Building room within garage, 2k watts, need input and advice.

[HeresTheDank]

Hey there people, havent grown in nearly a decade, last and first grown ages ago in sig. Was completely ghetto and budget. Now have house to utilize with ability to building a proper room...also have lumber and drywall to use, hence going to build a room vs tent. It is in a garage with no insulation, with a stupid hot summer right now

Ive planned to build a room 7'deep x 9-10' wide x 9' tall. Trying to leave roughly the front 3 feet of the room open to have some dpace to work. 2 1000 watt lights with digital ballasts. A light controller as i have one stashed away somewhere. Either FF organic soil or coco mix in 5 gallon (or 3 gallon) smart pots. Either putting the smart pots in trays on the ground, or on 2 proper up 4x4 flood tables, 1 for each light, This route seems easier and cleaner.

Plant numbers, im unsure..6 under each light or 9?

My main concern is sealing the room or using intake/exhaust. As mentioned easier will be in a warm garage that doesnt have insulation. I plan on ilsulatting the room im building, as well as getting a portable ac or window ac. Ive read that the portable type arent efficient and yada yada, but also seen people say they work fine for them. The window unit will be pumping hot air into a hot garage so unsure how beneficial thatd be. And if sealing the room is best route, get c02 and regulator.

So might of forgot to include little things thatd be in place but have few main questions.

-Plant numbers, efficient amount to fill each 4x4 table and 1000 watter. ?

-could i pull off not sealing the room, air cooling the lights, using a bigger portable ac,;while air intake is sucking in warm air (id likely run lights at night ) but garage is still in 80s at best next few months.

-any benefit to losing some of the 3 feet of "working space" and pulling plants out of room when needed to adjust.

Thanks in advance , trying to do it correctly from the start now, and expand later. Forgot, also will likely get a small tent after starting This for mothers/clones veg room.

 

[Zen Medz]

HTD, welcome back to growing. I just finished building a 10x11x8.5' room in my garage and am running two 1000 watt digital lights. I'm up north in Sac and am battling the heat a little. Don't have much time so I'll offer a few things, a window a/c unit into en exterior wall would work well, portable A/C's are overpriced and seem to have problems.

Consider running sealed with co2, this allows higher temps and will use less electricity to cool room in sumer. I'm running a fresh air room and will be switching to sealed shortly. I'm also running my lights at 75% power, not ideal but it's working for me.

To help out with heat in garage make sure you have good attic/eve ventilation, add a couple passive vents towards the bottom of walls to help out with air movement and think about insulating garage door with foam panels. Don't forget to insulate the ceiling of your room also. Anyhow, good luck with the build and grow. Cheers.

 

[Granger2]

It would be best to insulate and cool the garage. Seal the grow cab, and intake from, exhaust to garage. Good luck. -granger

 

[Ref1]

As Granger2 said. Seal the garage. It will also help to minimize sound. Even if legal, most people run their on time at night, soundproofing will help everybody sleep better.

I would go "sealed-on-demand" room. It requires a little extra investment (DuraZone dampers and a good control unit) but you will save on electricity and upstart cost of a good dehumidifier.

It would also allow you to use Co2 enrichment.

I am building a similar setup and one of the reasons is that I got a whole bunch of stuff for nearly free after a Hydro shop in my area had out of business sale. Literally got 4 Hydrogen Pro for $100. That's $25 a piece. Motorized dampers for $10 each. Got really lucky and I am now incorporating all this into a new built.

Whatever you decide, count in for options. I had a 100% sealed before and it was good for a year and then something wasn't agreeing with the plants and I had to bring in fresh air to help. Cutting holes after everything is built is not a nice sight, and I like to work in a nice looking work space that looks like a lab.

 

[HeresTheDank]

Thanks much for the replies. Ill look into insating the garage, its big 3 car garage though...so may have to be a down the line thing. Ill be covering all the walls woth reclaimed wood anyhow so will likely do it sooner than later.

Gotta see about (the ideal) putting window ac in garage exterior wall. Just not sure ill have the okay about doing that from the landlord/old man. Lol

The room will be going in the back section of the 1 car garage door, meanwhile the 2 car door will be opened daily. Looking into the 1 car door you wont be able to tell theres a room back there do to things in place. Even looking in from other garage door wont be able to tell. Besides, live deep into a residential area, on small culdisac with 3 other houses. Known the neighbors for 20 of my 30 years alive. Never get any passer byers.

Didnt realize it til last night at a buddies but butmy garage has techshield radiant barrier sheathing...and it certainly keeps the garage much cooler than his. Not to say it doesnt get warm but certainly helps.


Ill research the sealed on demand option youre refering to...if anything be a post first harvest upgrade. Not too worried on electricity costs, has a new big solar system. House has been producing more electricity than consuming for last 12 months..phew.

Nearly done gutting the garage, so think, pending my lazyness/the heat, be framing by early next week. Thanks again for the replies.

 

[Speed of green]

you could look into a small mini split, they cost more up front but this is going to allow you to run Co2, control smell, and dial the environment with a minimal investment.

I built my room inside of a garage that is not insulated, it is framed with 2x4's and the walls are rigid insulation with 1/4" plywood underneath. Sealed the seams with sheathing tape, it is a great vapor barrier and says very cool during the last few 110+ days we have had out here.

I bought an ac from these guys in Anaheim, they do cash discounts and offer a decent warranty.
http://starairkontrol.com/product/cooper-hunter-12000-btu-mini-split-air-conditioner-220v/

Good luck.

 

[HeresTheDank]

Hey speed, thanks for the reply, and good looking out on the link to a local spot! Trying to troop it out and finish cleaning out this garage despite triple digit heat for the next week.

Is the one linked (believe 12000 btu) the one youd gone with, if so, it helped keep your room in range? I saw a 9000 btu, thats bit easier on the pocket..but ill have to refind the "equation" to determine btus needed.

Now if uncle sam would hurry up with my refund thatd be an immense help. Been unemployed last 6 months and finallly should be able to start collecting edd here shortly, sucha joke haha. Cheers

 

[Speed of green]

9000 btu is fine, i didn't know they made them that small haha, i am using 8 lights and 36,000btu so 4500btu per 1k.

Good luck!