? - enclosing an indoor light setup

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Mrs. Paph

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I'm moving to my first house soon, and since I plan to be there for awhile, I think it's high time I enclosed my light set that I grow my Paphs in. (There will likely be a greenhouse in the future, but why keep waiting to improve my growing area until then :p ) My light setup is ~ 2' x 4' and 6' tall, and I have a wonderful hubby to build the base, frame, and hinged vents at the top, and I feel up to experimenting with humidifiers and fan setups for humidity and air circulation, but I'd like some advice on plastic sheeting material. The main purpose of the enclosed area is obviously to allow a smaller space to control the humidity in, but I would also like to use a clear plastic to be able to see through to the plants even when I don't have it opened for watering. Of course my first thought was that I'll just use the thinnest greenhouse/coldframe poly I can find, since it doesn't need to stand up to outdoor elements and regulate the temperature, but then I seemed to only be finding Full Rolls of 100+ feet long available for sale online. I don't need near that much obviously, and don't want to be stuck with the freight charges if I can avoid it. Does anyone have suggestions for sources of smaller sizes of polyethylene - or even have leftovers from a greenhouse or other grow area that they would be willing to sell? I'm also wondering if there might be another kind of clear plastic I can order online or find locally that might work too - not just stuff specifically developed to cover greenhouses and protect plants over the winter?
Thanks for any suggestions! It's great to have so many orchid ppl with all kinds of different knowledge and experiences to share!
~Mrs. Paph
 
Most of the thin cheap stuff is actually kind of opaque, and viewing is pretty crappy.

You might look around for a nice totally clear shower curtain. These are a heavier mil plastic, but with good clarity compared to the standard films you see at Home depot or standard greenhouse films. Price per square foot is higher, but its already in small, more managable sizes for you application.
 
Thanks! Good idea with the shower curtain Rick! I'll definitely check that out - as you said, it doesn't matter if it costs more/unit area, so long as the project cost is lower. And of course being recently married I still have gift certificates for stores that likely carry shower curtains/curtain liners! :)
 
I got the plastic for my basement greenhouse from Lowe's -- they have different sizes and thicknesses.

What was the clarity like Dot? I get my plastic sheet from HD which usually caries allot of the same stuff. There is a good selection of sizes and thickness, but HD either has black or a translucent white called clear. It suits me fine for the outdoor GH, but if I was trying to make something nice for the living room that I could see detail and color without opening it and/or going inside it would be lousy for that.
 
What was the clarity like Dot? I get my plastic sheet from HD which usually caries allot of the same stuff. There is a good selection of sizes and thickness, but HD either has black or a translucent white called clear. It suits me fine for the outdoor GH, but if I was trying to make something nice for the living room that I could see detail and color without opening it and/or going inside it would be lousy for that.

Oh -- you may not like what I have, then. Its translucent, but definitely not transparent. I'd still check them out, though -- they had quite a lot to choose from.
 
Yeah, most I've seen is no optically clear either.

Glad to hear you've been playing with circulation etc. Excellent, even air movement will be critical in keeping the area from getting stagnant once enclosed! It's tough to balance air movement so it moves around plants evenly as not to dry them out at drastically different rates.

-Ernie
 
I will probably check out what's at the local home improvement stores here - I would prefer clear if at all possible, but I'd like to check out all the possibilities!

As for the air movement - I have several different types of smaller fans now to play with, but it looks like the one with the clip that can be rotated every which way will be the most useful for getting that balance of air movement w/o drying things out, so I may get more like it once I have things set up. I'm extending the shortest width of the enclosure too (instead of just covering the 2 x 4 base, it will be a little over 4 x 4 feet) so I can have that extra space for a small cool mist humidifier and more room to aim the fans without them being pointed straight at plants.
Being stuck with the constraints of dorm rooms and apartments and frequent moves has really been annoying me, so I'm excited to move on to the next level of growing! So many plans and so little money...but that rarely does more than just slow down the progression of orchid fever! :evil:
 
The Lowes and HDs around here sell a thin plastic material intended as a glass window substitute, so it's totally clear.

Personally, I'd find a glass shop and ask for the thinnest Plexiglas they have, as it would likely allow you to get the sheets in exacly the sizes you want.
 
Try a fabric store. They will have a material that is heavy and clear used for covering table tops. It comes pretty wide and you buy it by the yard. I use it with velcro on the sides and top to cover the double doorway in my wife's pottery studio so she can see out but keep the AC in.
 
I've gotten clear vinyl greenhouse sheeting from Home Depot by the 15' or 25' rolls, it was real nice but too expensive for a large project. Found it near the weatherproofing materials.

Forrest
 
I don't know if it's the right time of year, but for clear and cheap, you can buy the sheets of shrink plastic intended for weather sealing large windows. I use it for certain spots of my grow carts. There are also greenhouse catalog stores where you can buy sheets of double wall or things like that, and others that sell something like bubble wrap some with mylar on one side for reflecting light and heat, which could be used on the inside to bounce the light a bit.

I actually would rather have some of the bottom/back and side areas lightproof so that there isn't so much wast light shining into my living room. Putting some sheet styrofoam there would hold in the heat in summer (and winter).

In the same greenhouse catalogs there are plastic holding supplies called 'wiggle wire' and wiggle wire track. You fasten the track to the greenhouse (or grow cart) and then wrap the plastic around. Snap the wiggle wire into the track and the plastic is held securely (and quickly), and can be removed or repositioned quickly and easily. It's made for holding external plastic to the outsides of greenhouses.
 
If your hubby is making the frame, maybe he could hinge the front so that you could either use plexiglass sheet that Ernie suggested or the shrink wrap type weatherizing film that Charles suggested.

As far as clear goes, both are very optically clear, and the shrink wrap is very light and cheap.
 
Thanks everyone! More possibilities to check out! I had thought about doing the back and one side solid, and having plexiglass for the front and one side, but I've never priced it out before, so I'm not sure how expensive that might get, but I think that's an option I'll keep looking into too. That at least should be easier to wipe down and get clean again if it got dusty/water spots, compared to trying to wipe off a flexible plastic stretched over a frame.
 
Try a fabric store. They will have a material that is heavy and clear used for covering table tops. It comes pretty wide and you buy it by the yard. I use it with velcro on the sides and top to cover the double doorway in my wife's pottery studio so she can see out but keep the AC in.

That sounds like the stuff for shower curtains. Didn't think that it could be at a fabric store. I've seen that application with the velcro.

That's a good source find John
 
I thought about using velcro to close the edges for a plastic sheet doorway. Something else I'm considering is running a strip of magnet (the kind you buy on a long roll that you cut to length for craft projects) down the length of the openings so it's easier to pull apart and put together again for the door - no worries about lining up long velcro strips or squares when closing the door, since the magnets will just stick to the metal light stand!
 

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