Cabinet Design Suggestions?

[leewish]

Can I get some thoughts/suggestions on if there is a better option from what I currently have?

Red Sea Reefer 250 v3 setup. I want somewhere to mount my apex and equipment nice and neat inside. So I cut these boards. They are only shimmed in right now and not moving at all. Overall firm and solid.

I purposely left some edges next to sump and on right side open for venting and the back is not flush either to promote air exchange. Holes will also be drilled in the new boards for cord management to mount to the back (another reason not to go flush).

I can’t screw or glue it before as it has to be tilted to get into cabinet. Was thinking about maybe drilling holes for wooden dowles to support the boards more?

Any other ideas or is this my best option? Thanks for ideas in advance.

 

[Peace River]

Can I get some thoughts/suggestions on if there is a better option from what I currently have?

Red Sea Reefer 250 v3 setup. I want somewhere to mount my apex and equipment nice and neat inside. So I cut these boards. They are only shimmed in right now and not moving at all. Overall firm and solid.

I purposely left some edges next to sump and on right side open for venting and the back is not flush either to promote air exchange. Holes will also be drilled in the new boards for cord management to mount to the back (another reason not to go flush).

I can’t screw or glue it before as it has to be tilted to get into cabinet. Was thinking about maybe drilling holes for wooden dowles to support the boards more?

Any other ideas or is this my best option? Thanks for ideas in advance.

Interesting challenge! Let see if we can get some help with your question...

#diy @BornHandy @jsker @dbl @kschweer

 

[JoshH]

Are the two boards bonded together right now or are they wedged in separately? Also is this a permanent installation you want or do you want to be able to remove it down the road?

 

[leewish]

Interesting challenge! Let see if we can get some help with your question...

#diy @BornHandy @jsker @dbl @kschweer

Thanks....appreciate it. Already thought about adding some L brackets to help support and secure.

 

[leewish]

Are the two boards bonded together right now or are they wedged in separately? Also is this a permanent installation you want or do you want to be able to remove it down the road?

They are not bonded together. Each are wedged separately. I think I want it to be permanent and secure, but part of me likes the flexibility of being able to take it down. Like I can mount the items and then put it up versus trying to mount in place squeezing in the cabinet.

 

[redfishbluefish]

What I did with my equipment cabinet was to put supports behind the wood panel....a thin strip of wood or a couple "stops". I then used a little cleat with a screw in the middle to now hold that piece of wood in place. Let me see if pictures help. Here's the little cleat:

And now you're seeing a side view of the equipment cabinet....specifically that center section where that partition is being held by a strip of wood in the back, and that little cleat on the top. Hope this is understandable.

If need be, I can remove that little cleat and pull that board out of the way to get to the wiring behind.

 

[dbl]

My suggestion would be to at least secure the piece that divides the cabinet. You could use a cleat method as described above. Just be careful puting screws in the underside of the cabinet top. I suggest this so it is "rigid" while you're working in the sump area in case (when) you bump it.

Another suggestion would be hinging the "back" board so you can swing it open and access it easily. The key is easily. The easier it is to do maintenance of any kind the more likely you will actually do said maintenance.

 

[JoshH]

What I did with my equipment cabinet was to put supports behind the wood panel....a thin strip of wood or a couple "stops". I then used a little cleat with a screw in the middle to now hold that piece of wood in place. Let me see if pictures help. Here's the little cleat:

And now you're seeing a side view of the equipment cabinet....specifically that center section where that partition is being held by a strip of wood in the back, and that little cleat on the top. Hope this is understandable.

If need be, I can remove that little cleat and pull that board out of the way to get to the wiring behind.

Expanding on this design a little you could also go with a French cleat design on the back panel and just lift it up to remove it. Might be slightly difficult with the free floating side but with a wider and slightly angled inward cleat it could still work out well

 

[jaxredsoxfan]

I did 2x2 cleats behind mine and just used wood screws to hold it in. If I need to take it out to add equipment I just unscrew the screws and tilt it as far as I need to to access the holes.

 

[leewish]

Thanks for the feedback and ideas! Much appreciated!!!

 

[BornHandy]

How thick are these boards / stand walls? There is a way to do it with 1/2" material, but the joints tend to be fairly weak.

If they are .75 inch or close to it, pocket screws are amazingly strong, and will give you a "permanent" wall that can be removed if need be. The joints would be super tight, and clean looking.

You can screw it in place when it's where you want it in the cabinet. I noticed it didn't go all the way up, so you could just do pocket screws along the back and bottom. I think you'd be surprised how strong the joints are.

A Kreg Jig should be available at the big box hardware store, and although they cost a little bit, they are super handy to have around - guaranteed it won't be the last time you use it.

Hope that helps.