building a box...tips please.

[trentallica]

well good morning. i have spent the last few weeks reading up on what i can about starting an indoor grow. my first thought was to go with a plug in play system, but i had to do a little saving up first, so in my not buying a $2000 prefab time i started looking at tents, and other systems, but the more systems i looked at the more i thought about just building my own grow box.
i know that i want the box to be 44"X48"X 84". my problem is that i will need to take it apart, and put it back together a few times. i would like to build the box in panels that somehow slip, or clamp together, or something. so far the best i can think of is using those clamps that you see on tool boxes that pull and snap the lid down, or maybe some kind of buckle, and strap set up.
can i please get some advice for, or links to a DIY easy to take apart, and put back together grow box ???


thanks for any help

 

[emuman]

best i can think of is using those clamps that you see on tool boxes that pull and snap the lid down, or maybe some kind of buckle, and strap set up.

I would like to suggest hinges like the kind you would find on say... a closet door, the hinge pin is easily removed plus if you did use hinges the entire "box" would not need to be disassembled, you could just kinda fold it up

 

[trentallica]

hmmmmm....hinges. would that give my the stability i need to support the weights of lights, and what not ??

 

[Flyinghigh]

i know that i want the box to be 44"X48"X 84". my problem is that i will need to take it apart, and put it back together a few times.


thanks for any help

Not understanding why you need to take apart, so one can hide it when those Not wanted people come bye.
you'll find that sheet rock screws will be the end thing to keep the lights from shinning in or out..

 

[Locked]

I can appreciate you wanting to build it yourself but that being said I love my tents...light weight, functional, and they can be taken down in 5 minutes if need be....oh and 99 bucks with free shipping was not too bad either....

 

[trentallica]

i found the answer to my problems. i learned a term called " knockdown connectors", and they rock. i cant post links because im so new, but if your also interested in a box that will brake down for quick moving just goggle "knockdown connectors."

 

[Kupunakane]

Yo Ho trentallica,

Welcome to the site friend, your gonna love it here. I'm really
glad you spotted those connectors. I have always been sort of a woodworking buff myself. For my own box I tried 1/2" thick plywood, but it has a tendency to warp if not nailed every 6". I finally settled 3/4" CDX, and have used dowel and pin, so that I might be able to pull my box apart when I wish, but I see now that it is something that does fit into my lifestyle as a great cabinet for many uses when not being utilized as a growbox.

I made the mistake of thinking that I had a good supply of smoke to last me over the winter, and that I would just use the box as a good storage for my garden tools and patio baskets to winter in. Suddenly I could imagine all the critters that I might risk bringing into it and getting myself into trouble come the spring. One thing I can say for certain is think it through very carefully and plan well as there are so many things to consider such as is the size going to be what I really want and what would be the perfect dimensions for the perfect light.

My box measures 3'6"deep X 4'6"wide X 6'6" Tall and that is a cut down of what I originally put together. I use a 400Watt HPS in there, and all would seem just too perfect, but a touch more for the tall, and it would be too sweet, (Sativa's you know?)...

Hope that you get together what you have in your minds eye as that will get good to you after awhile. LOL

smoke in peace
KingKahuuna

 

[trentallica]

as i see it right now ill mostly be growing indcia, or indica hybrid, but who knows im sure sativa will make it in there. thats why i want to keep at 7 feet tall. i want to see how this box works out before i plan the veg/clone box. a lot of those plug and play boxes are a lot smaller then my box, and they have a clone, and flower chamber. maybe ill raise the floor and put a clone chamber in the bottom. i keep thinking about that 44"X48" part. i wounder if that might be too much. im only interested in growing about 6 to 8 plants. i think i can go smaller, and maybe use a 400w instead of the 600w i had in mind. your box is very similar in size to what i was planing on using. my i ask how many plants you keep ?
3/4" CDX. damn i was hoping on using something a lot thinner. what is CDX ?? would a coat of good paint help stop the warping ?? i was thinking of screwing 1/4 plywood to a frame work of 2"X4"s. with 1/2" plywood for the top and bottom.

 

[Flyinghigh]

LOL King I know what you mean about being prepare because when I made my first box 3x4x7 that would Only hold 5 plants and had a small place to put the box into my shed because of all my son Stuff I been holding on for 17 yrs.:holysheep: I had a chance to get rid of it when my Daughter moved to Arkie and BYE BYE to 17 yr of wasted space that made my grow room BIGGER when I seen Space.
My area now is 2 parts 3x3x7 for veggie with a 400 watt and a 7x6x8 for flowering that I can hold about 12 plants and that pushing the space with 1400 watt which Not enough lights but it will do, right after I buy some mylar to down size alittle..

Trentallica think about the size your going to build and it make all the differents, because if your wanting to grow in your size box, then about 5 plants or so is all you can get into that room with 5 gal buckets.
Once it build you be scrathing your head wonderin why I Didn't go bigger.

 

[trentallica]

i was thinking of converting a family sized laundry basket into a 6 plant DWC system. that would take up a lot less room then 5 gal buckets. 12 plants in a 7X6 area is 1 plant per 3.5 sf. i know im new to this, but that seems a bit roomy compared to others. is there a general rule of thumb for how much square feet to plane for for each intended plant in a DWC system. ???

 

[Droopy Dog]

I can appreciate you wanting to build it yourself but that being said I love my tents...light weight, functional, and they can be taken down in 5 minutes if need be....oh and 99 bucks with free shipping was not too bad either....

+1 on the tent, at first anyway.

I am also going to build my own, but I was going so nuts with size, materials, methods and such, nothing was getting done.

I decided on a tent for a couple of grows to see what works, what doesn't, and what I can add or delete when I build my cabinet.

I ended up with the GrowLab GL120, 3'11"x3'11"x6'7". Perfect for a 3'x3' tray and 400w HPS. Will be running indica.:hubba:

DD

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

i was thinking of converting a family sized laundry basket into a 6 plant DWC system. that would take up a lot less room then 5 gal buckets. 12 plants in a 7X6 area is 1 plant per 3.5 sf. i know im new to this, but that seems a bit roomy compared to others. is there a general rule of thumb for how much square feet to plane for for each intended plant in a DWC system. ???

No there is no rule of thumb. You can veg your plants for as long or as short a time as you want. Some people do sog, do little or no veg time, and put 4 plants per sq ft. Some people veg for 8 or more weeks and grow monster plants that take up 10 or 12 sq ft. I always believe that it is better to flower your plants in individual containers rather than putting a bunch of plants in a large tote. If you want them any size at all, they get too crowded. I also like to be able to raise buckets on slower growing plants to keep an even canopy and ensure that they do not get blocked from the light. If you grow different strains, they may well have different nutrient needs. I have a room that is 6.5 x 3. I never put more than 8 plants in there and it is better with 6.

 

[JBonez]

check my sig, tents are the way to go, unless you are building an enclosed grow, i would say get a tent.

 

[trentallica]

well hello, and good morning lady goddest. i seem to run into you a lot lately. that either means that your stocking me, or your really into this site, and just love to post. i like to think im being stocked, but i see that you average over a 100 post a month. thats no hobby. your really into this, and like helping. im glad that my post get your attention. hopefully that means that i ask the right questions. you seem to be an awesome resource to this place. i hope they tell you that.
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i know i got a little hung up on what size to make my box. it was the only decision i really needed to make to get started, and part of me was not ready to get started.
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well goddess, and droopy this is where im at at the moment. i went out, and bought the wood and hardware. i built the base with outer dimensions of 46"48". i have no blue print, and i still have not decided how im going to do the door, so thats last. ill be connecting the side together with cross dowels (http://images.rockler.com/rockler/images/31823-01-200.jpg) , so that i can take it apart several times with out striping out holes. those things are a pain in the *** to put in.
inside the box will be a 600watt HPS with air cooled reflector, and 6" inline fan. the light will go to a switchable digital ballast with 120v power cord. lower in the box will be a carbon filter connected to a 4"inline fan. ill make adjustments as i need to.
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still not sold on what grow system ill go with. i like the DWC idea, but i also like individual pots that i can move around. i could make several mini DWC, but i think that could get expensive. i have read up on a few different systems that use fog from an ultrasonic fogger. one was just a DWC with a gogger. the other let gravity feed the fog to the plants, and the last one just placed a living room humidifier to the bottom of a tote, and let the fan blow the fog up. i just happen to have a 5 jet ultrasonic fogger laying around that im going to work something out with. im going to post that idea in another post. im sure you will find it goddess.
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i have to work 12 hour shifts for the next 5 days. so there will not be a lot of building this week.

 

[trentallica]

check my sig, tents are the way to go, unless you are building an enclosed grow, i would say get a tent.

yes completely enclosed, and light proof