bonaroo420

So I'm in the process of building my grow cab and i have found my progress halted. The frame is complete, however, it is not as sturdy as i would like it. the last grow cab i made was seemingly sturdy enough to stand up to an atomic bomb, and correspondingly as heavy. This time around, i wanted to keep weight down to make it easier, or even possible, to move if necessary. however, i seem to have kept too much weight off and like i said, its not as strong as i would like. its not super flimsy or anything, but i notice that when i push on the top the frame will shift slightly. I want to correct this problem before i continue with construction. although i have some construction experience, im a bit rusty after not touching a hammer for a few years.

I was hoping someone could point out a good place (or two or three) to add some supports (2x4 or other) to increase stability without too much cutting sawing and modifying stuff it would be greatly appreciated. As the only equipment i really have is a hammer and a drill, i have to get all my wood pre-cut at the store which is a pain the but ass, so id like to keep things as simple as possible.

heres some pics of what i have so far

here is my original design, it got modefied a bit though. i made the flowering chamber 40" long and the veg chamber 32" long, for an overall cap length of 72", or 6'.


front views



top view



corner view

smokey the bare

Hey bonaroo,

Nice closet, but I can understand why it feels shaky. Simply put, there is not enough structure there to keep the 2x4 rigid. You have some of the turned 90 degrees to the way I would have put them, but more importantly there is nothing to lock the top pieces in place. Here are some of my ideas

1) You some 1/2" ply on the back or the sides (preferably both). This will act both brace and support and really firm the thing up. If you have the ply cut to size in the store, you should be able to screw them in easily.

2) If you can't do that, get some more 2x4s (and maybe a hand saw?) and run some more vertical studs on the sides and back. Try for 16" on center. Then, run some horizontal cross supports between the studs to get them more rigid. One set of stretchers should be all you need.

3) If you can, double up the studs at all four corners.

4) at some cross supports (or 1/2 ply) across the top.

5) Go out and buy some decent L brackets (you'll need at least 4 per stud, and use them for added support.

6) Get some bigger casters. The wheels you got are an accident waiting to happen.

Good luck.

__________________
Be seeing you,

-J

bonaroo420

I didnt want to start just randomly throwing 2x4s up and hoping they would be the solution, so Thank you kindly for your help pointing me where to start. ill go pick up some more 2 x 4s and some plywood for the back tomorrow morning. Hopefully those should do the trick. I should have mentioned in my original post, i have 3 sheets of 5/8" drywall i planned to use for the exterior would that work in place of the plywood?.

from the angle shown, your looking at the back of the cab. i left a half inch ledge around the base of the sides and back, but not the front. i wanted the doors to cover the entire front face of it (which is another point in the project for which im at a loss of direction). the doorway will be lined with rubber weather stripping and pulled shut with multiple cabinet door clasps (a design which worked well for me on a previous grow).

bonaroo420

I need to run some more 2x4s anyways for mounting lights and fans and what not