Harbor Freight 10 x 12 Greenhouse Build

[Hiester]

I am so impressed with your new ghouse set up! You and your spouse did a phenomenal job planning and executing this build! Tell me about the glazing... is it duo layer polycarbonate? I'm not that familiar with H.F. houses.

[shadytrake]

Originally Posted by Hiester

I am so impressed with your new ghouse set up! You and your spouse did a phenomenal job planning and executing this build! Tell me about the glazing... is it duo layer polycarbonate? I'm not that familiar with H.F. houses.

Hi,

The HF is a very inexpensive kit. The twinwall polycarbonate panels are quite thin, but they do the job on a budget. From others who have built before, I understand a replacement panel set runs about $165. That should give you an idea about the quality. Most really nice GH panels run $80 PER panel.

At any rate, it does a pretty good job. When we have to replace down the road, we will upgrade to a thicker panel.

[katrina]

I've been following this thread w/great interest. And, I have to say...there was a couple of times where just reading your posts made my back ache. LOL!

Congrats on your finished product...it looks awesome!! Excellent job!

[shadytrake]

Did a bit of cleanup yesterday. Also installed these two wire racks that someone had thrown to the curb. I love curb alert finds! The clean walkway shows a single brick step. That will have 5 added to make a substantial step. Not a necessity at the moment. Will probably do that next weekend.

Yesterday I completed a full inventory inspection and re-tagging session until I ran out of label tape.

Total orchids including seedlings: 350. Today is fertilizing day! The orchids just love my new mixture of Klite, kelp, worm tea, and a bit of epsom salts. The first time I used the mixture, I had zero burn on the paphs and phrags.

Also a photo of Stanhopea embreei fully opened yesterday morning. Enjoyed it with my coffee and inventory paperwork.

[shadytrake]

As promised, here is the breakdown of our costs. We did extensive customization to our GH for the orchids. The planned budget was ~$2500 and we went slightly over at $2924.24 (partially because we had to purchase some specialized tools).

Large Items:
HFGH 10'x12' kit with super coupon on sale - $603.05
Evaporative Cooler - $370.36
Exhaust Fan/Var Speed control/30% shade cloth - $290
50% shade cloth - $123.67
Firebrick - $127.55
Brick - $100
Safetylite concrete load - $70
Weather stripping - $60
Canlet lights - $34.65
Pea Gravel load - $30
Barrels - $30
Sink base - $30
Rocket Mass Book - $26.50
Rocket Mass plans - $20

Tools we had to purchase - $224.64 (metal shears, welder, grinder, hand tools for digging)
Tool Rental - $49.27 (Roto Hammer Drill)

Construction/plumbing/electrical materials - $734.55

Items we already had or scored for free
Refractory Cement 5 gallon bucket - free (if you had to purchase $75)
Romex Wire 200' - already had
Orbit Mister timer and system - already had
Various hoses - already had
Bread Tray shelves - already had
2 wire shelves - already had
1 x 4' T5 light - already had
1 x 4' T8 light - already had
Outlets and switch - already had
2 wire racks - free
curb alert brick urbanite - free

Considering that pro greenhouses start at $2K excluding labor/electrical/plumbing/heating/cooling, I think we did very well.

Edit to add: $3 for Schlage door handles from the Habitat Re-Store. Hubby had some nice oak that he custom cut with his router table, then polyurethane for waterproofing.

Then he found some screen in the attic and cut some custom drain screens for the watering system (after I clogged it with bark).

Total: $2927.24

[Cntry]

Not bad at all for a project and a place you can excape to on a cold day and see the beauty that will surround you each and every day.

[My Green Pets]

Thank you thank you and thank you for your extremely detailed thread. What a reference!

[EricaMarie]

Wonderful! Thank You for giving us all an accurate and detailed account of this endeavor. Very jealous, as are my plants.

[shadytrake]

Quick update as the fall weather is upon us. We haven't needed to fire up the RMH yet. The 10 day is still hovering in the 70s-80s. I suspect that it won't be long now.

[Ray]

Melissa, when I lived in SC, my "benches" were bread trays, and each one sat on a 55-gallon steel drum. They were painted back, and filled with water and antifreeze (to prevent rusting). After a couple of weeks of sunshine, they held enough heat that my electric backup heater never came on for most of the winter!