Door frame/hinge design help

[marx2k]

Can someone post a few pictures and a good description on setting up doors to custom build grow cabinets? I'm having trouble visualizing how the door is attached so there are no light leaks. I understand to use weatherstripping on the edges but how does the attached side of the door not tear off the weather stripping when it is being opened/closed? I would think the pivoting edge of the door on the side that's attached by the hinges would tear it off?

Also, what would be the best suggestion as far as wood to use for the entire box? I'm trying to come up with a material that is light enough where if I move from the current residence, I won't need a construction crew to move the box for me to the new place. But also I'm wanting something that doesn't warp on the first sign of heat/humidity.

Thanks for any and all replies!

 

[marx2k]

And I guess my other question here would be how do you light-proof double doors like on the C25? Weather stripping between the two doors on their sides or what? I don't think I'm going to buy/build a C25 (especially since the bastards are 200+ lbs...) but it would help in visualizing how these are properly lightproofed

 

[vavwl]

Use some expensive hinges that push forward and pull back. not ones that are on a rod, because you won't be able to open it. For the light leaks you can buy some 1x2 pieces of pine or spruce and put them around the door on the inside so that the door is up against them. this will stop light from getting out the edges.

another trick is to put some lubricant on the door around where the door will meet the frame. then put a bead of silicone cauking around the frame. close the door tight and let it dry. make sure the silicone fills any leaks. if the lube worked the silicone won't stick to the door, which will make an air proof seal.

 

[marx2k]

Im not clear on what you mean by hinges that push forward and pull back? The only types of hinges I can think of are the ones that are on the rod.

My idea was that since I will be building the frame of the cab, lets say the front of the cab is 72" tall by 42" wide... so that would be 4 2x4's - 2 long for the tall, 2 short for the width. So I would just at the same time build the door frame with the same exact dimensions.. I wish I had a better way of describing it... the door frame can lay flush on the cab frame.and this wouldn't be a problem at all if I were to ut the hinges on the outside. I would weatherstrip or silicone, as you suggested, the frame of the door or the front of the cab, slap on the hinges and that'd be that. Easy. But that lacks security. If the hinges are on the inside, then what? Id like the door to swing out of course, and since the only type of hinges I can think of are on a rod, I cant think of a good way to accomplish this

Can you show me a picture of the types of higes you're describing?

I'm surprised there hasn't been a good rundown of this type of question in this forum. It's the small details that people tend to really screw up. I'm not very good in the carpentry department, unfortunately so I think Im gonna screw it up considerably Very scared.

 

[vavwl]

yeah i'll take some pictures later on tonight of the ones I use. I had the same problem you're having before I found these. I picked them up at the home depot

 

[hidingtree]

mark dont be scared ! no problem mate ! firstly the c25 's are pretty easy to light proof . the face of the cabinet (where the doors are ) this gets tubular weather strip and the doors get a piece in between them . with the adjustable concealed hinges adjusted so as to not pinch the weatherstrip is all thats necessary after that . the doors may have to be closed at the same time to properly compress the piece in the middle and avoid pulling it off . as far as a custom cabby .... lets see what vavwl comes up wit ... manyblessings , hidingtree

 

[hidingtree]

mark dont be scared ! no problem mate ! firstly the c25 's are pretty easy to light proof . the face of the cabinet (where the doors are ) this gets tubular weather strip and the doors get a piece in between them . with the adjustable concealed hinges adjusted so as to not pinch the weatherstrip is all thats necessary after that . the doors may have to be closed at the same time to properly compress the piece in the middle and avoid pulling it off . as far as a custom cabby .... lets see what vavwl comes up wit ... manyblessings , hidingtree

 

[marx2k]

I heard the C25's were being discontinued. Im going to want to use something with enough width and depth to have 4 - 5gal buckets in there minimum or a medium sized rubbermaid tub. I also heard the C25's were 200+ pounds!!!!!! That's crazy.

I think for this project I'm going to have build it myself although I am perusing a bunch of C25 threads and making a decision from there. Im about to start playing with Google SketchUp to really get specific about how I want this project to look like. Im trying to figure out how to mod it good for hydroponics or if I should just have a basic rectangular box so it can go with either soil OR hydroponics...

 

[vavwl]

The picture quality isn't the greatest but hopefully you can see how it works. The hinges folds in when the door is closed. It pushes the door out and open when you open the hinge which stops it from catching.

 

[marx2k]

Ok, scratch SketchUp - That shit is hard for a noob like myself

 

[WillWorkForBuds]

I was thinking about using the lining they use in a fridge around the cabinet doors, would this work well?

 

[marx2k]

VAVWL - that looks like a good type iof hinge, but in the corner where the door and frame ALMOST meet, wouldnt this tear off the lightproofing lining because the corner of the door would rip it off? Im trying to think of a good way to lay down the lining so it doesnt interfere with the swinging of the door and yet the door rests ON the lining when closed.

Would you mind giving another shot of that from a little farther back so I can see what the door on the frame actually looks like?

I lightproofed a room once like this:

I put velcro along the entire frame and the floor around a door, then I stuck velcro on black tarp and staple gunned the top and the hinge side of the door frame with the tarp so you only had to move the curtain from one side and the floor. And I also closed the door. With an AC on in that room, it definitely gave some inflation action to the curtain, plus no light leaks! I wonder if that would be useful in a cab for extra lightleak protection or if the weatherproofing strips work well to block out ALL light.

Also I wonder if it would be a good idea to put 2 layers of weatherstripping on the door frame, set apart by the width of the weatherstrip itself .. like ===================

and then put one layer of weatherstripping on the door that will go between those two strip lines when the door is closed? That would TOTALLY block the light, I would imagine.

WillWorkForBuds: I like your idea of using the refrigerator door material! That would also be a great idea. I think also it would work best if that material met something nonporous on the other end for light protection.. like maybe a layer of plastic or something. Or maybe wood would work just as well.

Damn, I can't wait to build my own cab. This is going to be fun, I hope

My main concern for building this will be to make it so that it can also come apart easily, so I won't be using any nails and will build it in sections. Base, top, 3 walls and then 3 walls + door. Since I will probably be moving next year I want to be able to break it down, move it and set it right back up again without any problems.