DIY Sturdy Indoor Grow Tent
Introduction: DIY Sturdy Indoor Grow Tent
Hi there, this is my first post to instructables!
I have been wanting to start an indoor garden to plant herbs and vegetables for myself and my rabbits. Currently many of the indoor grow tents on the market are expensive and cheaply made. Most of these tents have metal poles for the frame but only use plastic connectors to hold them together. After a while these pieces tend to break apart or crack. This made me think about my options. I could either spend a ton of money on a high quality tent, go in on buying a cheaply made one, OR
I could forgo both of these options and create an indoor grow tent of my own!
These are the steps I took to make this a reality. I am using higher quality materials to ensure that this will be sturdy and have a longer life span than the on market tents. I decided to make the base out of freestanding shelving units. This allows the builder to customize their tent to their hearts content. Many boxed stores sell freestanding shelving kits or the components to build one. Another option is to check your local thrift shop or garage sales to see if you can find one even cheaper.
Putting this tent together does take time and work, however the end result is worth it!
Supplies
2 - Honey Can Do® 36" Chrome Wire Freestanding Shelving Support Poles - 2 Pack
2 - Honey Can Do® 36"W x 14"D Chrome Wire Freestanding Shelving Unit Shelf
3 yards of Duck Canvas Fabric
Reflective Insulation
Reflective Foil Tape
Sewing Machine
Heavy Duty Thread
Bobbin(s)
Denim Machine Needles (Size 16)
Fabric Scissors or Rotary Cutters
Cutting Mat
Ironing Board and Iron
Tailor's Chalk
Ruler
Zipper(s)
Optional:
Plastic Clamps or Clips
Step 1: Building the Frame
You will start this project off by setting up your shelving unit. I chose to set up one shelf at the very top of the poles and one at the very bottom. In order to assemble it you must use the shelf support clips. These should be included when you purchase your shelves. If not you can then purchase 1 inch shelf support clips.
Place the support clips a rung or two higher than where you want the top of the shelf to be because when you are pushing the shelf onto the clips, your shelf and clips will slide down lower onto the pole.
Step 2: Taking Measurements
Measure out your shelving unit and write down the measurements. This is to ensure that you are making the pattern as accurate as possible. My shelving units measured out to be 36" x 36" x 14".
Then measure the thickness of the Reflective Insulation. 181
Mine was 1/8" thick. Since the reflective insulation will be placed behind the canvas of the tent, we will need to include this in our measurements for the pattern.
Now our measurements in total will be 36 1/8" x 36 1/8" x 14 1/8". We will take these measurements to create a pattern for the canvas tent. When creating this pattern we will want to assign a seam allowance to the project. For my tent pattern the seam allowance was set to 3/8" This image is a sketch of the pattern. That way when put the pattern onto the fabric I have something to reference.
Step 3: Prepare the Fabric
Drawing out a pattern onto dirty or wrinkly fabric makes it much harder to remain accurate. Clean and iron the duck fabric canvas. I bought my fabric from a local thrift shop and it smelled musty when I brought it home. To clean this fabric I decided to use warm water with a small amount of bleach added. I made sure that there wasn't enough bleach to discolor the canvas but enough to kill any germs or smells residing in the fabric. I recommend using gloves and a wash cloth to clean. It takes time but once you complete this, you can let it dry.
Now you will need to iron out the canvas to reduce the wrinkles on the fabric. I used my steam iron at a medium-high level, and pressed back and forth on the fabric to smooth it out.
After both of these steps are completed you will need to draw the pattern onto the fabric. To do this I used my yard stick ruler, a square ruler and tailor's chalk to transfer my pattern onto the fabric. To ensure that I was drawing smooth lines, I made sure to draw along the grain of the fabric. I recommend drawing on the seam allowances of each piece of fabric as well. This helps when attaching fabric and sewing along the seam lines.
Step 4: Cutting Out Fabric
Once you transfer all of the patterns onto the canvas it is time to cut out the fabric. 316