Building a Weatherproof Cabinet for My Smart Irrigation System

Every smart irrigation build eventually runs into the same problem: where do you actually put the hardware? My manifold of six Rainbird solenoid valves, the pressure pump, and all the wiring needed a home that could survive outside year-round, and I didn’t want to just leave everything exposed under a tarp. So before I could finish wiring up the irrigation system, I had to build it a proper enclosure.

Starting in the workshop

I built the frame and back panel first, in my workshop rather than in the garden — much easier to get square cuts and clean joints indoors. The whole cabinet was made from impregnated wood. I started with the back panel, since this is the most important side of the cabinet, where all the hardware will be mounted. All the wood, as well as the hinges, came from the local hardware store.

Getting the pump in place

Before final assembly, I dry-fit the pump on the ground where the cabinet would sit, along with the galvanized post brackets that would anchor the whole structure to the soil. The pump is a Pedrollo unit with a built-in pressure switch and a flexible suction hose running to the water source.

Assembling the cabinet outside

Once the frame was solid, I moved it into the garden and mounted it on the brackets, tucked against the hedge. It’s a simple gabled-roof shed shape with double doors, hinged and latched, sized just big enough to hide the plumbing without becoming an eyesore.

Mounting the manifold

Inside, I fixed a plywood backing board to the frame and mounted the six solenoid valves in a row, each one tapped off the same black PVC manifold pipe with push-fit green compression fittings. The valve wiring runs up and out to where the relay controller will live. Underneath, the pump sits on a small wooden shelf with its suction hose and pressure line connected via a brass elbow.

What’s next

With the cabinet built and the pump mounted, the next step is finishing the physical wiring to the Waveshare relay controller and doing the ground work with plumbing and connecting the sprinklers