greenhouse roof repair

does anyone know anyone in the san francisco bay area that fixes greenhouse roofs?

That's funny. I found this post by searching for the EXACT SAME THING, only in Tallahassee, FL. Not a single greenhouse contractor or supply seller within 100 miles of me, that I can tell.

Looks like we'll have to pay our friends in beer and pizza to help us.

Or did you manage to find someone in the Bay Area to repair yours?

We may be able to help arrange or find a contractor to help you with your repairs, or at the very least we could provide some technical advice if you decide to do it yourself. Depending on the repair, it shouldn't be that difficult to perform with some free or cheap labor if you want to go that route. What kind of covering needs the repair work?

The greenhouse was homemade by the previous owner of my house. It's wood-framed and covered with corrugated plastic panels. Tree limbs fall on the corrugated plastic and shatter big holes in it.

The easy repair would be to simply replace the corrugated plastic, but it's brittle and the first time another hurricane hits me (I'm sitting through Fay right now!), I'll have more holes. So I don't think that's a very good permanent solution.

I'd sort of like to go with polycarbonate panels. My understanding is they'd hold up better. I don't think I can install them by myself. Seems like it would be at least a two-person job. I have no idea how to attach panels to the roof framing.

The greenhouse is wired for power, so there's electricals to worry about.

When the weather clears up a bit, I'll try to post some pics.

So far, all internet searches have netted no greenhouse vendors within 100 miles of me and I haven't been able to find a contractor who works on this sort of thing.

You might check with UF/IFAS to see if they have a recommendation for builders or companies.
http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/agriculture/nursery_and_greenhouse/production_practices.html
They have a TON of GH information on the web. Hopefully they'll be able to help you.

You can drill a screw right through the polycarbonate, and have a special neoprene washer on it so the roof doesn't leak at that point. There are also plastic connectors that you can use to put between the sheets of polycarbonate, such as these H connectors http://www.poly-tex.net/pages/accessories/replacement/polycarb/polycarb.html
You lay the base down, line up the pc sheets side by side on it, and then snap on the top- sort of works like a ziploc bag.

It's sort of hard to explain without pictures....

Even polycarbonate doesn't last very long and does get brittle. I think they told us ours would last 10 years.
If you like I can take some photos of the screws and the H connectors.

Polycarbonate really isn't that difficult to install. It's basically the same as installing the corrugated, or any other roofing material, except you need to find a solution for sealing the edges where the panes meet. This can be as simple as aluminum flashing, or more sightly like th H-channels mentioned by lakesidecallas, and even an aluminum glazing bar and cap system (which is what we use most often and recommend).

Here's a PDF http://www.igcusa.com/Catalogs/Multi%2520Install.pdf might help to give you an idea of how to install the panels. It would be at least a two person job depending on the size of the panels, but they go up pretty easy. It's great stuff really, and easy to work with. And the longevity should not be a problem. They are warrantied for 8 years, but I see no reason why they wouldn't last at least double that.

That's very helpful!

But pc panels that will go on the roof of my GH will have to be at least 6-8' long. I am 5' 2" and weigh 130 on a good day. Regardless of how lightweight they are (or not), there's no way I can manhandle pc panels by myself. I need at least one other person to hold one end, dig me?

I'd forgotten about this thread in the throes of peak hurricane season, but again, I'll try to get out there and post pics...

Ike punched out three panels on my greenhouse in Kentucky. Fortunately, it didn't damage the panels, and I just put them back up. I still need to find a source for the clips that hold the panels in. They didn't send enough of the large clips with the original purchase. It is a pro2- greenhouse form farm teck.

We couldn't find anyone in our area to help put up our PC roof, somehow we stumbled onto a "handyman repair" place that did the work. A great bonus was that they had a truck with a basket for getting up to the high parts. Our gh is on the side of the hill so it would have been almost impossible to reach from the lower hill side.