Large temporary wall advice needed

[TGT]

I have a new fairly large grow I will be setting up this month. It is a friends house and he is leaving to the 'big house' for at least 9 months, probably a year. I got permission to use his house as long as I maintain the mortgage, gas and electricity. Works out to be about 1200 dollars a month. That's with an estimation for electrical. I want to do a four 1000 watter, may be five 1000's and have a perpetual garden so that every 7 to 8 weeks I get a crop. That's the way I have her set up currently and it is working great.

The basement right now consists of one huge room so I will have to be able to build a smaller grow room. I want to do a 15 foot by 15 foot room. The owner says he will probably be removing the room after as he wants to fix up the entire basement as a rental in the future, so I would like it to be as cheap as possible, but also very effective and strong.

The only way I have ever built a wall for a grow was permanent 2x4 walls claded with dry wall. I will probably just use regular cottage plywood instead of the drywall to save money and make it easier, but what can I do to keep cost down but also maintain a good structure for the room?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am planning to set up in the next few days. If anyone wants me to keep a log on this thread of the operation I will do so. Keeping pic's will keep me motivated.

TGT

 

[ItsGrowTime]

How about just using black plastic to separate off the growroom section instead of building a wall? Just staple it to the ceiling and walls. But then again Im a lazyass and a cheapass so ymmv...

 

[Shady Smoka]

I agree with ItsGrowTime. Put studs like every 4 feet and along the floor and just staple thick/dark plastic to it. Go to YouTube and look up "How To Grow Green". He does exactly what you wanna do.

 

[stke_fingas]

i 3rd that. plastic would be easier but if your looking for a little more stability, home de pot has 3/4 inch foam with one side covered with foil or something similar. you would only have to put a small piece of trim to hold it in place on the ceiling. tape together with the "quality" aluminum tape and it'll hold for a long time. i've split a garage in half this way and it worked great. use plastic for a door, it's not worth trying to make one out of foam. it'll fall apart little by little every time you open the door.

hope this helped

 

[happyherb]

i was using a room that was somthing like 11 x 10 feet but i made it into 9 x 10 feet(all aproxx sizes).to shorten it that bit i used 2 x 1 inch wood along the celing attached by screws and along the floor attached to the skirting board either end...then some uprights jammed in there and screwed with some brackets...the room itself was covered with panda plastic that was stapled to the ceiling and hanging down and just did the same to cover new wall...with tape covering the stapled spots where it got torn abit....i was real slack but using some zips for a door would have been good and using that silver foil tape with the paper on the back you peel off (man that stuff is good) where ever needed.......im a gardener not a carpenter but have seen better set ups in peron in the past where ppl were using better joints and built a room covered with just the panda plastic(but extra foil stuff ect would be to make it 110% light proof)

i know at times the search function here isnt the best but there are some pretty good step by step room mods threads around.... i saved one or two to my subscribed threads for later use but theres alot to look throu to find them for you for there not named "room mods" but hidden under a differnt name....im sure someone will point you in the right direction...good luck and have fun .HH. =]-~

 

[Haps]

I put an eye hook into two walls, and run a salvaged electrical cord between them, then tape or clothespin my black plastic wall top to floor. There is a gap at top, so a taped strip can seal that up or leave it open for air flow. Need a door? Do two or three layers and cut strips like a big walk in cooler. I cut the cord off all electrical devices that die.
H

 

[Mr Celsius]

15x15 is a great bedroom. If you frame it to code and make it look attractive, I think that it will play well to his rental potential. If you make the area outside the 15x15 room into a possible living room/kitchen nook, then it makes it appealing for the future renter.

I would consult with your friend about this and I bet if you sell it to him right, he might see it as a bonus/adding value to the home.

 

[TGT]

Thanks for all the great ideas! The only thing I am worried about if I make a cheap flimsy wall is the fact that the room should really be sealed well so the carbon scrubber can create a vacuum in the room to prevent smell seaping all over the house. I really want to be able to handle the smell properly in case someone comes to the door. The other grow I have going right now at another location is very large and anyone can sit up stairs in the home and not know anything was growing in the basement. That is the way I want it to be here. A curtain type wall I just don't think will be appropriate for this application.

I like the idea of usind a wood frame and then using the Panda plastic to seal it up into a closed room, but I guess if I am going to go so far as to build a wood frame I minus well just panel it with plywood. Last time I built a wall it cost me around $400.00 to do it right and with drywall. This wall will have to be twice the size, so I figure built properly it will cost me close to $1000.00.

I think I might go with Mr. Celcius's idea and just do it the pricey way. If I ask my friend where he would like a bedroom and build it where he specifies he might end up keeping it and not have to tear it down at a later date.

Really though I don't know what I am going to do as of yet. I still have to think of how I am going to cool the room since there is no central air unit in this house, so may be that will influence the way my wall is built.

Any other suggestions would be great and thank you all for such quick and helpful response. That is why I like ICMag so much, so many helpful and knowledgable people. Thanks again!

TGT

 

[Mr Celsius]

Can you pull air from under the house? Is there any old heater venting or piping that goes to the roof? If you got both of those you're definitely in business.

 

[TGT]

I can't pull air from under the house as the grow room will be in the basement, which is rather cool to begin with. I do have a dryer vent or something similar going directly to the roof. How can I use this with air conditioning in the summer to help cool the room?

TGT

 

[green_tea]

by sealed do you mean an actual sealed room? (no fresh air intake / exhaust) ?

if not, just make sure that you create a bit of negative pressure and get a vaportek for the room too (along with your carbon scrubber) and you'll be set for the smell.

 

[THoC]

TGT,

I think if you want to go with the solid wall approach then it is just finding the building materials that fit your budget.

Drywall is definitely cheaper than plywood at this time. You are looking at, at least twenty bucks at least for even a 1/4 inch 4'x8' sheet of plywood more for the thicker grades. 3/8" Sheetrock is cheaper than that ( standard walls are 1/2" in most areas. Also I have found that plywood walls if not insulated become something akin to a large drum skin making certain things like fans noticeable. Also plywood on walls is not to common of a sight ( in case of surprise visits! ) as opposed to drywall. and then you do have the seams to deal with which might make you use plastic on the inside of your GR anyway.

Since your not worried about building codes you could use 2x3's instead of 2x4 studs, and use the six footers instead of the 8 footers when you can.

I do like the insulated boards mentioned by stke_fingas. They have structure so you dont need as many studs and they add some sound insulation too. cutting them is easy too. But remember they are made of fiberglass or polyester resin foam which can be irritating to skin, eyes and lungs when you work with them.

So many choices....

After all is said and done you might just want to do what Mr Celsius suggested and make a room for real that you use as a grow space and can be used as a bedroom later by your friend.

cheers

 

[rr14]

I'm going to do a temp wall soon and probably what I'll do is use 2/4's for the frame and then do panda plastic on both sides. It's cheap enough to go double to be on the safe side as far as light leaks. I'm going to frame it so I can install an ac. Although it's cheap it'll be done sturdy enough.

 

[Guest]

TGT, SUP MAN? WHY DON'T YOU GO WITH 2 HOME BOXES AND PUT THEM TOGETHER AND WHEN YOUR FRIEND COMES BACK FROM HIS BID THEN YOU CLOSE UP SHOP AND BRING IT TO THE NEXT HOME ! JUST AN IDEA GOOD LUCK !