Problem assembling Rion Prestige greenhouse

I recently purchased a Rion Prestige 8 X 12 greenhouse kit. I had 6 of the 12 top sheets of glazing installed wnen I was interrupted by a short hospital stay. Three weeks later I found that I could not fit the remaining RD1 pieces into the E2 horizontal pieces. They will not go into the grooves of E2. I get them started and they just snap out. I do not have the strength to press them in by hand. Gentle tapping with a light mallet will start them, but they still snap out and begin to show strain. The lips which go into the E2 grooves finally begin to break. I must be doing something wrong as the first half went fine. Temperature has been around 80 degrees. Can someone help me rescue my project? Thank you.

Well shoot, if I lived in Tx I would come help you. I have a rion and found those roof pieces really hard to put on. My DH finally saved me and put them on. He had a hard time also. Wish I had more advice, maybe someone else knows more.
Linda

We put the roof together the same day. I don't remember any problem with panels not fitting. Can you move your assembly area to a different spot. With only half the roof assembled it's not stable. Since you had to leave it unfinished for three weeks, there's a good possibility the frame has shifted a bit because of conditions (rain, wind, heat, whatever.) Check all the little plugs, make sure they're pushed in all the way. I would try to move the roof to a new assembly spot though, some place flat and level. Can't think of anything else that might be causing your problem. Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress.

Diana

I have a different brand not a Rion, but I have to second the thought about things shifting. Also if your GH isn't completely level, that can cause similar problems. Because I was trying to build my GH on a slope (shimming up the low end with 2x4's) I wasn't able to get things perfectly level--it was close but just the teensiest bit off, and I had lots of problems with panels not fitting right or popping out after I got them in.

Thank you all for your replies. The roof assembly sits in my back yard. As far as the frame shifting, I can't see what difference that would make since the pieces in question do not appear to be affected by position. Am wondering if there is a "curing" or hardening that occurs after the plastic is in the open or lays out of the box making the material less flexible. First out of the box and immediately assembled, things went so easy I can't even remember doing it. I even made some wooden clamps to push the RD1 pieces into place and couldn't force them to seat. The one piece I was able to seat yesterday finally went in with difficulty. I wonder more about the hardening effect or slight dimensional changes between batches.
Bill

I found the easiest way to get them in was using the rubber mallet. I'd start at the top and tap in 4-6". After that, most I could squeeze with my hands but some I had to tap all the way to the ends. Getting them started is a real bear!

I hope you are recovering well from your hospital stay.

Thank you all again for your comments. It was 90 today in TX and I was able to finish the top roof glazing. Have concluded that slight dimensional differences may be part of my problem. Some of the RD1 pieces will go in easily, others resist bottoming out and snap back out. After continued squeezing and tapping with the mallet, begin to show strain (light green where they bend) and finally fracture. Have to discuss this with Rosemary at Rion on Monday. Thank you all again. Bill

I hope you don't break too many panels. If you buy a Rion replacement panel it will cost around $90 including shipping. Ouch! We had some left over pieces because of the extra roof vents I got. We pieced them together and made a new wall panel because the original panel blew out and the farmer drove over it with his tractor. Of course it had to be the panel next to the door, so the first thing one sees is the patched panel held together with clear shipping tape. It works for me for now. It blew out again this winter, but landed inside the GH instead of the neighbors field. So hubby and I were out there in the freezing cold putting it back together with new tape. I'm going to have to buy a new panel eventually, it's the weakest link in the whole GH. Out here in the boonies we get some nasty west winds.

Did you write to them about the piece? They have been very good to replace things for me at no cost. Also can you find a way to make a brace for that piece out of wood or something and screw through the makeshift panel to hold it in?

I'm in the process of building a lattice trellis to cover with some sort of vine to break some of the wind that hits the end of the greenhouse. Would that be an option for you? We are wide open and windy here too.

I contacted the US distributor, STC, System Trading Corporation, They will send me a panel for $41.00. That's better than $90. Your trellis idea sounds like a plan too. I could plant a vine in a big container, since I'm surrounded by cement.

I have an update re my difficulty in snapping some of the RD1 pieces into the E2s. I determined that I got two different production runs of RD1s which have very subtle dimensional differences. The "good" ones had snapped right in with just light tapping with my mallet, they bottomed on both sides and were very solid, the "bad" ones would NOT bottom on the inside looking from inside the roof, they never would bottom no matter how much pressure I put on them, even with some wooden clamps I made. They would also snap out with only a little force. I found about a .040" gap with a light green line (strain?) showing under the inside lip looking from inside the roof. I could not mike the questionable ones because ten pieces had been installed, except for two which I wrecked trying to force them in. So I was apprehensive about the integrity of the structure.

I called Rion Customer Service and described in detail what I had found. She kindly agreed to send me twelve replacement RD1s along with some miscellaneous pieces I need. I also asked about the difficulty I have run into sliding the first two PN2 panes into place, a tight fit. Am afraid of damaging the PN2s as it has required considerable tapping with a mallet even with a block tightly sandwiching the pane. She suggested that I carefully level the entire roof frame, which I will do, as alignment of the entire structure is critical. Does anyone have any comments about that?

I thank you all for your comments and apologize for being so long-winded. I will keep the trellis idea in mind as well as STC Systems. Thanks again. Bill

I think she's right. Level is the operative word here. Hope you get it up soon with no more problems.

I had the same problem with the RD1's. I took a pair of pliers and manually compressed the two snap in legs together. Some then snapped right in, others needed another tweaking or two. It amazed me because I'm a big strong guy and without this adjustment could not get them to snap in. Wait until you try to install the roof compression cables. They're really fun.

We are struggling with a Rion Greenline which is made with a metal frame. My DH and I are on the verge of divorce. Currently sitting in the house fuming. It is only 6x8 , sounds easy enough. First crack out of the box the plastic strips that hold the window in curled up like pretzels. The distributor replaced those free of charge but it took 3 days to get them. If we get 2 window panels in per day it is a miracle.6 out of 31 panels now in. If it weren't as much of a pain to take it down, we would load it in the pickup truck and dump it on the door of the nearest Costco warehouse where we got it. What should have been 2 days is now into the 3rd week and going nowhere!

Christi

It is on a credit card and I am tempted to stop payment in order to get someone's attention. We have contacted every number we can find and still no help.

Try contacting Rosemary (the parts person for Rion) at 1-877-407-9100. She is with Systems Trading, who are the US importers of Rion Greenhouses. Or try contacting Roy Tamer, also at Systems Trading Corp. 1-888-404-7626, email: roy.tamer@friendlyrobotics.com

I can imagine your frustration. Hang in there.

Here is the Rion that we have been battling. Costco has offered to pick it up for a full refund. We are too close now. Have only 8 more pieces to do to finish the roof. That should take only 3 more days. Installing the plastic strips to hold the panels in is next to impossible. We may just purchase some sort of caulking to finish. It is not rocket science. The pieces just don't match.

Hi all,

All I can say is Oh No.....

My Rion GH came today, two boxes still on back order.
I was so happy a minute ago. Now I am thinking what did I get myself into

Does anyone have a happy story for me?

I am so sorry about your situation and frustration

Amos

Amos, which model did you buy? I had no problem putting mine up. It was up about a year and we bought a new house so I took it down, took it to my new house and put it back up. I got another one last year and put it up. I actually did lumber bases and the greenhouses by myself, only having my husband help me set the roofs on.

My best advice is to sort and count your parts before you do anything else.

I would suggest keeping all of the plastic parts, if there are any, inside a temperature controlled environment until you need each individual piece. I don't think that is the problem but I would cover every base. We are very accomplished DIY. This should have been about a day and a half. We are in the 3rd week. Guess I should 10 days to be fair. Can't stay with it every single day. The plastic strips just do not fit.

Good luck.

Christi

I, too, was very excited.

My deepest sympathies for your troubles. My advice is just to work on it a little bit every day, that's what we did. Keep on the phone to customer service, they're your best ally.
Our greenhouse was quite a bit bigger, and took us a lot longer to put up, but by some miracle our marriage survived, lol. We were on the phone with technical support almost every day, and sometimes several calls a day... The tech support guy is practically a member of the family now. We had some visitors and stopped work on the GH for about 2 weeks, and the next time we called tech support he told us he had been so worried when we didn't call that he thought we fell off and were in the hospital or something!!
Hang in there and just do a little each day, keep pestering your customer service and they will help you.

My best advice is to put the gh on level ground and measure and re-measure everything. If it says beams should be 3 ft apart, don't let them be 3ft 1 inch- you may regret it!

Thanks for the encouragement. I am NOT A QUITTER! Not yelling at you. Just emphasizing. I don't know how to do italics here.

I would really, really love to have your greenhouse, lake.

Oh, I know you're not a quitter, hon. Otherwise you would have had Costco come and pick it up! I was just trying to offer some encouragement from someone who has been there. We got our GH "kit" delivered in Feb and it was sometime in October that it was finally finished.
I saved my paycheck for a long, long time to get that thing. My husband was furious at first but now he kind of likes it.

Lake, have studied your picture. Appears to have metal framework as does my little dog house. How are the coverings installed? I have seen some on the website that are pvc pipe and appear to be somewhat easier. This was on a on-line clearance from Costco and I thought it would work for all the potted plants I bring inside every winter. It is close enough for a small heater and the water hose. Not for seeding or anything fancy. If I bring the plants in the house they die from the gas heat, if I put them in the garage they are in the way. Last winter we put them in the little tool barn you see near the GH (believe that takes liberties with the word) and they did much better. Of course, for the price, even at a mark down, I could just throw them all out and start over every spring. For what we as gardeners spend, we could probably have a fresh bouquet delivered every morning from the florist. lol Alas, the garden is what saves sanity for most of us and that can't be measured in dollars. BTW, hardly a comparison, but what do you use for flooring?

Christi

I hear you, Christie! I recently looked at an old website I had that had a list of all my plants, and realized almost all had gone to the big garden in the sky. I REALLY try not to think about the money I've spent, otherwise I just get sick! But hey, better plants than drugs or booze, I guess!
Yes, our sheets were a horror to connect too. There are two plastic pieces that snap around the sheets of polycarbonate. one person had to be on the inside holding it up or pushing on it, and someone on the outside had to be hitting it so the two pieces would snap together. It was really hard to get the plastic pieces cut to fit, I have a few little holes where they were cut too short. I don't know if this makes sense- I'm not a great explainer, a visual would help!
My husband swore curved roofs were the devils design, so hard to measure, couldn't just have a line from A to B.
The polycarbonate also has screws going through it into the roll form beneath. That was another effort, because it was hard work to get the screws to go through the plastic and then through the metal.
We only got up 3 pieces of the roof, and then hired some guys who brought a cherry picker to do the rest. I'm sure you're running into the same problem, just can't reach some spots unless you have wings! But outside of them putting the polycarbonate on, and running electrical and water out there, we did everything ourselves. My husband did all the wiring, I was so proud of him.
Hubby wanted to get a gravel floor, but our soil is so dry and rocky, I just have dirt for the floor. The trouble is, dust from the floor kicks up and all the plants are covered with it. I'm not sure what we're going to do in the future.

Some days you just can't win. Down to 2 panels left and there aren't enough parts. We counted them before we ever started. When they reshipped the strips to affix the panels, they didn't ship enough. Now it is Saturday. They are closed. Call them Monday. Maybe get the parts Wednesday. Then DH is busy with something else. aaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhh

C.

Yikes. We are in the process of putting up our 8x16 Rion Prestige. My DH says it is a nightmare. I guess if you're good at diagrams it might be easy. We are in a fairly windy area so we are using a trench with a wood/gravel base. Then we plan to build a wind barrier, like privacy fence panel at the end where the prevailing wind is. Reading all the prob;ems people have setting up these Rions is making me think we made a mistake by choosing this one. Thanks for all the suggestions, it helps. Nanadee

Surprise, surprise. Sent an e-mail to the manufacturer this weekend with all of our woes. First thing this morning "Roy" called. He is the national service manager. Would you believe he lives here in the Dallas area? He is coming Wednesday morning to check out all of the problems we have been having. In some ways, I guess we are lucky.

Christi

Good for you Christi! I hope he'll help with your problems.
Nanadee, I'm sure the problems aren't just with Rion greenhouses. Mine wasn't a Rion and we had problems.
I think it lies in having a pre made kit, and not being professional builders! Actually, you can probably cover little problems much easier in a house with shims and whatever, a greenhouse has to fit together perfectly!

Oy, I am reading all I can to learn about the different gh's,and I'm ready to not have one.LOL
Hope you get yours fixed....
Anyone have a recommendation?

Christi, we need an update!

Pyewacketcat, I would never go back, I love my gh too much, and would get one again, but companies should not advertise them as simple to erect...

I won't need one for awhile,but I'll keep reading,thanks.... Becki

Should have reported before this but family obligations have kept me busy. Roy and his son came and they were delightful. We discussed the instructions and he said he would recommend some changes there. Also made some of the instructions clearer, they just didn't go quite far enough. One other problem could be quickly taken care of if they cut the window plastic supports into three pieces.
We'll see. However, I wouldn't take for my playhouse now. We have had very late frost the last two nights and it stayed really toasty with no heater. Didn't expect to need it until the fall. Have sorted my garden tools and lots of things were needing to go and now it is great. It got to over 100 a couple of days and we used the top that belongs to a little EZ-UP type canopy and it just fits. Brought the temps down about 20 degrees. love it, love it, love it.

This was a recent rainy day. Have since tied up the tails that are hanging down each corner.

Looks just great, and the garden does too! Now let's see some plants in there! lol