Building the grow room in the garage: what are the best materials and techniques?

[highletter]

Hi all. I'm building a grow room inside the garage and looking for a second opinion from those who have dealt with it.

The grow room dimensions:

• 12' (144") – length
• 6' (72") – width
• 8' (96") – height

My main concern is whether to use plywood/drywall in my grow room or not. Seems like couple folks on the internet were successfully using insulation boards without the drywall in their grow spaces.

On one hand, it's so much cheaper to only have insulation material on the walls, besides that it's already reflective, but on the other hand it might be prone to get accidentally damaged. I don't know if the juice is worth the squeeze. Especially taking in consideration that it needs additional reflective covering on top of it.

Are there any pitfalls in fixing insulation board to the lumber frame without covering it with drywalls? Or should I find a compromise by covering only some parts along the perimeter (bottom or middle) on the outer side of the frame?

 

[Aqua Man]

@1diesel1 probably have more than a good idea of what's needed

 

[blazetime]

Hey y'all, I wanted to quickly chip in here. @highletter and I want to build this room for the mother plants in RDWC. We've only used grow tents before and pretty new to the grow room build. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Did anyone use the drywall for the grow room? We were also thinking if it's a good idea to use a combination of drywall + insulation panels on the outer side of the stud and insulation panels + mylar on the inner side. We could also go with OSB but the price makes no sense to me rn.

 

[Amatfumusviriditas]

I have an approximate 8x8 room framed with 2x4s and insulated with R13 (I think)built in a garage. The interior is covered in styrofoam insulation panels, silver side out (labels claim mildew and insect resistant) since 2013 without problems. They are inconvenient at times and care must be taken but I am the only one in the 99.9%. I am in process of yet undetermined degree of remodel. I honestly considered adding drywall for laziness’s sake but with current costs I will probably just add some horizontal rails as PRN handholds/braces/anchors. I did sheetrock the outside.

 

[CBDfutute4]

Do u plan on running ac and full climate control?

I have a dura foam 4x8 in my garage

I used osb, r7 sheets and 2x3 with a outer layer of mold resistant drywall

 

[blazetime]

I have an approximate 8x8 room framed with 2x4s and insulated with R13 (I think)built in a garage. The interior is covered in styrofoam insulation panels, silver side out (labels claim mildew and insect resistant) since 2013 without problems. They are inconvenient at times and care must be taken but I am the only one in the 99.9%. I am in process of yet undetermined degree of remodel. I honestly considered adding drywall for laziness’s sake but with current costs I will probably just add some horizontal rails as PRN handholds/braces/anchors. I did sheetrock the outside.

This is pretty much the same setup we're going for, adding the railing is a great idea, buddy. I'm thinking still pipe with T connectors will do.
Did you use any sealant for the gaps and corners?

 

[blazetime]

Do u plan on running ac and full climate control?

I have a dura foam 4x8 in my garage

I used osb, r7 sheets and 2x3 with a outer layer of mold resistant drywall

Yeah, we will have a window AC mounted in the frame as well as intake/exhaust.
Sounds like your setup is much more sturdy than what we're planning to build. I would def go this road as well, but the pricing on OSB is over the moon and having the layer of OSB added $1500, doesn't make any sense .

 

[blazetime]

Quick update on this project - insulated the south wall with 2" R-Tech panels. Hopefully, this will help to keep the temps low. We will also insulate the garage door and if needed, the east wall as well.

The next step would be to remove the garage door railing and mechanism.

The problem we're facing rn is the exhaust/intake holes. Previously the garage door was slightly open and the exhaust and intake ducts were zip-tied and ran to the outside. What we probably will end up doing is to remove two glass pieces in the garage door and swap it with acrylic sheets with holes in it - one piece will have two exhaust holes and another one intake. Attaching the diagrams for clarity. Any input on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Amatfumusviriditas]

This is pretty much the same setup we're going for, adding the railing is a great idea, buddy. I'm thinking still pipe with T connectors will do.
Did you use any sealant for the gaps and corners?

Expanding foam in a can, it is supposed to be insect resistant and I found out it holds water when the floor seal contained a 5 gallon spill, lol. It seems to be showing its age now, getting a little brittle but I feel like I got good use from it. Will use again during current remodel.
Per your plans, good idea on extra ventilation in surrounding garage space and bonus points for extra wall insulation-wish I would have thought of it sooner, makes considerable difference for me but mine is covering metal garage door. Also not sure if it’s addressed in this post or another, but the window a/c allow light leaks (at least mine does), again discovered the hard way via hermies. I just run lights off at night until I make modifications. I also wish I would have mounted my a/c higher, nearthe top of the wall.
Unless you have a second space I would add a separate chamber for veg/mother/clones to enable perpetual, that’s what I’m doing now. Maybe controlled drying area as well.
I heard lumber prices are dropping as much as 40%, hope it true.

 

[Dabward]

Hi all. I'm building a grow room inside the garage and looking for a second opinion from those who have dealt with it.

The grow room dimensions:

• 12' (144") – length
• 6' (72") – width
• 8' (96") – height

View attachment 1138486View attachment 1138487View attachment 1138488
My main concern is whether to use plywood/drywall in my grow room or not. Seems like couple folks on the internet were successfully using insulation boards without the drywall in their grow spaces.

On one hand, it's so much cheaper to only have insulation material on the walls, besides that it's already reflective, but on the other hand it might be prone to get accidentally damaged. I don't know if the juice is worth the squeeze. Especially taking in consideration that it needs additional reflective covering on top of it.

Are there any pitfalls in fixing insulation board to the lumber frame without covering it with drywalls? Or should I find a compromise by covering only some parts along the perimeter (bottom or middle) on the outer side of the frame?

I used steel studs over wood. About the same price and just easier to work with. R15 in the walls ,radient heat barrier around the outside. You can screw it right to the studs. And then I did drywall the corners to make putting the panda liner up easier with staples.. and then plywood1/OSD hung outside. where I needed to hang things which covered the back and front.. and on top. . Solid core wood door from the habitat for humanity restore store. For 25$ a pop.. I still need to do cable management and finish the inside of the flower..

 

[Dabward]

Quick update on this project - insulated the south wall with 2" R-Tech panels. Hopefully, this will help to keep the temps low. We will also insulate the garage door and if needed, the east wall as well.

View attachment 1141650

The next step would be to remove the garage door railing and mechanism.

The problem we're facing rn is the exhaust/intake holes. Previously the garage door was slightly open and the exhaust and intake ducts were zip-tied and ran to the outside. What we probably will end up doing is to remove two glass pieces in the garage door and swap it with acrylic sheets with holes in it - one piece will have two exhaust holes and another one intake. Attaching the diagrams for clarity. Any input on this would be greatly appreciated.

View attachment 1141651View attachment 1141652

Definitely suggest insulating the garage door. Ours is west facing. IR thermometer said the door was 110 on a 90° day. Insulating the door. Brought ambient garage temp down a solid 10°.. worth the 100$

 

[Amatfumusviriditas]

Definitely suggest insulating the garage door. Ours is west facing. IR thermometer said the door was 110 on a 90° day. Insulating the door. Brought ambient garage temp down a solid 10°.. worth the 100$

I second that 100%. Mine is east facing but similar results. Well worth it.

 

[FourPlants]

I have thought about insulating my garage door but I do want to keep the option of being able to open it. My garage is attached and appears to be semi-insulated.

I just went and took the temp of my door and it is only 2 degrees warmer than my walls. Still 10 degrees cooler than ambient temp. Will need to take door temp on an even hotter day and see.

My door is N/NE facing luckily.

 

[Amatfumusviriditas]

I have thought about insulating my garage door but I do want to keep the option of being able to open it. My garage is attached and appears to be semi-insulated.

I just went and took the temp of my door and it is only 2 degrees warmer than my walls. Still 10 degrees cooler than ambient temp. Will need to take door temp on an even hotter day and see.

My door is N/NE facing luckily.

Box stores sell insulating kits for garage doors. They shouldn’t interfere with operation.

 

[Ponky]

I buy those 2" thick sheets of foam. Green on one side. Foil on the other. And I use tuck tape to put it together. It's like 30 CDN a sheet. Comes as 4'x8' sheets. Cheap. Otherwise just poly and tuck tape.

 

[FourPlants]

Box stores sell insulating kits for garage doors. They shouldn’t interfere with operation.

I have never looked for them. I just did a quick google search and it is about how I imagined. Summer hasn't been too bad with the window yet.

I probably should look into doing it regardless... still haven't taken regular temps out there during the winter.

 

[Dabward]

I have thought about insulating my garage door but I do want to keep the option of being able to open it. My garage is attached and appears to be semi-insulated.

I just went and took the temp of my door and it is only 2 degrees warmer than my walls. Still 10 degrees cooler than ambient temp. Will need to take door temp on an even hotter day and see.

My door is N/NE facing luckily.

I built mine so I could still open the door. Made it even more complicated but I did it. There are plenty of affordable kits. That dont interfere with the weight of or operation of the door. I used a 3m kit that was 90at the depo. Some radiant heat wrap or even 1inch insulation foam cut to fit between the panels. Lots of good detailed diy videos out there. As I'm learning in the fine tuning stages. Every 1° and RH1% can make all the difference in KPA.

 

[Dabward]

I built mine so I could still open the door. Made it even more complicated but I did it. There are plenty of affordable kits. That dont interfere with the weight of or operation of the door. I used a 3m kit that was 90at the depo. Some radiant heat wrap or even 1inch insulation foam cut to fit between the panels. Lots of good detailed diy videos out there. As I'm learning in the fine tuning stages. Every 1° and RH1% can make all the difference in KPA.

Jeez VPD .All the difference in VPD. wtf is kpa

 

[FourPlants]

If I honestly do anything it would probably be to put a wall up that splits the garage up some. That way I can have the grow room between the house and a smaller garage area lol

 

[Ponky]

Kilopascals