Attic Grow Room?

[tooldini]

We had some rooms added to the house and a garage. I had attic truss's used that have a 7 foot ceiling. I am building a room up there it is partially done 8'x12' with another 16x12 possible if needed. I am insulating it with 6" R19 or R13 not sure we have a bunch of rolls left over. Even thouhg it is an attic and right now gets like 100 degrees do you think I can keep it cool enough I am ducting in the central air/heat from the house furnace. My planes are to exhaust the hot filtered air thru the roof. Do you think this will work. I am on limited money meaning I have none left right now LOL I have the plywood and some 2x4's and a door. Here is what I have done so far. I only have one 400w HPS right now so it won't get mega hot. I do have an old school 1000w greenhouse light but not sure if I will use it cause it is HUGE. first pic is looking at the door terrible cell phone pics in the dark SORRY. The room is kinda odd ceiling. I am not sure yet how I will seperate veg room but have some ideas. I will be using a 190PC light with an Actinic03 bulb and sunlight bulb for veg. The Actinic03 bulbs work for growing corals so I figure there is a good change they will work good for Cannabis.

[Kingdiamond]

I dont know about your attic space tooldini mine gets blistering hot during the summer my attic fans stay on most of the time and the last time i poked my head up there during the summer i instantly got a heat stroke type headache not good.

[tooldini]

LOL this is much different than your normal attic that your probably picturing. It is structured so you can actually build rooms up above the garage. 3/4" floor with big beams I think like 8 or 10" under the floor. I am hopeful that with building walls and fully insulating it with the central air it will be OK.

[LongHairBri]

thats an easy grow with attic trusses you can vent a/c unit outside the walls into roof area. there is usualy lots of roof vents in that type of roof. sheet walls floor and ceiling with ply/drywall, run electric and enviroment devices and you can get the space dialed in

[Kingdiamond]

Not saying it cant be done air conditioners work wonders but your electric bills going way up thats a given.

[LongHairBri]

your right King and I'm sorry. If my bill is under $550 I'm a happy camper! It's a/c season now. Summer bills are closer to 700. for a patient only grow, a basement would be easier/cheaper to control

[tooldini]

I am running my central air in that room got the duct work , T connector and a joiner for the ductwork since 2 pieces. Gonna shoot air from the central air unit in there. Then heat in the winter. I have a carbon filter and an inline fan I planned on shooting that out thru the roof vents. The friend helping me said he has some exhaust fans I can have if needed.

[tooldini]

wish I had a basement but were on a slab and it was gonna cost to much to have a garage over a basement.

[Kingdiamond]

your right King and I'm sorry. If my bill is under $550 I'm a happy camper! It's a/c season now. Summer bills are closer to 700. for a patient only grow, a basement would be easier/cheaper to control

I elected to pull my basement window fresh air vents to stay undetected now im having to get more creative with my fans i feel like im back in science and shop class all over again.

[Kingdiamond]

I am running my central air in that room got the duct work , T connector and a joiner for the ductwork since 2 pieces. Gonna shoot air from the central air unit in there. Then heat in the winter. I have a carbon filter and an inline fan I planned on shooting that out thru the roof vents. The friend helping me said he has some exhaust fans I can have if needed.

If your running your entire house central into the grow area please keep in mind that a flue might be necessary to keep the smell from wafting up into your living areas when the blowers off .

[tooldini]

LOL thats funny man you worried about some heat sensor cops driving by or the smell

[tooldini]

I was wondering about smell. Well it would mostly accumulate into the garage I think

[Kingdiamond]

LOL thats funny man you worried about some heat sensor cops driving by or the smell

 

You ever have a helicopter floating over your back patio ?

 

Last September we did for about 2 minutes he then flew away this might not make me think twice in the sticks but i live in the hood .

 

When my fan would kick on you could hear it 2 houses away and my area has been over run by inner city hood rats and we all know what comes next a heavier police presence I'm legal i stay legal under my plant and dry weight count BUT i know that law enforcement doesn't care about that they come kill the dogs trash the house take your plants and the medicine destroy or confiscate your equipment along with your money and then make you prove you were legal .

[tooldini]

yeah I guess I forget that stuff since I am in the country. I did see a heli fly by my house 3 times today. It did not look like a police heli and it was going kinda fast every time like it had somewere to be. Makes sense to worry more if your around others close by. Be careful man

[Guest thequietone]

If your running your entire house central into the grow area please keep in mind that a flue might be necessary to keep the smell from wafting up into your living areas when the blowers off .

 

My room is set up the same way connected to the central heating/cooling system. I have no problem with the smell coming up through my ducts. I do have good ventilation and I'm sure that has something to do with it.

[Morhawk]

My concern would be that your Central A/C is not running constantly.. (at least i hope not or you got some hot blood or insulating issues..lol) but your thermostat will be set for the cen ac to stop when your house gets a certain temp. Looking at your pic's it looks like the other half of the attic will be left unfinished? If this is the case and you have an exhaust fan running, it may suck the heat in from there while your cen ac is off. I would definitely seal as much as possible with silcone around the base board. And stuff every last piece of insulation you have left in there. Really, with something like this, the only way is trial and error. Try it and see.

 

If it doesn't or fluctuates in temp to much. My Plan B and C would to cut a hole in the wall by the door and use a window type A/C unit to control that room individually (don't forget to have something to catch the drain condensation), or to build a "room in a room" to have a more stable temp.

 

Or Plan D could be to move your house thermostat to your grow room and your cen ac will activate in accordance to that room's temp...lol

[Kingdiamond]

I was wondering about smell. Well it would mostly accumulate into the garage I think

What i would do is add a flue right before the air register it closes when the blowers in the off position.

[tooldini]

thanks guys, my friend is coming over again tomorrow and we will probably get most big stuff done. I am just gonna try it and adjust as needed. If smell is an issue I will adjust to that. Most important is the temps though. Our house it usually set at between 72-74. Just don't want the wife flipping out if it makes the electric or Gas go up alot in winter. I won't be a big deal if I can get some compensation from patients or something but if I have extra bills and no more money she will be MAD lol

[tooldini]

I am gonna run it for a bit with out a light and see how it does. Then I will add the light once I finish these plants. Should not be many problems with 1 400w LOL but once I get a couple 1K's things may change

[Afi]

I was told when I thought about setting up an attic like that with central air to make sure I had the proper amount of cold air returns. I am not a hvac guy but I was told this by one so you may want to check into that. Peace, Afi

[tooldini]

Oh yeah thanks for reminding me. We have 2 new cold air returns in the house how after the add on's. Hope its good

[Cannastyle]

Your house will be a freezer if you try to use your central air to cool your grow room.

 

It can be done with the air retrurns like Afi said, but sheesh that is a ton of work.

 

I would run a window a/c unit or a room unit in there. It will be easier to dial in the enviroment using that rather than trying to control the whole house to accomodate the conditions of the grow room.

 

Make sure the hoods are vented correctly and you shouldnt have the much of a heat issue, I still would fear those 90 degree days though.....

[tooldini]

Thanks Cannastyle, I may end up getting a separate room one. I just did not wanna spend anymore money but I could probably get away with a small one in that room

[tooldini]

Just for fun I went up there tonight because this is when I will be running my lights. With no fans or lights running room is 83. Do you think this will be managable when I get a 400w HPS and in a seperate area a 190w Power compact running. I plan a cold air intake from the roof vent and several fans. This is a warm time of year also so I though 83 was not so bad. What do you guys tink?

[tooldini]

thanks that makes sense just not sure if I can do it any other way. I am gonna have a friend over and see what we can think up to avoid bring from the roof.