Carpenter on call? Building the closet

[farnsworth]

Hi all, new to the forum but I've been lurking for about a year now. My plans are to construct a 8X4X6' l/w/h closet, separated into a 2X4' area for mothers and clones, and an adjacent 6X4' area for flowering.

I have 19/32" thick 8X4 plywood sheets, but will I need to construct a frame? I plan on hanging a 250W MH on the mothers and 2 600W HPS on the buds.

I have the experience to grow, but little for carpentry.

 

[FreezerBoy]

A cab of that size would benefit from a frame if only for stability and lesser flex.

 

[B420]

I will second what Freezerboy said, I would use a frame. The frame will add an extra rigidness to the walls that I would feel much more comfortable about. I also believe the frame will make it much easier to wire up with proper junctions and boxes.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

You can split 2x4s into 2x2s. You can also use metal angles. I think the 2x2s would be much stronger.

 

[Asil]

So you have 5/8" plywood. A frame would definetly help out if you intend to beable to move it around. I would look into a Kreg tool for joining your plywood together if you are not going to use a frame. The joints are strong and if you use glue also they really can't be beat.

 

[geopolitical]

19/32 is plenty heavy enough to get away with just a 2x2 frame assuming you're not going to be supporting a ton of weight with it. Areas that would be supporting water reservoirs, etc I would build with 2x4 or better depending on how much weight is going to be supported.

If you won't need to disassemble it anytime soon you can do primary/secondary skin assembly. Attach your frame to the plywood skin with a few screws and some wood glue, the screws will act as a clamp while the glue sets. When this is finished curing the end strength of the panel will be quite a bit greater than conventional screws/nails.

 

[farnsworth]

You can split 2x4s into 2x2s. You can also use metal angles. I think the 2x2s would be much stronger.

2X2s stronger than 2X4s? How is that?

I was also considering building a stand for the lights from pvc piping to avoid putting any load on the box itself. Is that a viable alternative?

I'll probably end up building a frame, anyhow. Like I said, I lack carpentry skills (not for long, hopefully). Any good examples around for building a frame for a box my size?

19/32 is plenty heavy enough to get away with just a 2x2 frame assuming you're not going to be supporting a ton of weight with it. Areas that would be supporting water reservoirs, etc I would build with 2x4 or better depending on how much weight is going to be supported.

The water reservoir would be resting on the floor of the box, so it wouldn't matter would it? Or are you suggesting that I should build an exterior frame for the floor?

 

[geopolitical]

Nope, if it'll be resting directly on the floor and your floor is solid (not soft carpet, etc) you should be fine w/o reinforcing the area the res is on. I wouldn't MOVE it once the res is in and filled but as long as your floor is solid it shouldn't be an issue to not have to built up a frame in that area. The only issue you'd run into with carpet is the bottom panel may "bow" towards the center and throw the rest of your box out of true.

 

[PharmaCan]

If someone can explain to me how to post photos from my old gallery, I can post some framing photos for you. If you can get into my old gallery you can look for yourself.

Geopolitical is on the right track with his instructions about the 2x2's, screws and glue. The 19/32 plywood is plenty strong for what you want to do. The framing is to keep the corners together and maybe one down the middle of each panel to keep it from bulging.

BTW - if ya wanna be a carpenter, it's 4x8 plywood, not 8x4, and you have to learn to use some form of "fuck" in at least every other sentence.

PC

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

2X2s stronger than 2X4s? How is that?

2x2s would be stronger than metal shelf angles, IMO. 2x4s would be strongest but who needs it? The 5/8 plywood is very strong in it's own right, the 2x2s just keep it from bowing and also make it easier to assemble.

I was also considering building a stand for the lights from pvc piping to avoid putting any load on the box itself. Is that a viable alternative?

That's up to you. You could probably hang everything from the plywood ceiling if you want. Some type of bracing on the ceiling might help to attach your hardware. The only other place I can see you needing a rib or two might be centered on the largest panels to help keep them straight.

I'll probably end up building a frame, anyhow. Like I said, I lack carpentry skills (not for long, hopefully). Any good examples around for building a frame for a box my size?

Not sure where you'll find a design for the size you're building. Try sketching it out before you start cutting. I always have a working plan before I start building something. Measure twice, cut once. A carpenter's square would help.

That's gonna be a big heavy mama. I would assemble it wherever it's going to live because I wouldn't want to move it afterward.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Not sure where you'll find a design for the size you're building.

Your local library is the best place to start. They probably wont have an exact match but will have many books on basic cabinetry. Home Depot does too but they want $.

 

[geopolitical]

The time life "basic carpentry" series got me started back in the 70's.

 

[fish83]

just go online, and download some ebooks, rather than go waste money....you can probably find exactly what your looking for

 

[farnsworth]

Yeah, this is going to be constructed in a shed, and it's not going anywhere. I'm looking for ebooks for basic cabinetry, but if anybody has examples or galleries from previous grows that'd be helpful too.

 

[PharmaCan]

Yeah, this is going to be constructed in a shed, and it's not going anywhere. I'm looking for ebooks for basic cabinetry, but if anybody has examples or galleries from previous grows that'd be helpful too.

Try looking for boxes or shipping crates. Cabinetry is a whole different thing from what you're doing.

PC

 

[FRANKENBLUNT420]

what helped me out was having reference books, i have a black and decker home construction book and the complete home repair book from homedepot, the homedepot book goes into basics, while the other book goes into more details.

when building my cabs, i always thought that my frames would have to be special because of wha i was growing, but you learn that the framing principles apply to a house the same as for a cab. framing is framing

my advice is get the base knowledge from the books (and that way youll always have something to refer to) and if you want to get fancy in the design of the cab then you can go online and see whats out there. and besides framing your gonna need basic electrical/wiring, basic ventilation and many other things that you should know, youll also get a knowledge of what wires to use for what applications and all that other stuff that keeps you from burning ur house down

my other thing is that your going to need pictures and txt to reference to anyway do better to have a book in the beginning stages and then go online as you need to, cause not everyone on here has a tutorial of how they built their cabs.

also that 5/8 board is way to heavy for a grow cab. that thick a wood is gonna hold heat no matter how good your venting is. all a cab has to do is be rigid enough to not buckle under venting pressure and reflect light. i say go with a 1/2" OSB board, some 2x2' for framing and deck screws for attachment (get the deck screws in a bulk box, dont bother whith those packs of screws form homedepot, they are very cheap and the heads ream out easy), a waterproof white primer (KILNZ) for the inside. (if you design it well enough you could build it so that you can take it apart if need be, if you go that route then carriage bolts will be your best bet)

good luck and things arent as difficult as they seem and remember: if you build it, they will come

 

[PharmaCan]

Just use the plywood that you already have. There's really no good reason to go out and buy new osb.

PC

 

[farnsworth]

Well, the idea is to build something that isn't necessary stealthy, but still inconspicuous if someone were to take a brief look around. I figured something like a large storage closet would be ideal. Are there any other designs you recommend?

 

[farnsworth]

If I were to construct something out of the 1/2" OSB board and 2X2s, where would I hang the lights? Are the panels strong enough to hold 3 HIDs without collapsing?

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

If OSB is that resin coated stuff, I'd rather use plywood. It's a whole lot easier to work, IMO.

It's not likely your cab will collapse. What you want to avoid is bowing from weight distribution. It would be easy to sketch your idea, take a pic of it and post here. Others would be able to see your concept a little easier and know how to help. If you can't take a pic, sketch something on paint, upload and post. You mentioned the dimensions, just not sure which one's width, height, depth, etc. A working sketch will make construction much easier.

You might get some ideas from tic's soggin box. Sorry, can't find the link atm.