Cabinet project for my buddy

Heres a new cabinet project that I'm putting together for a friend since hes not carpentry friendly..LOL. Not nearly done so I will post pics as I go along. It holds 3 plants comfortably and uses 12 CFL's mounted to the shelf with 3 ceiling fan light assys from walmart for 1 buck each:thumbsup:, all 26 watters.Also lined the door landings with a foam weatherstrip to contain the light inside. At the left bottom you can partially see the carbon scrubber that will sit outside the cabinet but since I have kids I gotta store everything in the cabinet while in progress. Cabinet came from Menards about 4 months ago since it was only 30 bucks:thumbsup: I figured why not make something useful out of it.:jointsmile: Will post more pics later.

Gonna line it with mylar?
I'd make that shelf that holds the lights movable so you can raise it and lower it.
Its looking good though'nothing wrong with saving money

yeah i got to pick up some mylar or maybe just some emergency blankets from walmart for 1 buck a piece:thumbsup:.The shelf is adjustable, i just have to drill some more holes on the sides above and below where its positioned now. Last night I got the electrical cord in (cut an old orange extension cord up=FREE) and will mount my surge protector today and wire up the light fixtures, probably make my cutouts for my intake and exhaust fans. I gotta sneak and do all this cause my kids are constantly roaming around here and there. Gonna go to walmart and pick up a small fan they have to put inside for circulation. They have a small 5 or 6 inch fan for about 5 bucks:thumbsup:.Once I get all that straight i think im gonna put some casters on it for easy maneuvering. Was also thinking about a thermometer with a remote sensor so i can mount the thermometer on the outside and just have the sensor inside. Anybody know where i can find one of these? I think i saw one in menards for 8 bucks:thumbsup:. I do think im gonna change the back to a piece of wood paneling or that paneling that looks like tile that people put in their baths and kitchens cause the back thats on there is that cardboard like stuff and is not solid at all. The paneling will keep the cabinet from flexing side to side unlike whats on there now.

Its looking good.I think walmart carries the temp meters.They are used a lot by truckers.It has about a 6 foot lead and will show both indoor and outdoor temps.

Blindman thanks, its just taking me forever to get this done with these kids on summer break and all. That temp gauge would be exactly what im looking for..I am going to have to get up there today at some point to grab one. Im trying to keep this cheap as my buddy is financially challenged right now. I will take a few pics of the progress today and post them as soon as my old lady and the kids make their runs for the day.

ok got a few pic updates..pic 1 shows the electrical cord i used to supply the power. i just drilled a small hole in the bottom to get the cord in and used some coax cable clips to secure it to the side of the box.

PIC2 As you can see the cord is clipped to the side, this will allow me to raise or lower the shelf unit as needed. Also you can see the lights are wired all together and then i took an old plug and used it to connect to the lights.

PIC3 pretty much the same, just the wiring and also the power strip (free! laying in the basement):thumbsup: I had to modify a bit. I took the 6 foot cord off and implemented the extension cord as it was about 15 feet long. I think im also gonna put some cabinet door handles on the light shelf to ease the adjusting and lifting of it. Sorry for the small amount of pics, kids keep you from making progress when they are around..LOL

Lookin great! I'm also in the process of cabinet construction. Yours will prolly be done before mine though. It's all good though, I'll just borrow ideas from you---he he he.
Seriously, your cab looks first rate!

Thanks Pro,

This one is actually taking longer than the first one I built and it was way bigger than this one. Last cabinet I made was an old gutted 56" big screen tv and it turned out pretty good but was way too big for me so I sold it to my other buddy and hes got it up and running now. Maybe I can get a little more accomplished today if everyone is gone here..LOL. I know one thing, the more I build the more ideas I get about doing things better on the next one.:thumbsup:Good luck on yours and if you need some ideas let me know.