not, you can do more damage than good. Woodworking is way out of my field. I was a veterinary surgical assistant for years and worked for a florist before moving here. Far from anything with tools and building things.

"The small HF is very easy to heat with a small heater from Wal*Mart."

I think I did not say what I meant to say clearly enough.

I said "The smaller the structure the harder it is to keep cool/warm." I did not mean it was more expensive I was trying to say that in a 6x8 placing a heater in there so it didn't fry the plants close to it was, um, difficult.

When I do use a heater in my greenhouse it is an oil filled radiator throttled back to the 600W setting and a seperate osscilating fan next to it. The IR is sneaky.

If I set the heater to the 1500w setting it toasts everything in a 3ft radius. (which is 6ft!)

Sorry greenhouser but I have ZERO woodworking skills!

Just trying to help. Get some wood, some screws, borrow a saw and play around.

There is a reason caulking was invented ;)

If the door wheels/track on the larger gh model are different perhaps they can be retrofitted to your gh to solve the problem?

Taking 1/64"(0.4mm)off soft aluminium should be fairly easy. A sanding block (or a length of square wood) with some sandpaper/emery cloth wrapped around it would do the trick.

Let me ask you this, if the vents dont work, why not bring them back and have them replaced. IF they dont fit, thats easy to fix, you make the hole bigger. If you want to cut metal, get a metal cutting blade at lowes and put it on your saw, plug it in and start cutting. Thats easy to fix. If you just need to shave off a little metal, you can get a grinding wheel for your roto-zip and grind it off.

Greenhouser since your original post did not say what you had I assumed it was a 10x12.

I have not seen a 6x8 but I'm betting the vents are the same.

On the 10x12 the vent lays on a Lip of the roof rafter.

The vent frame is made from L shaped pieces and the Poly panel lays in it.

The vent slides in from the end so it can be moved to center over the hole.

If the vent is too wide you just remove two bolt from the corner on the same side and elongate the hole with a drill or a rat tail file.

Aluminum is soft and real easy to remove material.

With a utility knife cut a little strip off the poly and push the framing together and tighten the bolts install the Poly and the clips.

Since the poly lays on wide piece on both sides it don't have to be cut to exact fit just slightly smaller than the opening.

This whole process can be done in 20 minutes.

If you feel you can not do this or are not willing to buy some tools then the only way we can help is to advice you to hire a handy man it only requires very basic tools that he will have and even if he has never seen a GH as soon as he looks at it he will know what to do.

This is not rocket science

As to the doors without actually seeing what you have done I have no idea what is wrong but here is something you should consider.

While you are sure that you have it right your door keeps falling off and others are not having that problem so why is it that your's are falling off.

Could it be that you have something wrong ????????

Their are several who have the 6x8 and they are not having these problems.
Maybe one of them can help with the door problem.

I can't say much about the vents for the 6x8 as I DO operate them manually. The others are right with me on this...I won't waste one degree of heat through the vents.

The door is adjustable. Memory escapes me as to whether at the top or bottom. Get it to operate as well as you are able and THEN apply some silicone grease which should be available from a hardware store...but don't bother looking for it at the big box ones. Mine has not jumped the track since I used it and in fact, rolls too easily. I had to apply a latch to it to keep it closed in the breeze. All in all I wouldn't change a thing with the HFGH, except the size. Even the two I have attached together are far too small now. I'm intending to get 2 of the larger ones and modify them into a lean to structure when money allows...LOL

Fortunately, I've been reading this greenhouse forum for many years before I built my greenhouse. I don't know anything about the HFGH except what I've read from all of you. I initially had contemplated purchasing one of these greenhouses but after reading all of your posts on modifying these greenhouse I decided to build my own instead. Why go through the trouble of modifying someone elses work when I could start from scratch and make it my own creation. Besides, I wanted to add much more insulation to assist in heating the beast in this cold northern climate.

I'm sure I will have my own set of problems to conquer once I delve further into greenhousing. he he.

Greenhouser I'm sorry I don't have much wisdom to share. But my heart goes out to you. I am slowly forgetting the incredibly slow, painful progress for me to build my greenhouse. It's all worth it now. ;)

As I was reading everyones advice I began wondering if this might work...(please understand I have NO clue how your greenhouse is constructed so bare with me). Is it possible to take a block of coarse sandpaper and just sand the aluminum sides by hand as aluminum is a very soft metal? It sounds as though the fit is just very snug and that there is not much additional room needed? This would give you a bit of wiggling room not?

Have a GREAT Christmas everyone!!! I will be so thankful when the Christmas Holiday is over and I can get back to finishing the inside of my greenhouse. :)

Tj

If you could post some pictures of the problems maybe we could help you work on them.

Chris

I have a small electric heater set on high under the bench at the far end of the HF. So far it hasn't cooked anything. There's nothing in front of it but the walkway. It's on the floor. The heat comes out the front. I have an electric oil heater in my bedroom for those bitter cold nights. The heat goes in every direction. I wouldn't want one in my GHs.

hex2006

I need some kind of precision saw tool, very sharp, to shave it off. I'm just guessing at 1/64th.

I have no idea how to use or install other wheels (that wont fall off or jump the track) on the sliding door or where to get them. New wheels aren't going to fix the track so they stay in it. If the wheels don't fall off they come out of the flimsy track. The slightest cocking of the door, and there's no handle, makes the wheel jump off the track which bends easily, or the tab jumps the bottom track.

My husband is getting tired of messing with it already. He's not interested in the GHs or my plants.

I was hoping someone here had a similar problem with the 6X8 and had a solution that I could handle myself.

orchiddude

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!! I had hoped to get the answer here. :) My husband said he has a grinder and can grind down the sides of the vents. Why didn't he or I think of that before? The answer was hiding right in front of our eyes. :)

Here's some photos. #1 buy an exhaust fan on a thermostat with a shutter or shutters on the same thermostat loop.

I ripped my door off and got rid of it. I took a few 2 x 4's went to the hardware store ... bought some screen, attached it to the frame I built and then got a bunch of poly and tacked it to the frame I built and brought a few bricks inside to hold the poly to the floor. On days when you are around (a "weather station" unit is helpful so you are alerted when the temps rise) , I'm always around so that's an easy deal, but, at anytime I could drape that poly up so the screen was allowing air exchange. The door was held on with a big clamp. That piece of chicken crap "bar/track" on the top of the door frame, I clamped MY DOOR to it. DONE!

Cost me 10 cents the way I see it. Everyone has a saw, a hammer or screwdriver so fix it and stop complaining.

Those vents don't do jack squat. You need an exhaust fan.

Get yourself a shade cloth too. That'll lower temps 10 degrees. Again, I found some bricks laying around and anchored it. Again, Done!

Sorry but this is going no-where.

Dax Here's your photos.

{{gwi:311062}}

{{gwi:311064}}

This is a cool mister you can buy anywhere. I'd recommend a larger one that holds more water. This too will lower temps.
{{gwi:312167}}

{{gwi:312169}}

Greenhouser....thats good. I hope it will fix the problem. The metal is soft so it probably wont take much, just take your time so you dont mess anything up.

ladylotus

Thanks Ladylotus for the information. Thanks to all of you! That may have worked but a lot of aluminum would have to come off so we're going with my husbands old grinder. That grinder never crossed our minds. That should do it.

conifers

Thak you for your reply. Someday when I can afford an exhaust fan with shutters and a thermosdat on a loop I'll buy them. Until then I'll have to depend on the vents and cracking the door. I have several humidifiers but the cacti, succulents, geraniums and other sun lovers would not be happy with the extra humidity or a shade cloth in the winter. I don't grow conifers.

BTW, I have no income at all and my husband is semi-retired so my mad-money is limited.

It takes Woman to figure out the problem as usual! Ohgirl

orchiddude

Thanks so much. The grinder will definitely work. My husband is going to do it as he has experience with the grinder. :)

Sorry. I didn't read the entire thread. Thanks for the shiny pictures. :(

Dax