Although I had originally planned to have a professional builder erect the greenhouse on the kneewall, for financial reasons I decided to try doing it myself with handyman help, and this turned out to be a good decision. First of all, unless it's someone familiar with greenhouse construction, this is a complicated business --- you have to learn to recognize sidewall glazing bars, roof end bars, vent headers, glass stops, cames, and bar caps, and you have to figure out how to make T-bolts behave; all this takes time which a professional builder might not want to spend. Second, interpreting the directions that come with the kit requires a GREAT DEAL of patience! The people who write these instructions don't go out of their way to make it easy for the uninitiated masses. And finally, despite all the frustration, anxiety, and mashed fingers, it is enormously rewarding to see the structure take shape as a result of your efforts.

Day 1: I got up at 5:30 a.m., full of excitement and misgivings. My help didn't arrive until 8:30, but I was already puttering around with roof and gable end bars and splice plates. It took a while for us to figure things out, so we didn't get far that day. We were also hindered by an unrelenting 20-30 mph wind. The first step was assembling the nine arches that span the greenhouse; this is done on the ground, and seemed to take forever. Nine arches lying around the yard weren't very impressive; I was determined to see something "go up" on the kneewall, so we installed four arches. These were extremely wobbly, especially in that blustery wind. We attached the horizontal angle bars, but that didn't help much. So we hit on the idea of stabilizing the arches overnight by looping a rope around each one and anchoring the rope in front and back:

Day 2: We were now veterans, had an extra pair of capable hands, and the wind was blessedly mild, so progress was awesome:

So far, I'm pretty happy with both the manufacturer and distributor of this kit. One piece seems to have been damaged slightly in transit, and both companies were helpful in suggesting ways I could work around the defect. Also, unlike some horror stories I have read, all the parts have been there. Had to drill a couple of holes that were marked but not drilled, but the major problem encountered so far has been mystification about how the door jamb should be installed. I'll have to phone for help with that. And there seem to be two pages missing from the directions, the ones explaining how to install the glazing.

Stay tuned for the next installment. . . .