Jjay's remodel project (I do shit the hard way)

[TheyCallMeJJay]

Came back to the IC for research on an AC (arriving next week). Almost amazoned a pioneer mini split, came here and now a mitsubishi mr slim is on its way. Thanks assholes.

Any way, since I'm here I might as well share my project and share how I do things, specifically, how I do things the hard, long, and expensive way. We all encounter different obstacles in some form or fashion in this everlasting quest to improve. There was nothing wrong with what I was doing. Easily pulling great weight (last pull clocked in at way over a gpw). Practically no work involved (I run supersoils). All was well.

A little history....This shit all began about a month ago. I was thinking it might be time to update some of my timers and a new AC (its a 15k portable and just wasn't keeping up with my 1ks that had been upgrade from 6's). No problem right? Well I hop online, throw 3 Titan timers in my cart for my 1k lumateks and bam. There it was.

"NOT FOR ELECTRONIC BALLAST"

Holy shit. My heart sank. I've been running this exact model since I don't know when. Fuck. Might as well do it right. Right? Ok, lets just put this controller in my cart. Forget those timers. I dodged a bullet. Lesson learned.

Oh look! Here's one for sale! $75! Buy.

Comes in...needs a 50 amp breaker. No problem, except apparently this kind of breaker is a special order...one week to get here. And that's how it all began.......

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

Here's where I am today. The AC will be here next week. The new AC/DE double ended hoods as well (that's a whole nother story my old ones were just fine)

I've torn out my room and put it back together. This time its better, stronger, and looks a ton better. There's options in place that you can't see hidden in the walls for future wild hairs that come up.

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

As of right now I'm prepping the floor for that nice ass epoxy floor. You know. That shit with the flakes and all nice and shiny.

This is all new drywall, except for the very back wall in the main chamber (first pic) the second pic is beneath my stairs (my veg and clone space. The rooms are connected.

There's 5 total coats of paint on. While I was working on prepping the floor I noticed some imperfections and...well fuck me if I didn't grab some mud and fix them. Likely 2 more coats...FML. Pretty sure you can see my mud in the pics.

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

Here's that single pole 50 amp breaker.

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

I did run another 6 awg with my 3 strand 120 in the event I go 240


Both wires were returns so I got them 1/2 off. Pretty dam lucky. Wire is EXPENSIVE these days.

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

The Veg room is directly beneath a set of stairs. It measures 7 ft 7 inches by 3 ft 7 inches. There is a 3 outlet 20 amp circuit there. I put one of the circuits very close to the sloped end for my cloner(s).

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

Here is where I'm thinking of putting the Mr Slim ac unit. Right by that plug that's not in the ceiling. The condenser will sit outside the wall to the left. This is where my garage is.

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

The Flower room has 4 strands of #6 AWG. One of which is directly in the ceiling above where the 3 strand is, tucked in neatly. I'm pretty good at drywall so it doesn't bother me to cut into it to get it.

There's also 4 auxilary outlets on a 20 amp circuit. 3 on the ceiling and one on the offset ceiling (where the slim may go) (House HVAC runs within that offset)

There's also a 20 amp circuit near the floor.

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

I didn't get any photos of what the wall construction is. It's likely the most advanced aspect of these rooms because I designed it to be sound proof. That said, I'll build a cross cut view so everyone can see how it's designed.

The jest of it is. Drywall-R16-sound board-R30-drywall. I utilized a shit ton of silicone and a trim mold to fasten and fit all that in there. It's freakin tight, and sound tight. You have to put your ear on a cup up against the wall to hear anything, and I'm thinking that's because I haven't got the doors all the way in. I'm pretty proud of the design.

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

BTW, #6 AWG is a pain in the ass to hook up. It's like trying to bend a rock hard horse cock

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

Getting the concrete floor clean and ready was likely the easiest part. I used one of those wallpaper removal steamers and a sander. Worked great.


I'll do a final chemical etch before applying my 2 part epoxy.

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

I did run into an issue with the concrete floor on the far end of the flower room. There's a Be Dry system in place and the guys did a bad job of leveling the concrete they poured.

I had to chip out a bunch of it. I put down some tile thinset for my concrete patch to set on. This is a great application for it, because its thick and it won't seep in to the B dry system and it dries real fast. I stuck some drywall nails in it for setting support. It's not worth a dam for stuctural support but it'll help give my concrete something to latch on to.

The directions on the concrete is for no more than a 1/2 in.

Pro Tip: Use a sprayer with water to keep it from setting up while you try to work with it.

 

[krinen]

The Mini Split will be your best friend when if comes to controlling temps. I wish I wouldn't have spent the 1000's on different portable units/wall units and mods, and just gone with a mini in the first place.

I just recently installed a LG 18k in my setup. The outside unit really only runs for 3-5 minutes at a time and is whisper quiet

We also just installed one of those Pioneer units in another grow. I hate to say it but I was impressed with the construction of the unit. The warranty was there as well. The Mitsubishi is like the Cadillac though

Good Luck! and be safe!

 

[the gnome]

Came back to the IC for research on an AC (arriving next week). Almost amazoned a pioneer mini split, came here and now a mitsubishi mr slim is on its way. Thanks assholes.

Any way, since I'm here I might as well share my project and share how I do things, specifically, how I do things the hard, long, and expensive way.

curious are you related to a fella named McKush??

hey... seems like every sizable build lends up under funded, over budget and behind schedule... like mine
your in good company here JJay

good call on the mitsu mini.
btw, you can use the digi timers with elec. ballasts IF you use an elec. power relay

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

I believe it was a bunch of your post regarding Mitsu's that triggered the order. My peace of mine is grateful, my wallet, not so much.

Make no mistake, I'm lazy and a procrastinator. Give me a strain that finishes in 8 weeks and I'll take it to 10 or 11 weeks. If there's an easy way to do something I'll find it. Even if it means working real hard up front..

I think the end goal here is to be as hands off as possible. I've been around it so long, I just don't enjoy it as much as I used to. Maybe this project will re-ignite the fire.

 

[jav2043]

Nice build JJay looks professional. Popcorn and a seat for this one. Im so interested in those AC/DE's. What ballast are you running to power up those 400 volt de bulbs?

 

[Chunkypigs]

….like trying to bend a rock hard horse cock

glad I got a seat up front, carry on.

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

Nice build JJay looks professional. Popcorn and a seat for this one. Im so interested in those AC/DE's. What ballast are you running to power up those 400 volt de bulbs?

Thanks. I've got all the time in the world for this one. So I can take my time and change things up if I want.

I'll be firing the bulbs (Ushio DE) via 3 1k Air Cooled Lumateks. I did not have the necessary height requirements for a Gavita as per manufacturer specs, otherwise I would be using them. I will be testing on height with a Gavita once I'm done with this. There's a way, I just have to find it. From there, I'll scale up accordingly.

As tight as this is (13 ft by 3.5 ft) there'll be massive wattage per sq foot, and massive BTU's generated. I've only used 10 ft of it in the past, if that.

The AC/DE Hoods are on backorder, evidently people are buying them up. They are now 2 days late getting to me.

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

I designed the ceiling for a future option to recess (14 inch max width) a gavita if I wanted. This will give me an extra 8 inches of height.

Every 4 ft center in the ceiling is framed in such a manner that I can cool the recess with small in line fans if I wanted to. There's even a dead man 20 amp circuit there pig tailed in boxes to accommodate the fans. There is 4 inch ducting there as well to do this. I thought of damn near everything, and every scenario. All of which came from "wouldn't it be cool if I could do this" thoughts that I have written down.

The framing here is very complex. I can turn it into a massive HID phototron box if I wanted to. Wish I took photos, I didn't plan on posting this build.

Pro Tip: Write down your thoughts. You can return to them and improve upon them as time goes by.

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

Today, I will be installing a Hybrid Water Heater (while I wait for concrete work to cure). As I just got the confirmation E-mail that it has arrived in the store. Its a heat pump hybrid. Likely the most energy efficient electric model you can get. A pretty penny without a doubt, and way over $1k. Pretty much more than double what a regular energy star model costs.

Most countries and even some states in America require your Water Heater to be inspected after installation. Some places may not allow you to do your own installation. In my case it is allowed, I just have to get the permits and inspections.

There's nothing wrong with my water heater, and this is strictly done as a preventative measure in the event it goes out because my mini split condenser will be right next to it. That and I'm always looking to save kw usage wherever I can.

Pro Tip: If you do this in the long run every single appliance, or item that uses electric in your home or warehouse should be the very best in terms of energy star and product. CFL's are just not good enough. Get LED's. And get the good ones. I had a cheap Led bathroom light that caught fire and blew. Luckily I was there.

Use timed switches that automatically turns off lighting so you don't forget. Do whatever you can, wherever you can.