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Building your (small) dream GH?

deltronZER0

Active member
Hey all,

I’ve been doing some outdoor crops the last few years but I’m moving to a new spot soon, and will have the chance to build my dream gh from scratch. I have a few things that I have to account for in my design but have a lot of freedom otherwise.

Limits:
*Smaller than 120 square feet
*Has a locking door
*Will only be for my 6 personal recreational plants
*Rigid walls

Current thoughts:
9x11 size on a 4” concrete pad, framed with 2x4s, clad in either corrugated or twin wall rigid polycarbonate. Ventilation will be a in-line fan capable of exchanging the whole air volume relatively quickly, with a carbon scrubber. I’ll also aim to have an oscillating fan in there.

What would YOU do if you were building a GH from scratch? What do you wish you’d known?
 

chilliwilli

Waterboy
Depend how far north or south u live. I would like to build something like this but with in and outlet for air also going through the rocks. And possible passive solar stye so i can skip the fan So that incomming air is also either cooled in summer or preheated in winter for longer grow periode.

picture.php
 

deltronZER0

Active member
Niiiice, that would be awesome! I’m in California, so I don’t think the benefit is worth the risk that I end up fucking up the concrete pad. In my situation, I’d much prefer springing for a slightly bigger fan and a space heater. Where you at, climate wise, @chilliwilli?
 

troutman

Seed Whore
This would cool on a small scale. The trench would be great for when the black helicopters start shooting. :laughing:

picture.php
 

f-e

Well-known member
Mentor
Veteran
The lightest of twin wall will loose you 15% of your light. Some multi-wall sheets will shave off 40%.
 

chilliwilli

Waterboy
I'm in austria. Beginn of november is the latest to harvest and only mold resistant strains will do nice.

My goal would be a passive greenhouse that could keep up temps above freezing for some weeks.
 

Switcher56

Comfortably numb!
There's a lot of ways, the concept of a perpetual heat sink do exist. OTOH, where it is illegal to grow, does stick out like a sore thumb on IR. It's some really fascinating stuff :)
 

deltronZER0

Active member
Honestly, won’t my concrete pad work as a heat sink to some extent anyways? Like I said above I’m in California, in that sorta Bay Area coastal foggy type situations, so heat isn’t my primary concern tbh

Anyways, to refocus the conversation: any specific thoughts on the plan I laid out in OP? Been attending a bit of youtube university on these things so I don’t think I missed anything but would love to hear your thoughts
 

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
Twin wall polycarbonate is nice but allot is involved in installing it. Corrugated is much easier and you are in the bay so u don't need the extra insulation. Way cheaper too.

6 plants in that space wont fit unless you light depp it. Or you could wait till mid July to plant. You have to have rigid walls, but you could have a roll back roof? It's going to get crowded and stuffy in there.

Greenhouses like you are talking about building are more for early season seed starting and stuff. People don't usually grow anything to completion in them. It gets to hot and crowded in the summer. They are just for spring.
 

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