Converting my shed (WIP) (400w HPS) (Soil)

Hello! Long time lurker, recently decided to be active and share my thoughts and trials with everyone. Let me start by saying I'm not very good at forums and posting. I tend to run on, and jump around a lot haha.

I have lurked here for a couple years, reading, soaking up all the information I can, I felt that I was at a point to try and utilize some of the knowledge I soaked up.

I built a "high pod" using 8 55w PLLs. DWC 10gal, jacks nutes, one white widow autoflower seed. Long story short, I made a classic noob mistake and chopped her too early. Lots of immature, non-active buds. Very grassy smell despite trying to dry and cure (i'll need lots of work on that)

The wifey needs about 2oz per month as she uses it for nausea/appetite/anxiety, I stopped partaking so we wouldn't have to buy as much, so I hope the following will be able to supply it, without me having to buy it from the local rip off shady dealer. Boy I could tell some stories there. Just sayin, I miss it.

Got a shed I ran 60A service to using some direct burial cable, wired up a proper breaker box and outlets. Now I am currently in the process of installing insulation/sheet rock on the inside.

I know nothing I do is anything short of Ghetto, but I figure every little bit is better than nothing at all. While constructive criticism is welcome, keep the hate away.

Lets begin shall we?


Here, you see my cheap as possible insulation job. I got the blue foam from a local chicken house farmer, his houses have sat unused for years and he's started to tear them down, I paid 5$ per 4x25 sheet of 1.5" foam.



Here you can see where I added a ceiling to put sheet rock on. I know it's not the proper way to make a ceiling, but i'm working with whatever i can scrounge and/or have on hand. Future plans may include finishing a ceiling out and blowing in a layer of insulation on top to isolate roof temps from shed space.



The worst part, is the shed is only 8x12 or so, and I have nowhere else to move all the crap I have stored in here. So, I have to move everything a ton of times to get anything done.



Right side shot, a random door sitting on my makeshift ceiling for now. May use this, or might just buy a 24" door w/ frame. Can't decide what i'm gonna do yet.



And the last of the pictures for now, This was taken tonight. I have been cleaning the left side out and removing all the nails, hooks, and installing the rest of the foam I have. I'm at the point I have to buy more sheet rock, so there won't be much progress besides cleaning and moving crap around. I'm planning on getting more rock and other materials tomorrow after work.

So, my grow area will be a little room under the ceiling area. I got the following gear at my disposal.

Ipower 190cfm 4" fan
Large 4" can style carbon filter
Xtrasun 64 6" air cooled reflector (need to get a reducer 6" to 4")
Quantum 400w dimable ballast
400w HPS bulb (forget the brand off hand)
2 bags Happy Frog soil
Emeral Harvest nutes
LOTS of 9w screw in LED Bulbs, 10x 2700, 10x 5000k
20x cleat low profile bulb sockets (in the mail)
(I plan on eventually using these for separate mother and clone veg area)

And I just found out today a friend is getting me two rooted clones (Northern Lights) soon so i need to finish this before I get them.

The sheet rock should take care of the light leaks from whoever built this shed. I'll say nothing is square, and the previous owner like using nails and hooks to hang everything.

Should I worry about mudding/sanding/painting given my accelerated time frame (clones given to me soon) ? Panda film/mylar is out of my price range right now, I guess flat white paint would be better than nothing, but is a couple days enough to offgas? I could just wait until I flower these clones out, I'm anxious to get started, hopefully shooting for at least .5 gpw (not that i'm obsessed about getting that much, I just know 200g would last us long enough for me to finish the improvements after the first run)

I'm not in this for nefarious purposes, I won't be selling, I just want to be free from having to buy it. Our "hookup" is all over the place with prices but its a supply and demand market. 350/oz one time, 240/oz the next, i never know what to budget for because it's different every time.

Hopefully ya'll still with me.

My planned grow area is 34"L 53"W x87"H which gives me the following stats supposedly
12.51 sq ft (is that right?)
91 Cubic feet

So my fan should be enough for complete air exchange and keep everything cool. Sound and smell aren't really an issue, but i'd still like to stay stealthy if possible.

I can't think of anything else right now, I know i can't edit posts till 50 or something, so I tried to remember it all.

Stay tuned for more, and please for the love of god, say something lol!

Whats up Jelly.

Get a small clean area set up for the clones with a few bulbs. Plant them in solo cups of soil to get them started.

Now you can let them veg while you finish setting up your flower area.

You can fit a 3'x3' tray in the area you described. Its easy to make one yourself with some wood and plastic film. Put it on a slope so water drains off into a bucket or something.

I do have a couple 4 way splitters I could use for the screw in LED's, I suppose I could use a cabinet to hold the clones for up to a week or so, while i finish my area out, I know from other unrelated projects that rushing isn't always the best. Been helping my family build a house for over a year, taking it slow and doing it right, it's going to be my retirement package lol.

Thanks for the reply!

Careful with the foams, especially spray on types. They can off gas some plant damaging shit. At Home Depot and Lowe's they've got 0% VOC white paints that I've used repeatedly with no ill effects. Better than plastic or polyethylene for tables is pond liner. Mine's been going for 12 years with no leaks. Good luck. -granger

Tonight, I finished up the sheds insulation/sheet rock.

The foam i'm using is most definately not offgasing anything, it's probably 10 years old or better. But, I know what you mean @Granger2

I picked up some more material today right after work,
6 sheets of 4x8 3/8 rock,
12 2x4 framing studs
1 gallon Behr Ultra white Zero VOC ultra white "flat"
more sheetrock screws
and some other misc crap I didn't need lol

all in all, in renovation of the shed i've got probably 500$ if you count the wiring and 100' direct burial supply line (I didn't originally run power to the shed for growing, but glad I went overboard now)

Now some pics.



Last night we left off with me starting to remove the bench. Tonight I got the rock done, so of course all that shit had to come off the walls.



Notice I stacked most of my grow related stuff in the corner lol. Tetris anyone?



Just inside the door to the shed, left side. Made a inside door frame out of 1x4 and painted the jamb flat black. Hopefully this helps block out the light from outside. Didn't pay attention but I think tomorrow night i'll check from the outside when its dark and see if I have any more light leaks. I need a proper locking latch for the shed door.



And, This pic shows just how un square the whole shed was built. I'm glad I didn't do it, I wouldn't claim it even if i did haha.


Tomorrow I build my smaller "grow area" and put drywall up, Then i'll caulk the cracks and paint it. Then when my fan gets here, start hooking everything up.

Do HPS bulbs/ballasts have a "burn in" period? should I dry run it a day before I start?


Thanks for looking, don't forget to leave a comment if ya looked.

It's a good idea to run a new room with new equipment for a day or two to test everything and see where temp/rh stays. Then tweak it if you have to before throwing plants in.

Make sure its pitch black in there.

Hey! Thanks again for the comments. I'm about to go out an check the RH now that i've got the walls sealed up. It should stabilize soon, I read higher RH during veg (60-80%) and lower during the latter part of flowering is good to encourage trichrome production?

Jelly,
Lower RH in flower will encourage trichome production, but low RH is a much more valuable tool for retarding fungal problems such as Powdery Mildew and Botritus [bud rot]. Good luck. -granger

Man, these long nights are rough. Tonight, I started mudding and... Wait for it... Moved more shit around to get to where I could mud things haha. I also got my grow room framed in.

Once I get all the sheet rock mudded I'll sand, clean up EVERYTHING (DUST) and then paint the inside of the grow room with two coats, I'll figure out what to paint the rest of the shed haha.

Some pics for tonight.





I cleaned so much I was able to build the walls inside the shed, yay for not getting eaten alive by mosquitos.

So, I left a 28" opening, I may get one of those prehung doors and put it in, Or once I get everything done I may just have a removable panel like you see going into attic spaces. Not sure yet. I don't know what I should do there yet, I'm nearing my budget and a panel seems cheaper haha. a prehung door is around 70 bones.

The going is getting tough, as I work a pretty demanding regular job, get off at 5 and work till 12 or so on the shed.

Thanks for peeking! It's all coming together!

Jelly

Granger2 said:

Jelly,
Lower RH in flower will encourage trichome production, but low RH is a much more valuable tool for retarding fungal problems such as Powdery Mildew and Botritus [bud rot]. Good luck. -granger

Click to expand...

Oh, Update on the humidity. It's about 85% RH right now, and inside the shed with the ac set on 74 degrees, it's 55-60% RH inside the shed. I'm anxious to see what it is once everything is all sealed up.

That window AC is bringing humidity down but remember its also leaking smell out the back.

Smell won't be an issue, the last post shows that my actual grow area is much smaller than my shed is. Until I get the roof insulated the a.c. Is a must.

Not to mention my closest neighbors are more than a mile away lol

Jelly

Sup everyone.

So I worked later tonight because we had a dinner and then had to go get groceries. That's the only downside of being out in the boonies, takes 30 mins to get to civilization lol.

So I threw the sheetrock on the inside of the grow room up, then I insulated with some r-13 pink fiberglass insulation, and put the outer sheetrock up.

I mudded the entire inside of the grow area, so that I can sand and possibly paint in the morning before I go to work.

Things are coming together now, gotta figure out a door/cover then hook up ventilation/lights and get my grow bags ready.

Anyone have any recommendations for Happy Frog soil? I got two bags, should I spread it out on a tarp and then cover it with black plastic to kill anything lurking?

Now for probably what most of you wait for (Like jeez, does that guy ever shut up?) Pics!





So that's all for tonight.

lots of hard work going on in there mate, been there still doing it lol, nice work .

noyd666 said:

lots of hard work going on in there mate, been there still doing it lol, nice work .

Click to expand...

Hey thanks! Just got off work about to go sand and paint. Going to pick up my clones tonight. (Logic being if its dark out, less likely to get stopped lol)

It's been a rough week, and today shot a nail through my finger :/ These things happen I suppose haha.

Stay tuned, more updates tonight with plant pics!

First thing, Didn't get clones tonight as my friend had something come up. Tomorrow though.

Second: I love Zero VOC paint. One of the first times i've painted without getting a headache. I'll have to recommend Behr Paints, they cover well, and don't stink.

I'll be finishing up the space tomorrow, so tonight, look at my paint drying lol.



First coat, bottom. You can still see some of the drywall where the paint has soaked in.

Second coat, top. Looks so much better.



Second coat, bottom. Boy, you can really tell this flat white reflects. I shined a flashlight at it, and to the eye it looks like it reflects a lot of light. I know about the inverse square law, but alas, something is better than nothing.

Peace out homies, early night tonight. Been a long week.

Whoops I got the two bottom coat pics flipped, since I can't edit my posts yet thought I'd point that out lol

Well, Got what feels like a lot of work done today. I feel like I did good anyways. Finger is sore as a bitch, but life goes on and the world doesn't stop just because you shoot a nail almost through it. Was off today (or so i thought, more on that later) and started at it early. Cleaning up the shed vacuuming all the dust i've generated, which feels kinda pointless until i'm done, but i'm trying to keep it tidy so I have less work later.

Went and picked up my clones, always a scary feeling driving with what the "man" considers illegal. They are pretty small, but not drooping or anything so I think they are rooted. I've got them under a small LED desk lamp (real close) for now until I finish my space. Hopefully only a couple days tops.


Got the girls today! Two Northern Lights, from a mother plant. They are pretty small, the grow bag they are in is a 1 gallon grow bag. (Got for free too!)


This was my solution for mounting my light. Using paracord to adjust height. I have some rope cleats screwed in out of sight so I can adjust the height.


Mostly for creature comfort, as I have the ceiling above the grow area already insulated. I spaced the 2x4's so my R-13 will fit perfectly and have something to staple to. After I put the insulation up, I'll put up some plywood or OSB. I'm done with sheetrock haha.


Quick Connect for my exhaust.


Used an Aluminum dryer vent, so I could isolate the intake/exhaust. This is for the exhaust. Everything coming out of this hole will be filtered so i'm not worried about smell. I've painted it flat black, but i took the picture before I did that.

The pics will be continued in the next post, since I can only do 5 per post.

Continued from above.

This will be my intake. I shouldn't hamper flow, and even if it does, my fan is strong enough it should help generate negative pressure. Also painted flat black. On the inside of the grow room, I have a 4" 90 degree elbow painted flat black and a square under it also painted flat black. Pic tomorrow.


Got my ACR unboxed. and mounted where I want it.


That hammered finish tho!


And, for the bummer of the night. I didn't know I needed an adapter, and my hydro store guy neglected to mention I'd need one.
Amazon to the Rescue! I live so far out even with "1 day" shipping I won't get it until Tuesday.

Well, time to go browse the forums.
Comments welcome and appreciated!

So today was kind of a Lazy day, I didn't get much done, except figure out that I need to spend MORE money of course.

I got my ballast mounted in the grow room, close to the intake. I plan on having a small fan inside for air circulation. I painted a flat black square on the floor under the elbow, along with the elbow interior. I'm amazed at how well flat black keeps light from reflecting. The ceiling shot is where i put insulation up. OSB will go up tomorrow. I finally feel like this may come together soon.

I think i'm just going to buy a prehung door, 24" probably. I'll know for sure when I go to town tomorrow.

If you've made it this far thanks! Let me know what you think!