Harbor Freight Greenhouse 10x12 Review & Customizations

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Harbor Freight Greenhouse 10x12 Review & Customizations - We have setup a Harbor Freight Greenhouse here at the homestead. In this video we will review what we think of it and share some of the customizations we have done and plan to do as well. We hope you enjoy the video and look forward to your comments. Thank you for your support.

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I love my greenhouse. Wanted one since I was a little girl. Thank you my love.

jessicahulse

We have the same greenhouse, but it does require a TON of customization and reinforcements to last beyond one or two 30mph wind events and to be user-friendly.

Some of our upgrades that we did from the start:

We ran power to the greenhouse so we can have overhead lights, worktable lighting, and a thermostat-controlled exhaust fan. Reinforcement of the frame is important too. We've used aluminum stock from Home Depot to make reinforcements to the upper door track and ridge. Then again, we also added some angled aluminum stock to create a framework for a 16" vent fan in with front top panel above the door. We've made closeable vents on the lower rear the building to allow fresh air to be drawn in as the heat escapes through the upper vents, and they can be closed off during winter months when the exhaust fan is not used and the roof vents are closed. We like the "idea" of temp-controlled closers on the vents, but they really aren't useful when you need to close the vents for high wind during high temperatures (think hurricane weather), and keeping this thing buttoned up during periods of high wind is CRITICAL. If you don't, the suction and pressure created through the greenhouse will have panels blowing 2 or 3 houses away after they come free of the framework. Last on high wind: we live in SE North Carolina, and we're prone to hurricane force winds. When that much wind is coming, we remove ALL of the polycarbonate panels and leave the framework exposed to the wind, which is not so easy when the panels get taped closed like you did at the upper edges of the panels on either side of the door - the tape makes a mess on the aluminum frame too...

For the lower frame, we kept that about 50/50 above/below ground and tied that frame to the ground with wind anchors from Home Depot hooked over the inside frame lip and concreted into the ground - it won't blow over if panels are left in during high wind.
We did the same thing with stainless screws and washers that the fellow above did, securing the panels to the aluminum reinforcements on the framework - no brainer on that.
But that brings me to the panels themselves.

Panels don't last very long before they're so yellow that sun can barely get it. We can buy replacement panels from Harbor Freight or the manufacturer via a parts list and 800-number, but the price of the replacement panels is nearly twice the cost of the whole greenhouse - not very cool on the part of HF or the manufacturer...

Another modification/addition was to run a cable that works as a ceiling joist from the top center of the frame on the L to the top center of the frame on the R to correct roof sag that had begun to show up recently. Without any support working to hold the opposing long walls in place, the weight of the roof begins to push the top of the long walls outward slightly. If you put any weight on the roof framing when doing anything up there, it will only make this problem worse - a cable running between those two walls corrects this and prevents future movement.

Doors are flimsy and need some upgrades too: the weird rubber strips that run vertically on each side of the door are pretty much useless for sealing the greenhouse, and both "seals", particularly the one at the inside edge of the door, make getting the door off the track quite difficult - just remove that inner seal even if you make no other modifications to the door; you'll thank me later! To modify the seal design, we took the rubber strips off both sides of the door frame and ran a length of 1/8" thick, 1" or 1-1/4" wide (you'll have to measure that to get the right overhang on the back edge of the door frame) aluminum the length of the door and added foam weatherstripping to the back edge overhand to seal against the vertical wall frame that meets the outer edge of the door when closed (can't remember the thickness of the foam seal, but measure for it with both doors closed, then add a strip just thick enough to meet the vertical support at both sides of the door opening. Another suggestion on doors: put a stainless U-bolt on one of the door slats near where it meets the other door, then put another on the other door opposite with a stainless latch hook on it to have a way to "lock" the doors together - during high wind the building can shake enough to let the doors work open, and if that happens the wind can start doing serious damage to the panels and overall structure. How do I know? Early on, it happened to us. We approached the greenhouse to find one of the doors with a side frame bent to about 75 degrees. We were able to repair the door, which is why we put the latching mechanism on the doors.

The little bearings that the doors roll on need regular maintenance to keep them working properly. About once per year, we take the wheels/bearings out, and wipe the dirt off, then submerge them in an industrial lubricant, then work the bearings with a cordless drill in both directions. When smooth, wipe excess off, and reinstall the bearings. A note on the screws that hold the bearings in: put some anti-seize (or oil) on the screw threads to prevent them from seizing in place. If you don't, you'll likely reach a point where you'll have to cut the roller/bearing/screw off to remove it for replacement.

The threshold plate under the doors is fragile and if you walk on it, or roll things over it (or drop them on the threshold), the track will get jacked up and the doors won't work well. We trimmed the inside vertical edge of the aluminum track (door does not run on this edge) to take away the likelihood that we'd bend it or deform it (did this along the exposed length when the doors are fully open). We also put shimmed up pavers under the track area the width of the door to prevent bends and sags of the track downward, which would cause problems with the door staying on track. Last, we wrote in large black letters "NO STEP" on the lower track the door runs on to prevent damage.

If you're expecting this greenhouse to work well and stay in place as directed following the instructions, you'd best be in a locale that gets almost no wind and be ready to make modifications and repairs along the way. If you don't secure it to the ground, you're going to have a large bounce-house on your hands in high winds. If you don't maintain it, you might be junking it inside of 2 years. If, on the other hand, you maintain it, reinforce it, upgrade it, and take care of it, it will last quite a bit longer. We bought ours in Feb of 2017, and it is still our primary greenhouse on our 1/2 acre lot. In fact, we just bought three (3) more units, one to use for parts maintenance for our 7.5 year old greenhouse (needed replacement panels), and the other two (2) we're going to put up with extensive modifications:

We're going to build the two bases together lengthwise with a bit trimmed off of each to be able to remove the entire rear wall on both units, and install them end to end to create a second larger greenhouse that is 10' wide x 24' long. This is a project that we're aiming to have completed by the end of December 2024...

For the money, these are great little units, but as stated, be ready for repairs and maintenance to make it last.

samdelong

Thanks for your video, I just got mine and the “warning in advance” is much appreciated. I got mine on sale so I’m not going to be too disappointed if it’s not excellent.

islandwitt

Thanks for sharing your experience. I bought a shed kit the same size and it was flimsy. So I put up stud walls on interior to anchor it down. Seems like you’ll get your money out of this greenhouse with your improvements. Your wife seems happy. So you did good.

fivecrosses

Pretty nice setup! Jessica has some talent with building those tables. Very nice. Solar controller arms are a great idea. Veggies are also good to grow, no collard greens for me for please. Thanks sharing friends. 👏👏👍👍🤗🤗

melduncanakamelnetteliving

Love the greenhouse, wish I had room for one in the RV park.

BoxVanDee

My experience:
Two of the roof panels that open for ventilation ripped off in a storm.
The door frame is now broken where the doors meet.
The door on the left is propped up now and must be re-hung, again.
Several panels ripped off in subsequent storms and must be pinned back in.
Now I have to make a frame inside to attach the panels to in order to keep the wind from ripping them out. The panels are yellowing, as well. This greenhouse is 5 years old.

TheSouthernLady

That’s a very good start on your garden! I’m sure you can build one better, seeing some of your other projects. Thanks for the honest review. Good job and good luck to both of you!

JurgensJourneys

Looks good, nice place! Thanks for sharing

NightwatchN

Thank you for this!! We’re in the process of doing this now. This is the first one I’ve seen on a platform!

Barrettbaby

Thanks for the video. I'm thinking about getting one, they are on sale for 500.00 this week.

ranjanty

Jessica excellent work building your greenhouse. Congratulations.

I do not know but 🤔 I still see visions of HH in the future. 😊

Migration begins April 1st. Oklahoma City here we come. Returning to home base NW PA sometime in May.

Be well.

rvvacation

That’s a huge greenhouse! I bought some pots and seeds. Gonna try again to grow some crap. I’m hopeful, but not holding my breath. Maybe if I was ever able to grow a few things, I’d invest in a greenhouse to grow even more. I hear sirens. Oh I think the styrofoam cups sounds like a good idea. Jessie wants me to use tiny boxes. Cuz be easy for transplanting, but the cups would be too. Aw. I should do a sunflower. Just cuz they’re pretty. Oh I don’t think I’d enjoy putting that together. I hate work. And I really hate when I gotta undo work to keep doing more work 😂 Great review!

HappyPlaceCamping

That is awesome. You have that thing battened down for hurricanes! Dude that is where the RV is suppose to be! Your truck isn’t white anymore! What the hell is going on over there?!?!

DreamingOutloudRVing