Grow Your Own: The New Greenhouse, Part Argh.
by John Weckerle
Work continues apace on the ShelterLogic greenhouse, purchased from TractorSupply.com, that is intended to replace the hoop house over Bed 5 – depending, of course, on one’s definition of “apace.” We find ourselves now six or seven hours into a project that should be, according to the little picture of the clock in the manual, a three-hour effort. We also find ourselves having assembled only what might be called either peak or arch pieces. By the end of the project, we will likely have to purchase a couple of replacement rubber mallets (these are actually among the “tools needed” cave drawings in the manual). It is nearly certain that our entire herd of Blue Streaks will also have to be replenished, as the epithets hurled in their direction are certain to either be fatal or have a sterilizing effect. One can never have a sufficient supply of Blue Streaks at hand during a challenging project.
And challenging this one is, primarily due to the physical exertion needed to simply slip one piece into another. Now, before we get started, we understand the need for structural elements to fit together tightly. And neither are we assembly wimps; we come from that age in which “some assembly required” meant constructing a bicycle from a kit that came with some iron ore, a hammer and tongs, and a Zippo lighter (fluid not included). However, throughout the assembly process thus far we have noted some manufacturing issues that lead to difficulty in assembly, and we will pass these on in advance of our final assessment of the product. For example, holes through which bolts must be placed do not generally line up well – specifically, getting two holes lined up on one side of a two-tube assembly typically results in the two holes on the other side being “off” by an eighth of an inch or more. “Pushing” two pieces together as far as they can go has often produced a similar result, with one or both holes not properly lining up. Overall, we suspect that the design and manufacturing processes could benefit from a greater degree of precision, including taking the thickness of the coating into account and ensuring that emplacement of the holes does not result in an outward “dimpling” (if there’s any such thing as an “outie” dimple) of the metal on the inside piece.
We remain optimistic with respect to final assembly, but note that, at least for this year, we will likely be gaining more time at the end of the season than at the beginning. One way or another, we anticipate gaining more vegetables!