Hi - new to the forum here and thought I might gather some advice about greenhouse recommendations. I’m in zone 6b/7a and am looking at something that would allow me to grow tropical fruit. I’ve used a grow tent in the basement with success but wanted something more permanent. Looking at something in the 8x12 dimension and am flexible on price. Some of my research so far:
Mine are diy so can’t help you choose a branded greenhouse. My main advice is to research both active (heaters, heating mats etc.) & passive heat sources (large black barrels of water or even a heated pond in greenhouse) to keep your tropicals alive in the middle of winter. I have a small greenhouse within my big diy greenhouse and can plug in a couple of lights to warm my most cold sensitive trees while providing radiant heat to the rest of the big greenhouse).
My preference would be towards the Riga over the Grandio. My reason is the Riga uses commercial type glazing, that is full sheets of polycarb on the outside of the framing (for the most part). The Grandio has framing (probably aluminum) which runs from inside to out, a big heat loss in cold weather, and a lot more seams to leak.
I built my GH’s from scratch. Both are a lean-to design. The first was wood framed, and it is doing OK, but for my second I used commercial GH square steel tubing (much less maintenance and stronger). It’s not too hard to do a wood frame for a GH and cover it in polycarb. You can get polycarb many places, online, commercial GH cos and even big box HW stores can order it in; best if if you can buy it from a local GH co or big box store as shipping is very expensive. You also might check with your local GH commercial GH stores and see if they carry any smaller models.
A lot depends on if you wanted this GH to play a role as a sun room too. If so, most people prefer glass glazing to the polycarb when they are sitting inside it (unless you need privacy).
Steve - I agree the Riga seems like a better product but it’s double the cost of the Grandio. I do believe in the “get what you pay for” adage - just have a budget to work on. Building a DIY greenhouse might be too much to take on right now so I want to stick with a kit. This will strictly be a greenhouse and not a sunroom.
Understand. You might want to check out sundance supply. Not sure it is cost effective to buy from them unless you can pick up locally, at least on the large sheets, but they have some good info on framing and construction. If nothing else, it would give you an idea of what to look for and how it should be done…
BTW, when I built my second GH, I basically ordered 1/2 of a commercial kit and modified it. I was amazed at how much cheaper that was than going to these “home GH” companies for something similar in size but poorly made.
The greenhouse with the big sloping roof is a design I would use if I only had room to build another greenhouse in my backyard. The big sloped roof maximizes the sun’s energy if it’s south facing (at least here in Canada).