Stealth Insulated Attic Build

[BeeBee]

If your attic floor is relatively level, you can save a lot of time watering (and prevent potential damage from leaks) by building a tray, flat-bottomed, with four-inch walls, that holds all the pots (if you can get it in there!--otherwise, use several smaller ones). Then you can water all the pots at once, simply by pouring water in the tray. The soil will soak it up by capillary action.
This should enable you to use one gallon pots. The pots will not limit the size of your plants, or the yield, because you cannot exhaust the capacity of a one gallon pot with a 400 watt light.
I know several people who always have 1/2 inch of water in their tray. They control the height with a float, which allows fertilized water from a tank to enter, replacing water as it is consumed or evaporates.
Generally, people say this is a crazy idea--but they are wrong! In an attic, humidity is frequently not a problem, because there is a lot of exposed wood around to act as a moisture sink. Furthermore, MJ is a riparian plant, growing naturally along creeks and streams, and in gullies, and is well-adapted to "wet feet". If you use a light soil-less mix, you will not suffer any negative effects--and you can take that to the bank! (I have, believe me).

 

[perfectnug420]

I love rooms with a hidden door I also have one in mine.I recommend if u want to stop leaks get pressure treated 2x4 and goto home depot of lowes and get 6 mil poly and roofing nails (the nails with ring around head that dont rip plastic)build your self a frame out of the 2x4 and tack the poly to the frame,stuff is hard to rip and is easy to clean.I have some pics in my latest of my waterproof floor.

 

[Kerosene]

If I may thro a suggestion you'z guys

When looking at pic 7 (flower room) what if you put walls on those rafters (?) dividing that area into 3 smaller grow areas each with its own light...Little walls would also help reflecting some light back into the sides of your plants...Then I wouold move the lights a bit over to the left (when viewing the pic), giving you some more headroom for raising your lights...Shouldn't encroach too much on the traffic side of the room either

That is definitely an option. We haven't experimented with arrangements quite yet as the room is pretty new. Right now there's enough room for two 400w hoods to occupy one of the bays. (were we to max out the floorspace we'd need to juggle circuits a little bit to keep everything within tolerances). There are chains enough in place that we can move the lights higher up the ceiling if necessary. (We may have to; the middle batch is growing much taller than the sides)

Very nice stealthy setup...I would assume this is in the attic (duh) and that the exhaust goes thru the roof? IMO fan/air noise is going to be inaudible from ground level unless you have a jet fighter engine going up there, so I wouldn't be too afraid to crank the fan up if necessary...Or is intake noise a problem as well (Exhaust goes into the room below huh? What about exhausting into the closet where the entrance is? And use the old exhaust as your intake...Closed closet door is gonna hide any whooshing coming out of duct...Or is the entrance hidden from other house occupants as well?)

A little tweaking and dialing in and that's gonna rock

Thanks for the encouragement!

The exhaust goes down through the floor in the flower room. We have a tremendous amount of overhead with the setup we have currently. We can turn the fan up to about 300cfm and its still silent thanks to the muffler and the Variac. To keep temperatures under control we have the fan pushing probably 100cfm. We haven't got a permanent solution for ventilation quite yet because environmental conditions make the matter a little tricky. But with the precautions we've taken so far, sound isn't an issue (see: http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=110455). At some point we hope to go sealed room, but for the time being it's cost-prohibitive.

EDIT: How are you set for power/distribution? If your gonna run 2400w HID thats gonna pull a lot of amps/power...Make sure you guys put some detail into that area as well...Hate to see you guys lose all that hard work and $$$ to a fire...Keep it safe boys

As far as power distribution, we have put quite a bit of effort into that. Currently there's three circuits going into the room. We have a pair of 12awg 20amp circuits for utility purposes (heater, fans, dehumidifier, stereo, floros [for lighting the whole room w/o 1200w burning] and a 10awg 30amp circuit for the lights. It was built to handle 2400watts. We can mix and match circuits and loads as necessary but we're being careful.

The breakers aren't anything special at the moment, other than having the lights run through a GFCI (the hoods and ballasts are all properly grounded) There is a large amount of overhead on all of the circuits except for the 1500w heater which is on it's own circuit. Everything else is on the other utility circuit and all the lights are on the 30amp light circuit. Eventually Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters and the little red automatic extinguishers that are ?plant-safe? will keep the only blazing in pipes.

 

[Bender]

When looking at pic 7 (flower room) what if you put walls on those rafters (?) dividing that area into 3 smaller grow areas each with its own light...Little walls would also help reflecting some light back into the sides of your plants...Then I wouold move the lights a bit over to the left (when viewing the pic), giving you some more headroom for raising your lights...Shouldn't encroach too much on the traffic side of the room either

Putting more walls in that room would complicate the HVAC system and make it even harder to move around. When we get our new ballasts/hoods/bulbs we'll have 6 lights in a row and I'd really like to utilize any overlap or be able to experiment with CMH/MH/HPS combinations. We need to post a picture with one of us standing in there for scale. We chose to hang the lights where we did because the thought process was "If the room isn't comfortable to be in, we'll be less likely to be in it". If my back is hurting from tending plants all week I'm not going to be motivated to spend a lot of time in there. We have the option to move them up as far as we want in case of emergency but for now I'm fine with them being there.

Very nice stealthy setup...I would assume this is in the attic (duh) and that the exhaust goes thru the roof? IMO fan/air noise is going to be inaudible from ground level unless you have a jet fighter engine going up there, so I wouldn't be too afraid to crank the fan up if necessary...Or is intake noise a problem as well (Exhaust goes into the room below huh? What about exhausting into the closet where the entrance is? And use the old exhaust as your intake...Closed closet door is gonna hide any whooshing coming out of duct...Or is the entrance hidden from other house occupants as well?)

Our HVAC is far from done and we're only on stage one. Stage II will be sealed room when financing allows.

I know our setup seems a little different than most grow rooms but we're fighting a lot of constraints and this is the best we can do right now. I'd love to give you all the details we are using to make decisions with but I know too many people growing/wanting to grow that don't know that I do and that's exactly how it's going to stay.

A little tweaking and dialing in and that's gonna rock

Couldn't agree more!

EDIT: How are you set for power/distribution? If your gonna run 2400w HID thats gonna pull a lot of amps/power...Make sure you guys put some detail into that area as well...Hate to see you guys lose all that hard work and $$$ to a fire...Keep it safe boys

I'll let me partner share the details but we have plenty of overhead.

 

[Bender]

If your attic floor is relatively level, you can save a lot of time watering (and prevent potential damage from leaks) by building a tray, flat-bottomed, with four-inch walls, that holds all the pots (if you can get it in there!--otherwise, use several smaller ones). Then you can water all the pots at once, simply by pouring water in the tray. The soil will soak it up by capillary action.
This should enable you to use one gallon pots. The pots will not limit the size of your plants, or the yield, because you cannot exhaust the capacity of a one gallon pot with a 400 watt light.
I know several people who always have 1/2 inch of water in their tray. They control the height with a float, which allows fertilized water from a tank to enter, replacing water as it is consumed or evaporates.
Generally, people say this is a crazy idea--but they are wrong! In an attic, humidity is frequently not a problem, because there is a lot of exposed wood around to act as a moisture sink. Furthermore, MJ is a riparian plant, growing naturally along creeks and streams, and in gullies, and is well-adapted to "wet feet". If you use a light soil-less mix, you will not suffer any negative effects--and you can take that to the bank! (I have, believe me).

Sounds like an interesting idea for sure. I don't think it would work well with our organic tea watering regimen though. I've got a big roll of pond liner waiting for me to get some time off so I can move all the plants and build a waterproof trough.

 

[Uncle Remus]

hehe

Too tired and too stoned to post quotes so...

Yes I think the space is misleading as far as size is concerned without something for reference...But I see the point about space...Your back is gonna kill you anyways so don't use that for an excuse LOL

Ever think about A/C'ing the hoods? They are nice and inline as it is...Might be an option down the road...Or is this not possible

Just throwing things out there guys...Nice

 

[Bender]

hehe

Too tired and too stoned to post quotes so...

Yes I think the space is misleading as far as size is concerned without something for reference...But I see the point about space...Your back is gonna kill you anyways so don't use that for an excuse LOL

Ever think about A/C'ing the hoods? They are nice and inline as it is...Might be an option down the road...Or is this not possible

Just throwing things out there guys...Nice

Haha yeah, anyway we approach it we're still stuffed for space. Just gotta grow enough herb to tell the back to shut up after a long day

We'll definitely A/C our new hoods. We scavenged these and aren't too impressed with them. I'd love to see 6 hoods connected inline in the near future. The ultimate goal would be isolated A/C hood venting with sealed room. All it takes is $$$$.

I do appreciate the input. I know I left a lot of questions unanswered in the original post so I have to expect to do some explaining.

 

[Uncle Remus]

No complaints

Sealed room w/CO2? Just for yield purposes or for stealth? I'm a small grower guy so I have NO knowledge of CO2 stuff...IMO if its only stealth your after I wouldnt waste the $$$...A/C those hoods and temps should be fine...Plus if your fan setup is silent enuff whats the point?

Just ramblin'

 

[Bender]

Sealed room w/CO2 is primarily for stealth purposes. I'd like the only hole in the room to be the secret entrance when it is open.

IMO if its only stealth your after I wouldnt waste the $$$

Everyone has different financial priorities. We've spent a lot of money to make this room non-existent and would gladly spend more to keep it that way.

 

[2buds]

Check HD or Lows for concrete mixing pans. They may fit perfect in your space, thick durable plastic that won't leak.
Nice work!
And you nailed it with $1000's spent. Shit adds up quick but long term, you no longer have to run the streets looking and tell no one, ever!

 

[thecarguy]

Bender and kerosene-

Your stealth setup is too impressive. I run sealed rooms, like you have mentioned you are considering.

My biggest stealth concern with my setups is always the air conditioner. Have you thought of how you are going to discretely incorporate an air conditioning unit, and do you have any ideas? I'm considering a mini-split with a longer line set to hide the hot side near the HVAC for my home, but I fear if someone grow-savvy comes to my house I'll be compromised.

Peace.

 

[Kerosene]

Bender and kerosene-

Your stealth setup is too impressive. I run sealed rooms, like you have mentioned you are considering.

My biggest stealth concern with my setups is always the air conditioner. Have you thought of how you are going to discretely incorporate an air conditioning unit, and do you have any ideas? I'm considering a mini-split with a longer line set to hide the hot side near the HVAC for my home, but I fear if someone grow-savvy comes to my house I'll be compromised.

Peace.

Thanks very much. It's easy to put a high price on piece of mind. I believe it's certainly worth it.

You definitely hit the nail on the head. Our next hurdle is the ventilation. Quieting down an A/C is going to be a challenge. The standard installation method seems fairly decided on IC. But stealthing it.

I definitely thought about a mini-split; like you say, it can throw a red flag. Either we can magic a way to silence a window unit inside the room itself, or we can run a mini-split and either camouflage. There's a possibility of utilizing the muffler in place. A significant portion of that upgrade is going to be selecting a unit that will meet our needs.

I suppose there's the option of butchering a complete system and retrofitting it into a cabinet that can dampen most of the noise. (this is speculation)

Maybe modding the hot part of a mini-split into a baseboard heater? But this would still throw a flag as who the hell runs 120F off a baseboard in the middle of summer. And why would it never put off heat in the winter. LOL I'd pitch somebody shit about it. That alone kindof hurts potential because any attention drawn to any component of a grow can compromise it's integrity.

Does that spark any ideas? or is it counter productive?

 

[Bender]

The dream hasn't died. Kerosene and I are finalizing a shopping list now that we have the funds put together. After we finish out this first crop we will be going sealed room!

 

[thecarguy]

Have you thought of an AC solution? I've been considering a mini split with the hot-side outside, concealed by a well vented flower box, compost box, something of that nature.

The more efficient mini splits can hit 20 btu per watt (20 EER) and only make about 43 db sound, which I consider easily concealable. These go up to around 1.5 ton or 18000 btu at this efficiency, which could support about 5 thousand watts of light.

5000w of light and only 900w of cooling sounds good to me!

btw- I got a variac. Great piece! My centrifugal pump is much happier than it was on a Speedster fanspeed controller (lol).

 

[Kerosene]

exciting times. en route:
3x growbright 2ft 6bulb t5 fixtures (+spare bulbs)
4x hps ballast + easycool6 hoods
c02 generator
chhc-1 controller
4x 400w phillips cmh bulbs
4x 400w hps bulbs
2x seedling heating matts

12x H3AD c99bx
11x ser kali mist

casey jones is still in the bingo book.....

 

[Bender]

btw- I got a variac. Great piece! My centrifugal pump is much happier than it was on a Speedster fanspeed controller (lol).

I'm really happy to see you purchase the variac. I need to put more effort into getting the word out. They are amazing pieces of hardware in the DIY grower's inventory.

We're still kicking ideas around for A/C. We can't really do a mini split so I think we're going to end up getting a window shaker and building a heavy 1" MDF/HDF cabinet for it. If we need to we can dampen the whole box with something similar to dynamat. We have also been reading reviews online and people's tips and tricks for getting them to run quieter.

We need to figure something out quick though because we have a lot of hardware in the mail right now!

 

[paranoidalien]

Lookin good brotha

 

[Bender]

A lot has happened since the last time we updated this thread. Here is a much needed progress report! Nothing is in its final location yet and we still have a lot of work left before we're 100%. We need a couple more pieces of hardware and we'll be ready to go sealed room. Oh and of course we still need to build the door to separate the two rooms.

Here's the veg room. Pond liner installed on the floor 2'x6'.

3 x 2' 6 bulb T5

T5 lights run through GFCI

Veg room. 12/2 extension cord feeds the T5 outlet block. Project whiteboard on the wall.

Blue Room and Orange Room

Flower room has new 3' x 8' pond liner and 4 new EasyCool6 hoods with HTG 400W HPS Ballasts and Bulbs.

4 HTG 400W HPS ballasts each fed by their own interruptible circuit. The switches correspond to the outlets above them and they are all fed by the timer on the right.

Numbers on the switches correspond to to their respective hoods/lights. (little red lights on switches only illuminate when timer is on)

Environmental Controller and CO2 generator waiting to be installed.

Reflection off the whiteboard in our vegroom.

That's all for today. Next steps will involve A/C, CO2, environmental controller, and humidifier installations.

Things are looking good.....

 

[MEDI-EVIL]

loving you'r set up bender looking sweet m8.
i grow in the atic but it ain't as nice as you'r set up.
nice selection of strains.
gonna keep an eye on ur project.
good luck..

M.E

 

[Bender]

loving you'r set up bender looking sweet m8.
i grow in the atic but it ain't as nice as you'r set up.
nice selection of strains.
gonna keep an eye on ur project.
good luck..

M.E

Thanks Medi-Evil. I gotta make sure the credit goes towards my partner, Kerosene, too. He's a huge force behind this grow.