You could build a giant planter and put it on concrete blocks to get it off the ground. I am not sure if I would use plywood for the bottom. If you do, you probably need to line the whole planter with a pond liner or something (if the plywood stays in continual contact with damp soil, it will rot out pretty fast). You will need to provide a bunch of drainage holes, also to keep the soil from getting waterlogged. If you are going to buy soil to fill it with, consider the cost of the soil. The deeper you make it, the more the soil will cost. I would think a full 12 inches would be deep enough for almost anything. Soil is very heavy (even the lightweight potting mixes add up, especially if they are wet), so you will need a lot of concrete blocks to distribute the load. And once you fill this thing you aren't going to be moving it, obviously. If you envision it this way, as a planter raised up off of the ground, then you will certainly be safe from the ground water contamination. Also, it may actually be quite convenient to work at a nice high level when planting and weeding, etc. --McKenzie

The design of cold cases is an ongoing distraction for me. The first one I ever heard of was in a very, very old issue of Scientific American magazine when they had a column called "The Amateur Scientist" edited by C.L.Stong. A geranium hobbyist needed an enclosed case that would deal with the heat of dozens of 40W tubes and incandescent lamps which back then was the only way of obtaining high light intensities. His case was a two level affair with a 5,000BTU window air conditioner controlled by an external thermostat in the upper chamber. I extrapolated that by using modern A/C equipment lower temps could be obtained. A/C dehumidifies as it cools so some way of restoring moisture is essential. A misting system or fogger I think would be more effective in a small case than an evaporative cooler in much the way a hot mist humidifier or steam vaporizer is more effective in a large room than a cool vapor or cool mist humidifier. Large aquariums can be found used on craigslist and reject aquariums from pet stores. Go as large as you can. H

CRAP I posted this in the wrong side of the forum....disregard this one and go to the one in the discussion side. Sorry!

Part of the issue is material- metal sides with typically have particle board bottoms- in that application it needs to be thicker. Possible your existing drawer bottoms are too. As a rule 1/4" bottoms are adequate with dovetail joints. I have never seen one fail, never. That said, some brands will upgrade a drawer box bottom. I use that mod occasionally on wide drawers (over 30") that will hold heavy things. I don't do it because I'm worried about the bottom failing, rather to cut down deflection which can over stress drawer glides and their attachment. My top end brand which is built using 1" thick frames only uses 3/8" bottoms. And I guess to answer your question: I almost never sell the metal sided boxes, don't show them in the studio... my personal preference is wooden dovetail drawers but that's simply an anachronistic affectation :) I'd confidently sell either, typically no cost difference.