Grasscity: I'm looking to setup an indoor grow and could use the feedback of those with similar circumstances as I have. I'm located in the state of Maine in the USA. I have a two story garage separate from my house. The top floor has unfinished walls and the bottom garage is a two bay garage with the majority of the walls being underground (just enough above ground for two tiny basement style windows). There is electricity in the garage but I don't think it will be enough to support my power needs. I have an electrician coming to wire more power as I have little knowledge and want to avoid fire hazards. My main concern is the cold winter months (the temperature commonly drops below freezing). I am legally allowed to grow for patients under the Maine Medical Marihuana Act. The walls and floors are concrete and the ceiling is not inslutated. Is it feasible to expect to be able to control the temperature in this environment? Anyone have any idea on insulation, heating, air/humidity control that would make this feasible/affordable. I have a generator if I lose power. The space is roughly 25 x 15 feet with average ceilings height. I'm willing to go to great lengths to make this a controllable environment during the freezing winter months and have the option to grow in the unfinished upstairs garage or the basement style two bay garage downstairs. From what I observed this summer the humidity stays high in the lower level and the temperature stays cooler. Were as the upstairs room fluctuates greatly, sometimes reaching over 100 degrees on a hot summer day (roughly 10 degrees higher than outside temperatures). My goal is commercial growth and maximizing yields. I have a close water source, power source (soon to be installed), back up generator, lighting equipment (1000 watt HPS's), and ready access to quality strands. My biggest concern is the freezing winter temperatures and how to create an ideal environment, given my circumstances. Any feedback is appreciated, and I apologize for the structure of this post, I'm writing it on whim at work. Thank you for reading.
Commercial in a garage ...yeah right!....whilst others use acres and even aircraft hangers, due to legislation, you can expect plummeting prices over the next 2-5 years as the legal market settles, so where do you think you're gonna be, I'll be hiring another worker next season, and it'll be total.. honors in horticulture I'll be seeking, even then minimum wage plus bonus. How many plants do you think you can get under 1x 1kw hps...? Have you done a cost plan on your proposed power bill for the next 24 months...you are in for a shock All thats happened is we have swapped the DEA for the IRS,
I meant commercial as in not for personal use. I already have 4 1000 watt hps and 2 600 watt hps, so the power bill will be my biggest expense. In what regard do you mean plummeting prices? I was looking for advice on the best ways to insulate, given the cold temperatures.
I believe he means plummeting market prices for your final product ie. The bud you will be selling With larger and larger commericial grow operations coming in to effect, they will use economies of scale to drastically reduce their costs.. thus allowing them to undercut other commercial growers whose operation might be based out of.. lets say a garage. Basically it seems to me that he is saying you should do a complete cost analysis (which to your credit, you are trying to get information on here) to ensure you can even make a profit in the coming years. The outlook is bleak but I wish you best of luck and apologize I could not contribute more to your cost analysis.
All right so lets get back to his post. You can insulate the garage correct? I would insulate the upstairs plus put up dry wall. and for the basement use the 2" thick foam insulation. You can glue it to bricks. Put it on the floors too. The next step would be setting up. You could use the bottom part for veg top to flower. Doing it this way you can veg on your dark period for flowering and vent that air up to the flower room if it gets cold.