Hello all, I have been reading for a couple months on this board and have many questions. I'm a long time smoker, never grown. I have a closet 3 foot wide x 5 foot deep x 8 foot high with no electric . I would like to grow for just myself , and my wife is cool with that... i just need to keep it discrete from rest (in-laws). Growing in soil is what i would like to do, with a sog, mother and clones. Can anyone help with the physical design of the space?
sounds like your basic area is the same as mine, except I'll be scrogging. lighting and ventilation are gonna be your main set up issues. Im currently looking into drawing air from below the floor and venting through a carbon filter in the roof. and as for lighting, im gonna be using a 400W HPS supplemented with cfl's. as the poster above me said, lots of good info in the stickies. also look around for a grow journal similar to the set up you are looking to run, and borrow some of their experience... its a great way to get ideas for your own set up.
Lets start with power. How much do you have in the room that is where the closet is? How many outlets are on shared walls with the closet (not counting in the room where it is located)? and what is directly above your closet? Lets look at power and then look at ventilation. One step at a time, proper building of your grow room depends on doing the step by step and not rushing it, not worrying about money invested (if it is an issue, delay the grow, but start building now piece by piece.) and be patient. My biggest advice is do not rush, and do not skimp on a good exhaust fan. Once we can get some power in the closet and some idea of where we are venting too
hey Don ok let see if i can picture this for you. closet is in a double wide/ manufatured home on a permant foundation. There is an outlet on opposite side of one wall that i can open up and bring into room. i haven't isolated the outlet yet to see what amp breaker it is on, or how many more out lets are in the circuit. I'm mechanically inclinded, and have done some electrical work, but i might need some instruction if i have to pull from the breaker box with a new leg. There are three outlets in the room that houses the closet, but my oldest son stays in there during summer breaks, so i dont want to run cords into the closet. I also want to do as you suggested and take my time and do it right. The outlet that is on the shared wall is in a room with my 4 year old and nothing is on that outlet at all. As for the ceiling, it goes up into the gable, no access from out side, but it shouldn't be hard to exhaust up into it, has a ridge vent running the whole length of roof. Worst case i could go down, but with trailers they insulate the bottom and then run plastic against it. once you tear it , it's almost impossable to re-seal. The underneth is imaculate and i would like to keep it sealed well. I will go under and inspect it closer if it's an option i have to use. Thanks for the help, really! I just can't picture how to set this up.... plastic to seperate grow room from veg room, or make it from wood. should i stack them or put veg in front right and grow room in back? I have read alot lately and have a lot of ideas from different threads on here, but can't decide for myself what i want for this room. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Did you check the outlet to see if it ties to another outlet, if it is an only outlet in the room, or if it is switch controlled or the last outlet on the circuit? I know that is a bit much in that last question, but they are all important. Make sure you do that, houses are often wired pretty goofily. We can walk you through this no problem, but I recommend the book from home depot or the likes of "wiring 123" before you start doing anything with the breaker box, even the best internet directions may need some clarification. If one of those outlets is not on the same breaker as the one that is in your sons room and happens to be close to the closet and on the end of the circuit you are golden with a little modification. That means you already have 2 circuits to work with. No need to run extension cords. More than likely you will have to run a new line from the box for a 3rd circuit, or maybe even a dedicated 20amp circuit or 2 15amp circuits. When you own your own home, possibilities are endless. You bet. I have seen modular home setups that do just that for a whole bedroom. Should be fine to do. No need to vent into the underside, the gable option is fine. Build with wood, it is the best option instead of plastic if you wnat this done right. I would really need to see pics and have some dimensions or a scale drawing to help make the call as to how to set it up. One step at a time. Check your power and venting first, the rest will fall into place.
Thanks Don... Again. I have some things coming up for then next couple of days, but give me a few and i'll check out the electrical and take some picture and give you some dimentions.
Hey Don, It's been awhile since i have been on my grow room post, got caught up in holidays! I have taken some pictures and made a small paint picture to show the room. Also i have decided that i would like to scrog in stead of sog. Not sure how to physically design room to have grow and veg area's. One of the pictures shows the door, and the 2 inch gape it has(trailer doors...AHHH) Any help from you, or anyone would be welcomed
Come on GC, hold my hand! I really need your input, not sure how to decide on how to proceed... have some good beans that i would like to start but want everything as right as possible BEFORE i start.
ok so a couple of questions. red arrows, is this an outside wall? blue arrows, are there any outlets ran oppsite of these walls(on the other side) you need to get power into your room. I would suggest running its out line if its not too far from the panel. but if there are outlets on the other side of the walls (blue arrows) then you could take the outlet out punch a hole in the wall opposite of the outlet and just move the outlet into your closet, Then just patch the hole with some drywall or if its paneling and youre careful to not mess up the outlet box you can buy a blank plate to go where the outlet once was. Also if the red arrowed wall represents an outside wall, you need to think about insulating for security. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sudf5xDIhmM"]F.L.I.R[/ame] is real. Although the chances of them looking for a small closet grow is little to none, Its something to think about,
hey doc! To answer your questions, yes the red arrow you put on the pic is an out side wall. and that closet is always colder than the rest of the house, farthest from the heating unit with no ducting from furnace. i'm installing a thermomiter with a base unit and a external senser that also reads humidity to monitor room... i'll let everyone know what i'm working with as i go along before adding lights and after. i'm thinking the cooler temps my be to my benifit as i wont need as much exhaust. i could be wrong.The trailer is double insulated and on a perminate foundation.... looks like a stick house except for the windows.. that is why the is on a slow build... setting aside cash for new windows and hard wood floors. As for your blue arrows, the side wall does have and outlet That i have already planned on doing as you have pointed out. I have all ready picked up a box and a gfi outlet and coverplate. I would like to have a switchable 600wt light ideally, put will more than likely start with cfl's. Do you think one outlet with a GOOD surge protector will be adiquate? I saw a link on here to a site, garden cure, about panda plastic, with the zippers to make a door so i can seal the light out of room. i was thinking of instaalling a 1x3 at bottom of floor at door way and use multiple 90's of pfc to use as air intake. thanks for your help
here is a basic layout that was used on a similar size.......btw the fan was upgraded to 8" for noise reasons.... http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-room-design-setup/521080-please-critique-my-ventilation-ideas.html electric was handled by properly wiring a GFI outlet on the side directly from the circuit box. We lucked out on having a dedicated chimney vent for ventilation....