AMERLIFE 8x12x7FT Polycarbonate Greenhouse, Walk in Greenhouse with Quick-Connect System, Green House with 4 Vent Windows and Swing Lockable Door, Greenhouses for Outdoors, Sunroom Black

The media could not be loaded. I ordered and assembled the greenhouse several months ago, but wanted to wait until it was up for a while before reviewing. So far, I'm very satisfied with this purchase.In spite of the advice in the instructions, I assembled this by myself. It would be much easier with an extra set of hands, but it is doable by yourself.The instructions are okay... they are definitely "Chinglish", but they are (for the most part) accurate and complete. There were a few head scratchers along the way, but it wasn't too bad if you took your time and paid attention.I recommend having a table or flat surface for the assembly of components. This will simplify things and help keep the parts organized.The key is to ensure the ground is flat and the base is square. If not, I can see where you will run into issues during the last steps.I had no missing parts, but there was not a "buffer" inventory, so don't misplace anything or you will come up short.The space and features on this greenhouse are exactly what I needed. However, for convenience, I recommend retrofitting automatic vent openers for the roof vents. Since this has been installed, it has survived several severe storms with high winds and heavy rain. Prior to adding the automatic openers, the roof vents flapped around and were slightly damaged during a storm. Once the openers were added, there have been no more issues.I am satisfied with the size, quality and overall environment within the greenhouse. For me, this has been an excellent purchase.

I am pleased with the way this greenhouse turned out. I've never had a greenhouse before, so I have nothing to compare this to, but it still looks nice.Before I go too much further, I will mention that we stopped by our city planning office to ask whether we need permits to build this greenhouse. Because of the type of structure, they told us that we could get a permit if we want a city inspector to come inspect it once we assemble it, but otherwise, it is not legally required. It's always a good idea to determine whether you need a permit or not.I do have some comments on the assembly. I give this a 4 star rating because the instructions were not always clear on how we were supposed to proceed. The product description says that it takes 6-7 hours for two people to assemble the greenhouse, but it took us quite a bit longer. We took the first picture on Jan 16, the second day after we started assembly. We finished on Jan 23, 8 days after we started. To be fair, we skipped a couple of days since it snowed and was too cold to do anything outside, so the assembly took 7 days, about 4-5 hours per day. The second and third pictures were taken after we finished assembling it.The instructions were written in fairly good English, without some of the grammatical errors that I have seen in other products made in China. However, they were not completely clear. For example, the polycarbonate panels were wrapped in white plastic on one side, clear plastic on the other, and the white side was supposed to go on the outside. That seems clear enough, except that at the very beginning of the assembly process, it was difficult to tell which side was ultimately going to be the outside. This was a problem for putting together the windows and doors. We did figure this out, but it took quite a bit of looking at the diagrams and looking at later steps in the instruction manual to finally get it right.I'm not certain that the product listing made it clear that you can set this greenhouse up directly on the ground or on a solid base. Because of this uncertainty, I decided to make a paver base to set the greenhouse on. I think it worked well this way. We did not truly realize that it could have been assembled directly on the ground until we saw the first step of assembly, which involves placing stakes that go down into the ground or are pointed up for a solid base.I did not take notes of the more challenging steps of assembly. I will just say that on certain steps, I ended up having to read the instructions several pages ahead and look very carefully at diagrams. The instructions start with advice to read the entire instruction booklet before starting. I did that, but merely reading it is not the same as having to figure out what it means during the assembly process.Many of the metal pieces were covered with a protective layer of plastic. We peeled it off some of the smaller pieces, but not the larger pieces.Some of the metal pieces were dented or bent. I think this probably happened during shipping. We used a pry bar to open up some of the dents as needed to proceed with assembly. Overall, despite the dents, the greenhouse parts were very well packaged and we received all necessary parts. Three tools are included to help with assembly, but only two were actually useful. The nuts and bolts are all 10 mm, but only one end of one wrench was 10 mm. In addition, the list of needed tools and supplies provided at the beginning of the instructions is not complete. We also needed a drill bit capable of drilling into brick or concrete, which is necessary if you are not installing the greenhouse directly on the ground.The windows have about a 1/2 inch gap on the hinge side. We have decided to install weather stripping to block this gap. Luckily, the window closures are quite adjustable, so adding weather stripping will not affect our ability to close the windows. We think this is necessary to help retain the heat from our little greenhouse heater.The greenhouse gets quite warm when the sun is out. But once the sun is down, it quickly drops to exterior temperatures. So we open the windows during the day and close them at night. The heater is set to run whenever the temperature drops below a certain threshold.Overall, we are happy with this greenhouse.

I wish they'd let me edit the Instructions. Very simple additions would save so MUCH time during assembly. Such as stating on Page-01 that the white Part Number Stickers are (usually) stuck on the TOP of the part --i.e., when installed, the Sticker (on vertical pieces) will be "UP." Why isn't this helpful too mentioned. •••. Thankfully, all parts were incl. No missing parts. 2nd Tip: Internet says 100% Silicone is best for Polycarbonate. Why isn't this mentioned in instructions? Also, a tutorial on how to caulk the Panels w/ sticky Silicone Caulk w/ out making a holy mess. ••• The PCV interlocking 12x12 tiles really dress up the Greenhouse. I bought 112-tiles, perfect fit for 8'x14'. Nice cushion, better than walking on a cement floor. ••• I did use the Wedge Anchors incl., they take a 5/16 (#8) Masonry Bit + Hammer Drill set on "Hammer." Pour *water* in the holes while you're drilling into cement, will cut like hot butter. ••• Caulking is a bear but helps keep moisture/ mold at bay. ••• I love my new greenhouse so much I bought a 2nd one 8x16 on sale for Black Friday. It fits more of my Citrus Trees than I thought it would. ••• Both Greenhouses I bought are QUICK CONNECT. Make sure yours are! I wish Instructions were clearer about which orientation the Pieces face, up or down. I had to watch several YouTube videos at times to figure out if Part-xyz faces this way or that. Most helpful video was Brian E. Niskala YouTube on 8x12 Quick Connect. It's 20:20 duration & I watched it a lot to figure out which way the Parts are oriented. If you don't pay attention to this, you'll do loads of unnecessary dis-assembly. •••BEST TIP••• When installing Roof Rails on either side of Windows MAKE SURE you slide in the correct quantity of upside-down Bolts for the flat black plates (photo) that hold the Windows in. Otherwise you'll be taking it apart. Don't ask how I know this.