mudhouse - there was probably 10 inches of snow on the roof. I recognize that I should have gone out earlier and knocked it off but I'm a bit overwhelmed with life and business at the moment, and I simply didn't think about the risk of the weight on the roof. Actually, most of the snow we had received in the storm was very light and fluffy. The problem developed, I believe, after the storm broke and the snow began to accumulate moisture & weight as it started to melt. busy1 - I employed the same reinforcement of 3 lengths of EMD across the interior. That's nice for stiffening the walls but didn't make a difference in terms of this issue. ole_dawg - thanks for telling me about a guy on ebay. I'll have a look. If you happen to have the seller's name, I'd appreciate it. rosepedal - the 1x? material you have running from front to rear is sort of what I have in mind, but my thinking is that it needs to be centered between the ridge and the wall. Additionally, I would really want a minimum of one sturdy post, such as a 2x4, running vertically between those and the ground. This way there is some strength that prevents those boards themselves from bowing under the weight. As mudhouse mentions, the unsupported centers of the roof studs are the weak point. No question about it. Thanks for an occasional kick on this thread. It would be great if someone who has their remaining parts around might see this. I can be contacted directly at greg at greybearddesign dot com.

clvlnd- It all epends how warm you want it. I have a 10' X 15' single pane glass greenhouse in Zone 8. I heat my greenhouse with an electric, 900W/1500W oil-filled heater. It's got a thermostat and I keep it on the lowest setting so the temp stays above freezing. You can usually get a decent one for about $50 (e.g., from Amazon). If you get an electric heater that draws more than 1500W, or run more than one, you're going to blow the breaker on a standard 15 amp circuit, especially if you have anything else plugged in. If you want to use something bigger, you're going to have to seriously upgrade the wiring that supplies electricity to your GH. One of the reasons I can get by with a small heater is that I also have 3 seed-starting mats that measure 1.5' X 4', and each one only draws 100W. I just set my sensitive plants and seedlings on that and everything seems to be happy. Since I usually have a power outage a couple of times during the winter, I have a small propane heater for backup.

Frank, I don't think you're a dork, at all! There's nothing wrong with being sentimental, and remembering good things... even if they do make your eyes tear up. I can clearly remember the beautiful Bleeding Hearts my Grandma grew... and her luscious Peonies... and I half laugh/half cry when I think about all the plants my Mom killed, even though she tried so hard... she just didn't possess the gardener gene! It skipped a generation! Actually, Ryan, I have my Calla Lily planted in a very well-draining medium, in a clay pot. It bloomed and grew ok last season, but wasn't really that impressive. It was a $2 bagged rhizome from Lowe's, I think. Not the highest quality, I'm sure. I'm just surprised it hasn't begun to grow yet this year. I haven't had a chance to look at that website with the Irises yet... but I'm going to! I never miss a chance to drool at online photos of gorgeous flowers! I didn't know that those fountain pumps could be adjusted... you learn something new every day! Thanks for that, Ryan! That little piece of information has just widened my choice for an indoor water thingy... I need to up the humidity, and I think a little fountain will help. Well, guys... it's been fun, but the dogs have their legs crossed, so I'm off for now! Have a sweet day!

Hello Mudhouse, how are things, we haven't talked in awhile. You my friend got me through a greenhouse build 10x12 HFGH. You also helped me with many links to you on snow support. We had a mild winter initally but then all hell broke lose like the year before. Snowed everyday or every other day, 5 - 10 in. at a time. I think in the month of Feburary alone we received at least 5 ft in that month plus the other months. Snow in some parking lots went away in Apr. monster piles. Anyway, I used EMT tubing and ran it from side to side and front to back and accross. Then I ran tubing up to the roof and connect it from the EMT running accross. On the Harbor Freight I also went to Lowes and got another support and ran it from front to back in the middle of the roof for more support. From the ground I used 2 inch schelude 40 PVC pipe and connected it to the EMT tubing. I also made all my benches out of the same PVC pipe. It may sound confusing but it resembles some of the pics I saw people sent you for snow support. My doors worked fine all winter. I had pieces of metal that I placed on the tracks when the doors were close so snow would not get on them. When I wanted to get in the greenhouse I just picked them up and slide open the doors. I mainly used one door all the time. I also put a fairly heavy multi-purpose grease on the door tracks and they are still sliding good today. I made some new supports to keep the doors from moving off the track and put adjustable rods on the outside of the doors with a adjustable turnbuckle in the middle. Just like a barn door or gate adjustment to make tension on the door. Now during the summer I am going to make a little roof over my door tracks to keep off any snow. The gutter sucked and held back all the snow trying to slide off the roof. I purchased a big brush with a long handle and purchased foam insulation that goes on plumbing pipes and put it around the brush and taped it on. Now I can use the handle and put it up on the greenhouse roof and it fits between the panels and I pull off the snow when I get 5 inches or so. Very easy and the foam slides on the roof and doesn't hurt the roof panels. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks and I should send some pics. Sorry, I don't have any now.