Rebuilt Orchidarium

The last couple of days, I took my orchidarium apart and rebuilt it.  There were several things I was unhappy with and I used the opportunity to make some changes as well.  One thing that needed to be changed was the back.  I had originally used a masonite panel with a finished surface, but that had begun to deteriorate and I needed to replace it.  This time I used 3/16 inch glass.  I was also not happy with the sliding doors which were of plexiglass but which always bowed with changes in temperature and humidity and which even a rigid brace had not kept straight.  I replaced those also with 3/16 inch glass panels provided by my son.

The biggest change, however, was with in the height.  I built it with a growing area of 30 x 52 x 30 inches (75 x 130 x 75 cm), and had never been happy with the height which I felt was cramped and which did not give me enough opportunity to move plants further from the lights.  In fact, I was using only four T5 HO lamps in a fixture that held eight and thought that more space would give me opportunity to use all the lights.  In rebuilding the case I added a foot to the height so that the growing area is now 42 inches (105 cm) and the additional space is proving to be a real bonus and makes working in the case and watering very much easier.

Older posts about this orchidarium can be found at these links:
 http://orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2011/12/orchidarium-changes.html
http://orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-orchidarium.html
These links show the first orchidarium I built many years ago, as well as the original version of this one and give considerable information about the building of these different orchid homes.