Bad Habit's 7.5'x11' Shed Buildout

[Bad Habits]

What's up ICmag. Welcome to my 2nd buildout.

Intro
About 7 months ago I built a 10x13 CGE flowering room with a built-in veg closet (thread link is in my signature, however I never finished the thread lol). The room has about 6k watts and 3 2x8 tables in perpetual flower.

Here's the veg closet I've been working with so far:

Unfortunately, it is really too small of a space to produce plants that are ready to fill in a 2x8 table when flipping to flower, I can cram 4 trained planted in the bottom, and when I flip them they fill up maybe 75% of the screen in the flowering room after it's all said and done. When I initially built the space I ordered wire shelving which I thought I could hang 8 bulb T-5's in, but didn't account for the poles so only a 6 bulb fits... by the time I had unpacked the box and set it up it was too late to return it, and I couldn't find any shelving that would fit in that space which could hold an 8 bulb T-5.

Regardless, the space is too small. After pulling down a few rounds I've saved a little coin and decided it's time to upgrade! (well, more like reshuffled some credit card debt lmao!)

There was a pre-existing shed on my property that was on a rough concrete pad, with 2x4 framing and sheathing on the outside. It measured roughly 8' wide x 12' long by about 8' tall with a pitched roof. It pretty much had cracks at all the seams and was far from weather proof. I ordered a bunch of supplies from HD with a 10% off coupon, ripped out the work bench and cabinets that were in the shed, and got to work Unfortunately I didn't take any "before" photos though.

So here's the plan. I wanna build two custom 3-tier shelving units on the right and left side of the interior of the shed. Each unit will be 2.5' wide by 8.5' long and extend to the ceiling, so roughly 8' tall. Each tier will hold a 2x8 low tide tray with 2 8 bulb T5s hanging over it on adjustable hangers. Each tray will be on a slight incline so the run off will run down, and either run into a hose which will deposit it into the tray below it, or go out through a PVC tube with a ball valve on the bottom tray to the exterior of the shed into my lawn.

I plan on making these shelving units enclosed, so they are basically one big cabinet. The reason being is when I open the door I don't want a ton of light flooding out at night that would be visible from the neighbors' second story windows. I want to be able to open the shed door, walk in, close it, then turn on the over head light and open the cabinets.

I still haven't worked out all the kinks, but here's my rough idea for the cabinets: 6-8 2x4 or 2x8's as posts for the shelves: 1 at each corner, and 2-4 in the middle as support beams. Each tray will be on a sheet of plywood placed at a slight incline, held in place by 2x4 blocks attached to the beams. The bottom of 2nd and 3rd sheets of plywood will have an adjustable light hanger with a 8 bulb T-5 hanging from it. The sides and top of the cabinets will have plywood enclosing the beams. The front I will make roll up doors similar to the one's in my flower room closet pictured above, made with either orca film or reflectix with velcro.

Equipment list:
-4-6 2x8 low tide trays (might use 1x8 trays for the top tiers for smaller plants)
- 8 bulb T-5s
- adjustable light hangers
- 6" hurricane inline fan for carbon filter
- can 75
- phresh duct silencer (already have the fan/filter/silencer going in my dry room)
- ideal air 12000 btu portable ac

QUESTIONS:

1) AIR EXCHANGE: I'm still trying to decide on how I want to do air exchange in the room. As noted, I have a can carbon filter with 6" inline fan, which I plan on exhausting out of the shed with. I was planning on just cutting 2 6" intake holes at the bottom of each side of the shed on the opposite side of the exhaust hole. For this purpose I ordered two of these, and would stick duct socks on the end to prevent bugs getting in:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Master-Flow-6-in-Fresh-Air-Vent-FAV6/100396938?keyword=6"+fresh+air+vent

I am definitely open to suggestion however and could easily return these if I decided to do something different.

2) AC / EXHAUSTING:
Not sure if I can exhaust through the portable AC unit, or if I need to cut another 6" hole in the wall. With this unit, you hook up 2 ducting hoses both to the outside. Apparently this creates a closed loop so no air from the room itself is actually exhausted, and thus no smell goes out as well. My question: is there any reason why you couldn't hook up a carbon scrubber in the room to the intake duct? Would this exhaust the scrubbed air through the AC unit outside? It theory it seems like it should work in my mind, but I'm no HVAC tech. If not, I'm just going to exhaust through a new 6" hole at the top of the shed.

3) Air exchange / air circulation in the cabinets.
Still haven't decided what to do with this. Was thinking 2 6" clamp-on fans per teir at each end right under the top of the T5s, so they would both be blowing towards the middle of the cabinet (these fans are pretty light weight and not powerful). For air exchange I was thinking just 2 passive intake holes at the bottom of each end of the cabinet, and 1 inline fan exhausting at the top? Not sure what would be ideal for this situation.

 

[Bad Habits]

First thing I did was go around the interior and exterior of the shed and caulk all the sheathing boards seams. Didn't get any pics of that.

Next, I insulated between all the studs with R13 fiberglass insulation:

Whoever built the shed was a fuking retard - every stud was a different space apart. some were like 14", some 16" - there was no method to it it just seemed random lmao. Luckily with the fiberglass I was able to cram it in to all of them without much trouble, but I did have to costume cut some pieces.

I had some prodex leftover from my flower room buildout, so I said fuk it the more insulation the better! This insulation is pretty badass, it's super thin, and acts as an IR block:

Somehow by chance, I pretty much ended up with exactly the right amount of prodex left over to cover the entire shed

After the prodex, I decided to go with sound board. It's pretty light weight and easy to cut as well.

 

[Bad Habits]

Next, I caulked all the seams of the soundboard. I'm no craftsman, so some of my measuring/cutting wasn't the best on the soundboard which sometimes left gaps as big as 1/2" or so, so I ended up going through A LOT of caulk

I also used roofing tar at the bottom where the concrete meets the 2x4 sills. When I got the property the previous owner had done about half of the shed already. I've never seen any water in there so far, but better safe than sorry so I went over what he had already done and finished the other half. I have no idea if roofing tar was the best choice for the situation, but it seemed like a logical answer at the time

After the soundboard, I decided to use "mold tough" drywall as my final layer of insulation.

Cutting and hanging drywall can be a real bitch! I tried to follow all the rules of always having it end on a stud, X amount of screws, etc, but sometimes it was just way too complicated to try and calculate it so I just did the best I could, but seems to be fine IMO. Hanging it on the ceiling was hard as fuk, even with a friend helping me. One side we did 2 boards so as to try and use studs on the sides, but it was so damn heavy and hard to fit in place because of the angle I decided to do the 2nd half of the ceiling with 3 pieces so it would be lighter and easier to shimmy into place.

 

[Bad Habits]

Just finished hanging all the dry wall today. Moved onto mudding all the screws, and put up self-adhesive drywall tape on all the seams:

Gonna try and mud all the seams tomorrow and hit the screws with a 2nd coat.

This is where I'm at today; been working on this project for about 9 days now.

After mudding I plan on painting the walls where the cabinets will be with white paint with mildicide in it so it will be mold resistant.

Right now the shed has this big door that was just made from 2x4s and plywood sheathing. After trying to get it to close squarely for a few hours and failing, I said fuk it time for a new option... ordered a 36x80 steel door from HD and it's being shipped right now (ordered an outswing door so I can save space in the room, which they don't carry in any stores except for like Florida or some chit - fucker cost like $80 more than the exact same inswing model which they have in stock at the store).

After that time to start building the cabinets... just wanna get the designed nailed before I start anything

 

[Bad Habits]

So just brainstorming about the air exchange/carbon scrubber situation...

Would this idea work?

the rectangle outlines on the right and left are the cabinets. At the bottom of both cabs would be 2 passive intake holes cut through the wall to the outside. On the top of both cabs would be ducting which would meet at a Y-duct mounted to the ceiling, which would connect to an inline fan pushing through the scrubber... So the air would be pulled from the outside but then just exhausted to the inside of the shed.

Now I know most people say that pulling through the scrubber is much more efficient, but could this work?

Just thinkin about this chit as I trim...

The good thing about this design is that I wouldn't have to exhaust the scrubber outside, which would thus eliminate more noise traveling outside via the fan...

 

[Bad Habits]

sanded down 1st layer of mudding and did a 2nd coat on a lot of places today... mudding can be time-consuming for sure

would love some ideas on the cabinets if anyone has any input

 

[the gnome]

at it again eh Bad...
a separate veg area will make life Much easier.
sorry i can't be of much help on the exhaust/intake aspect of the build

 

[rock solid]

Now thats what i call a shed grow looks like its gonna be awesome dank demon has one up in the uk section all the best bad habits

 

[Bad Habits]

Got some more sanding/mudding done today.

Trying to give myself a timeline of 2 weeks to at least have the first cabinet finished: I just transplanted a ton of babies from keg cups to 1 gal pots, so they should be ready to up-pot in 2 weeks and I'm out of space in my closet now...

Always good to have that kind of motivation to work faster...

at it again eh Bad...
a separate veg area will make life Much easier.
sorry i can't be of much help on the exhaust/intake aspect of the build

what's up buddy! Was hoping to see you drop in here can't thank you enough for all your help with my flower room build dude. Seriously.

Now thats what i call a shed grow looks like its gonna be awesome dank demon has one up in the uk section all the best bad habits

Thanks man! I'll have to search up Dank Demon's. I'm always brainstorming and seeing someone else's always helps.

 

[Dank Demon]

Now thats what i call a shed grow looks like its gonna be awesome dank demon has one up in the uk section all the best bad habits

Hey RS my shed is no where near as fantastic and as well thought out as this one as mine is not a designated grow room, more like just a shed that has a light,fan,carbon filter, aircooled shade and ozone machine, the walls and roof are not lined and there is loads of general shed crap in it as well as the plants lol.

Thanks man! I'll have to search up Dank Demon's. I'm always brainstorming and seeing someone else's always helps.

Hey Bad Habits, your shed is looking great and well thought out, you will not get any ideas from my shed other than maybe the set up of the shade and cf etc, which is 8" carbon filter - duct -Magnum XXL aircooled shade - duct - fan out. I guess in your size shed you could run 2 shades inline. If you want to seal the shed and use C02 you could use a 6" vent at the top apex of one side of the shed run duct from that through 2 shades then fan out a 6" vent the other side of the shed, this way cooler air is sucked from outside the shed through the shades and out the other side. You might want to use a small A/C unit to cool any heat trapped in the shed though, or even another carbon filter and fan set up and y piecing it into the out fo the lights?

Good luck with your grow mate

 

[who dat is]

Very nice build out with the insulation and drywall. You will be happy that you took the time and care that you did.

 

[Bad Habits]

Finished the 2nd coat of mudding yesterday and the day before, and have sanded it all down with 120 - 220 - 240 (I think) grit sand paper to smooth it all out. Tomorrow I hope to paint the whole thing with flat white paint with mildicide mixed in to help prevent mold from potential high humidity.

Hey RS my shed is no where near as fantastic and as well thought out as this one as mine is not a designated grow room, more like just a shed that has a light,fan,carbon filter, aircooled shade and ozone machine, the walls and roof are not lined and there is loads of general shed crap in it as well as the plants lol.

Hey Bad Habits, your shed is looking great and well thought out, you will not get any ideas from my shed other than maybe the set up of the shade and cf etc, which is 8" carbon filter - duct -Magnum XXL aircooled shade - duct - fan out. I guess in your size shed you could run 2 shades inline. If you want to seal the shed and use C02 you could use a 6" vent at the top apex of one side of the shed run duct from that through 2 shades then fan out a 6" vent the other side of the shed, this way cooler air is sucked from outside the shed through the shades and out the other side. You might want to use a small A/C unit to cool any heat trapped in the shed though, or even another carbon filter and fan set up and y piecing it into the out fo the lights?

Good luck with your grow mate

Thanks for dropping in Dank Demon! I peeped your grow before you stopped in, and definitely give you props

Very clean looking op if I say so. Difference between ours is looks like yours is designed for flowering primarily if I'm not mistaken, whilst mine will be primarily for vegging (HPS vs floros as well).

I do plan on using a small portable AC unit to cool the shed in this summer heat, although I highly suspect I won't need it in the winter, and might even need a portable heater then.

Very nice build out with the insulation and drywall. You will be happy that you took the time and care that you did.

Thank you sir! I'm highly of the opinon that if you're going to do something, do it right the first time as to prevent headaches down the road.

 

[Bad Habits]

2 coats mudding everywhere, all sanded down:

1st coat of paint:

Added a packet of mildewcide in to as a precautionary measure.

The paint was some really old leftover paint I had... thought it was white but it has a greyish tint to it. I'll probably end up using my left over orca film from my flower room in the veg cabinets for better reflectivity and as an additional vapor barrier.

Going to do one more coat of paint tomorrow to make it look super clean, then it's off to work building the actual cabinets.

One thing I was thinking of is how am I going to raise the RH to a good range in the veg cabs? Considering I plan on doing a passive intake/inline fan exhaust I assume the RH will be below optimal range... anyone have experience with pond foggers or anything they could point me in the right direction?

 

[Dank Demon]

^^ Hey bro, in my time I have used all sorts of humidifiers, wet towels and those pond foggers from the one disc version to the 3 disc and they are all a pain in the arse to deal with over time. The foggers pack up and the bucket needs filling every other day, the towels dry out and cheap humidifiers go green after a short time. The best fogger I found and still use is this one http://www.progrow.co.uk/acatalog/info_4439.html a HR-15 Humidifier which you can hook up to a larger reservoir so do not need to fill it so often, and also comes with a Humidistat so you can set the right RH in the room.

Peace

 

[Granger2]

Here's another one that has worked well for me. I put a little peroxide in the reservoir to keep it from going bad.
http://www.grainger.com/product/ESSICK-AIR-PRODUCTS-Portable-Humidifier-2PYG2?s_pp=false&picUrl=//static.grainger.com/rp/s/is/image/Grainger/2PYG2_AS01?$smthumb$

 

[Bad Habits]

Controlling Humidity

Alright so I was talking with my bro today about achieving optimal RH levels in the veg cabs. His suggestion was to have the passive air intakes (from the outside of the shed) in the cabs, and then have the carbon filter on a timer to exhaust once every 15-30 mins or so - would have to run some trial and error to get the right timing down. The thought behind it is just from watering the coco frequently the RH would raise to good high levels, which I know I have experienced in the past vegging in a bathroom without the exhaust fan on. Also if I end up flowering anything in the shed I would be worried about not having the filter running constantly as smell could maybe escape.

Then I said, why not just have the carbon filter scrubbing and recirculating in the shed, with no air being exhausted anywhere ever? So the cabs would have a passive air intake, a passive exhaust hole, and the filter/fan in the main area would suck air through the passive intake and slowly through the passive exhaust, which should in theory allow enough moisture from the waterings to build up the RH levels in the cabs themselves.

I know I could just run the whole shed sealed with Co2 and a dehuey, but not sure if I have the electrical capacity for that and don't really wanna mess with Co2 in the shed...

Another thing he brought up is that he thought I wouldn't need an AC unit at all. He said he thought that even in the 90s the plants would veg fine and that his plants veg fine in the 90s. I'm a bit skeptical though - with potentially 4-6 8 bulb T5s AND a dehuey running I would assume temps would be in the high 90s in the summer heat here...

Wouldn't mind some more input on the humidity / air flow dilemma

^^ Hey bro, in my time I have used all sorts of humidifiers, wet towels and those pond foggers from the one disc version to the 3 disc and they are all a pain in the arse to deal with over time. The foggers pack up and the bucket needs filling every other day, the towels dry out and cheap humidifiers go green after a short time. The best fogger I found and still use is this one http://www.progrow.co.uk/acatalog/info_4439.html a HR-15 Humidifier which you can hook up to a larger reservoir so do not need to fill it so often, and also comes with a Humidistat so you can set the right RH in the room.

Peace

Here's another one that has worked well for me. I put a little peroxide in the reservoir to keep it from going bad.
http://www.grainger.com/product/ESSICK-AIR-PRODUCTS-Portable-Humidifier-2PYG2?s_pp=false&picUrl=//static.grainger.com/rp/s/is/image/Grainger/2PYG2_AS01?$smthumb$

Thanks for the recommendations guys! As noted above, still brainstorming ideas for optimal RH levels, and might not need any additional humidity sources possibly. If I do though, I will definitely look into these

 

[shagdawg420]

looking real nice

 

[Bad Habits]

New Door Pt 1

New Door Pt 1

So here's the door that was on the shed when I got the house:

Basically just 2 pieces of sheathing with some 2x4s on the inside. It didn't close correctly at all and thus would not be suitable for a grow in there. I tried using some door kit thing to jack it up but it didn't work and I had to return it... Decided fuk it I'll just replace the damn thing.

Decided on a prehung steel door, that would swing outward for 2 reasons: harder to kick in, and my shelving units inside wouldn't interfere with it opening and thus I have more available space to use. After getting the door I thought it was a bit odd that the hinges are on the outside though ??? Doesn't look like you can just jam a flathead screw driver in and tap them out, but still wtf?

I've never installed a door in my life but figured it couldn't be too hard eh?

Bye bye old door!

Sawed off some of the old door's top sill and framed in some new 2x4s where the new 36"x80" door would go. Here I am test fitting it:

Recycled the sheathing and 2x4s from the old door to cover up the holes:

 

[Bad Habits]

New Door Pt 2

New Door Pt 2

Next was hanging the new door and using shims to get it to fit in correctly:

This was hard as FUCK! I watched maybe 5 youtube videos on doing it before starting...

So after putting a level on the shed in different places I realized the shed wasn't level/plum at all and was completely off-centered. Thus to install the door level/plum it would look crooked on the shed if that makes sense. Decided to just install the door flush with the bottom 2x4 sills as that would look normal.

So for the first couple hours I tried using shims and getting the door jamb/frame level and plum, but that didn't work at all and the door wouldn't close correctly.

Eventually I just started putting shims in intuitively until I made it work as best as I could. It's not 100% perfect but I messed around with it for hours and couldn't think of a better way to do it...

Installed a kuickset lock/handle and caulked it all in:

View from the inside:

There are still 2 places on the door where there is a small gap and light leaks, so I gotta fix that:

Was reading something about trying to caulk behind the weather stripping to push it out more, might give that a shot unless someone pipes in with a better suggestion.

Next gotta finish that wall (insulation/drywall/paint/etc). Then I plan on hanging orca film everywhere that I have leftover from my flower room, and building the shelving units...

busy busy busy!

Is it obvious I'm not a carpenter? lol

 

[who dat is]

I wouldn't fool with caulking behind the weatherstripping, that just sounds like a messy mess waiting to happen. If you don't mind aesthetics, and since you have a steel clad door you could always buy a weatherstripping kit (the screw in type) that are meant to be installed on the door frame. You could then measure and cut them to size, screw them directly into the frame with zip screws so that they butt up against the frame from the door and you would have that helping to seal those bottom light leaks.

This is the product that I like to see/use.

This particular style is made by AM Conservation group and it is a very nice, sturdy product. The aluminum frame is sturdy, much sturdier than the dog shit door weatherstripping products that can be found at the big box hardware stores. If you decide to go this route PLEASE do yourself a favor and don't use that crap, use this stuff if you can find it. Their website is here, http://www.amconservationgroup.com/categories/weatherization-products/weatherstrip/

The door sweeps that you can get at the hardware stores are really good but NOT the door jamb up kits (I don't know why the difference)

If you need to, PM me.