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??? how to make grow room benches ???

ello I just got a grow chamber aka grow room and I know what lights i want http://http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/sun-blaze-t548-4ft-lamp-t5-grow-light-p-1938.html but i have no i dea how to make one level grow benches I dont want those annoying 5 or six level racks i have it set up now with an old table and 2 t5s and it works but i want real benches with mabe a wire grating over a gap but i dont know how to build one. Also i want to be able to fit in the chamber after so mabe 32" by 48" or somthing like that.i have a " bucket cooler " made from a bucket of freezing rainwater which keeps it cold and the humidity up
here are da pics
http://s1341.beta.photobucket.com/user/Afox20/media/2009-03-26140310_zps1a339355.jpg.html?sort=3&o=5 cooler

http://s1341.beta.photobucket.com/u...ort=3&o=2&_suid=13567372734330690062192203752 plants
http://s1341.beta.photobucket.com/u...rt=3&o=4&_suid=135673730899103703328458127263 nep flower
its nice now but i want it nicer, i sorta want it like Heli's
http://s1341.beta.photobucket.com/u...rt=3&o=0&_suid=135673738910800370527422633416 table
http://s1341.beta.photobucket.com/u...t=3&o=3&_suid=1356738224130031227481779718796 plants
 
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I made some grow benches out of wood... Really simple, just a frame with some places to put shelves.

2cd8ju0.jpg


I only put one beam across the back where the shelf would go and I really need one across the front as well... One day, I want to take the shelves out of the GH, put down moisture-holding flooring and add an extra beam to each notch where a shelf goes.

2z9jode.jpg


If you look at the first picture, that is the basic frame. If you only want one shelf, don't do it so high and then put a beam across the back and the front. You can see at the back of each shelf I have on the stand, there is a beam under it, just a 2x4... You'll have to measure to the size you want and work out the dimensions.

Maybe ask your dad to help you with it, my dad basically came up with the design for these and built them, I just handed him screws and stuff. Just make sure they can hold a lot of weight, that is where we screwed up.

The white shelf part are just wire shelves from Home Depot. The top shelves worked for all of them because the stands with 6ft wide and the shelves were also 6ft wide. For the bottom shelves, I had to cut them and then bend them to get them to fit, then bend them back.

Just make sure you have a beam on the front and back of the stand. I think it should be sturdier the shorter you make it. I also messed up with shelf spacing. My tall plants can only fit on the top shelves, but then hit the GH roof... Really should have made the shelves smaller. Can't redo that now.

Each shelf was about $60 to make if I can recall correctly... I made three of them. It was about $40 in wood and $20 for the shelves. For the first one we made, the one in the back, we got a different kind of wire shelf which was twice as much. There were twice as many wires and they were closer together. If you have the extra money, I would get those because it is kinda annoying how the edges of the pots will tip into the gap. Also, pitchers fall through the gap and you have to pull them out so it is just annoying.

They are rubber coated, so you don't have to worry about rust or anything. :)
 
thanks so much pine
i cant afford the better ones ( cuz im getting a 2 hundred dollar light ) so i might work with the wire a little so those would work
say i did do it like you with two shelves on each would the secound one get enough light
( is that $60 for each level on the bench or the whole thing )
 
thanks so much pine
i cant afford the better ones ( cuz im getting a 2 hundred dollar light ) so i might work with the wire a little so those would work
say i did do it like you with two shelves on each would the secound one get enough light
( is that $60 for each level on the bench or the whole thing )

To be clear, they're both wire coated in rubber. The $20 ones just have twice as many wires on them which is kinda nice.

If you have plants on the first one and a light above those, they are going to block the light from the ones on the shelf below. You would have to have lights under the top shelf to shine down on the second shelf.

If you think about it, you can use the ground as a shelf, so you really have two shelves. Just stick some lights under the shelf that you build and you have even more grow space!

I don't quite remember the exact cost, but you'll need to go to HD, measure the wood they have, and then design your benches the way you want. How big is the grow space? It may be cheaper or more expensive depending on how big you want the benches. My advice, from experience, is to make the shelves as wide (not long, but like the length from the front of it to the back of it) as possible. I have a ton of walking space with just around 2 x 4ft of space. If you're only making one shelf, make sure you have enough room on the top shelf to put your biggest plants. However, you need to make sure there is enough space under it so that you can put plants under if (or if not plants, then supplies). Also, I made one at a time. That is the most manageable.

It was $60 for each when I made them with two shelves, but one was $80 since I got the more expensive shelves by accident my first time. So it was $200 total for all three shelves going around three sides of the GH. I still find myself constantly running out of space lol.

If you want some more pictures of how I put them together and how they turned out (have had them for a year now) I can take some for you a bit later today. Sadly, I only took those two pictures I posted above when I was making them. Or at least I only uploaded those two to my photo hosting website. I can go through my files and try to find any other pics of them too if you want.
 
my grow space is 4ft by 4ft and 6.5 ft tall so i want benches 2 benches 4ft by 18" then one that is 12'' by 28''
 
my grow space is 4ft by 4ft and 6.5 ft tall so i want benches 2 benches 4ft by 18" then one that is 12'' by 28''

Uh... You wouldn't only have 1ft of space to walk... I would do the thinnest size shelf that HD has. I think they do have 4ft shelves, but if not, just use those tree branch cutters to cut it. That's what I did.

Instead of putting the long benches on the side, you may want to make the bench in the back of the tent the longest and the ones on the side short.
 
Pineapple - you might want to add a diagonal brace in there somewhere - anywhere - it will help immensely to keep it rigid. Might seem perfectly fine now, but in three years you'll wished you had.
 
1 foot seemes fine i can easily fit in it i used a table to see if that design would work and it seemed to work for me
why might i want to put the longer ones in the back
 
  • #10
Hard to tell from that pic Aiden but, that ventricosa x spathulata looks like a male to me. The buds seem to be very round. Do you have a better pic ?

Also, I don't think that cooler is going to work too well for you. Keep in mind that swamp coolers and other cooling devices along those lines only work in low humidity.
 
  • #11
I made some cheap benches out of cinder blocks and 2x4s. I just used two cinder blocks laying flat about four feet apart. Then i ran four beams across. They're cheap and sturdy especially with all the heavy pots on top.
 
  • #12
Cthulhu138 yes im 100% sure it is a female becuase well its opened so it looks more round and there is a place to put pollen but no pollen until i put it on and its opened flower is the shape of a nep seed pod ................ my good camera broke so im stuck with an old one or mabe i can get my iphone to work with photo bucket : yes sucess all these are with iphone
the "cooler" gets it 8 degrees cooler at night and it keep the humidity around 80% so i spray my plants
http://s1341.beta.photobucket.com/user/Afox20/media/image_zpse5021df6.jpg.html?sort=3&o=4 flower i have male flowers some one gave me to show the difference
http://s1341.beta.photobucket.com/u...rt=3&o=3&_suid=135681892899408165406047520805 flowers
http://s1341.beta.photobucket.com/u...rt=3&o=2&_suid=135681898376405299175929433009 pitcher of the plant with flowers
http://s1341.beta.photobucket.com/u...rt=3&o=1&_suid=135681907126609982183128175771 n.dubia
http://s1341.beta.photobucket.com/u...g.html?&_suid=1356819659595042258623025379677 n.aristolochioides
http://s1341.beta.photobucket.com/u...=3&o=0&_suid=13568202384600062077065359790795 male left female right
the pics of the different flowers may look the same in the photo but in real life they are not
 
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