My Growroom in a Chest of Drawers

After many years of smoking and months of extensive reading and lurking on forums I’ve decided to give growing our favourite herbal remedy a go myself and see what happens. My original idea was either for a PC grow or a filing cabinet conversion but, after more research and a bit of mathematics working out costings of materials and equipment I decided that I might as well think a bit bigger. In fairness, when the 250w CFL bulb I ordered arrived, it kind of forced me to revise my plans upwards. It’s bloody massive – bigger than my head – and I had little option but to upscale slightly. Oh dear oh dear oh dear... what a conundrum!

With my excitable head rushing with possibilities I compiled a list of things I needed off ebay and local charity shops/DIY shops and set about buying them:

- 250w CFL bulb - £29 each off ebay (I bought a blue spectrum for vegetation – in the future, next month, I’ll get a red spectrum bulb for flowering)
- A roasting tin to modify as a reflector for the bulb – 60p
- light fitting to mains - £7.50 inc P&P off ebay
- chocolate blocks for the wiring of the lights and the fans - £1
- rolls of black duct tape - £2 each
- ph tester – still need to get one of these buggers
- analog timer - purchased on ebay for £7
- temperature/humidity sensor - £4 from china on ebay
- computer fans – I’ve got three in total i think, must root them out or buy new ones from maplin (eventually bought two new ones for £5 each)
- mobile phone chargers – I’ve got three or four knocking around
- a carbon filter - looked for tutorials on how to make one cheaply and efficiently on the internet, this is still something I need to sort out soon
- mylar roll/sheeting - got roll on ebay 45m for £5 – and mylar sheeting 3m length for £7
- velcro tape - for sealing light on corners/edges of the build
- a glue gun and glue sticks- £7
- a wooden cabinet to put this all in – maximum spend of £30, eventually I bought two identical cabinets for a total of £40.

I only hope there isn’t anything I missed out .... Most of it has now arrived and I've spent the last day putting it all together, destroying drawers, drilling holes and making vents in the back, while taking pictures along the way. Duct tape has become my new best friend, and I'm not ashamed to admit it....

I started off by removing the drawers, taking the front panels off and then screwing them together, ensuring the edges were all flush. I want this to look as much like a 'normal' chest of drawers as possible, in case my girlfriend's parents turn up one day ...




I then used a drill and a stanley knife to make the holes for the fans, one at the top for the exhaust and one at the bottom for the fresh air intake.





Thankfully the drawers I bought are just about big enough for the bulb ...



I then taped up all the edges of the box with black duct tape to try and stop any light leaking out. I'll sort out taping around the fans later when they are properly fixed into place.



I'm now waiting on the Mylar sheets to arrive and I've got to somehow work out or steal a system of holding such a large bulb in place inside there ....

Ha ha! Hello fellow grower! Cheers for the reply the other day and ditto.. Will be reading your future posts with enthusiasm!
Sounds like you have it all mapped out in your head and know what you're after. Big up ya and looking forward to the next instalment!
(shame about broken links to pics, sure you will get it sorted. Took me ages to work out uploads as button was hidden on a black bar...)