My cold frame arrived on Tuesday, but I hit a snag when trying to assemble it. This particular cold frame is from the Palram brand, and just in case you find yourself buying one, I figured out a trick to operating their weird hardware. The tip of the screw used for the aluminium parts looks like a drill bit.
I had a problem getting it all the way into the aluminium pieces of the door frame. I had to use the screw to pre-drill all of those pieces because the slot was too tight for the tip. I found that I could pry the slot wider by wedging it open with the screwdriver.
All slots need to have all the screws in all the way and taken out before trying to actually assemble anything.
Take out the screw, and fit the side piece over the longer bar. It helps if you start it at an angle, but you can also use pliers to pinch the wedged open bar back to its original shape. Now you can put the screw in and leave it there. It won't be falling apart.
Here's the finished product. I put it next to a tree since the cold weather plants inside the cold frame can have extra shade during the summer.
At last, I was done, and glad of it. My hand now has a couple extra blisters from operating the manual screwdriver. The power drill did nothing because it automatically stops when the pressure gets too high. This was a construction of pure brute strength, along with a little bending of parts. When I was done, I was left with a big cardboard box to dispose of.
It seemed a waste to just throw it away, so instead I am using it to break down the grass and leaves under the cold frame outside. I cut it into four pieces and put a piece in each corner of the cold frame. Later I can use it for mulch by ripping it up some more and putting it on the ground around stems to keep moisture in and weeds out.
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