Help design my brand new rooms

[Islander]

I am in the enviable position of building a brand new cottage with a full basement that can be built from scratch with growing as it's only purpose. The walls will all be cement block 8' high and the space will have a total of 4 areas. 2 rooms approximately 12' x 18' opening onto a 6' x 24' common area. This "common" area could be used for some storage shelves (nutes) etc. and the reservoirs could be there outside the actual grow rooms as well. There is a fourth 12 x 12 room as well that could be used but I was hoping to use this as a food "Root Cellar" if possible. Questions.... staying with my comfort zone.... either soil grow or sog in soiless beds.... do I go with vented room or sealed room? What is "split"? Each of the 2 main rooms could have 8 1000w lights, 4 down each side. Do I use one room for veg/clone and another for the bloom? For climate info this will be in the pacific north-west so cool moderate temps. Can I get away with less wattage in the veg/clone room if I go that way? Who could help with designing the electrical wiring? I will try and scan a floorplan so as to make it easier for all. Thanks to you guys.......

 

[weedfarm]

I am in the enviable position of building a brand new cottage with a full basement that can be built from scratch with growing as it's only purpose. The walls will all be cement block 8' high and the space will have a total of 4 areas. 2 rooms approximately 12' x 18' opening onto a 6' x 24' common area. This "common" area could be used for some storage shelves (nutes) etc. and the reservoirs could be there outside the actual grow rooms as well. There is a fourth 12 x 12 room as well that could be used but I was hoping to use this as a food "Root Cellar" if possible. Questions.... staying with my comfort zone.... either soil grow or sog in soiless beds.... do I go with vented room or sealed room? What is "split"? Each of the 2 main rooms could have 8 1000w lights, 4 down each side. Do I use one room for veg/clone and another for the bloom? For climate info this will be in the pacific north-west so cool moderate temps. Can I get away with less wattage in the veg/clone room if I go that way? Who could help with designing the electrical wiring? I will try and scan a floorplan so as to make it easier for all. Thanks to you guys.......

I dont understand your question as far as "split"?

It sounds nice to be able to design an area from scratch. If this is not built yet, why are the room sizes predetermined? It shouldnt be hard for the builder to rearrange basement walls. Unless there is some load bearing issue.

8k in each room? You could probably get a little more in there if you wanted. That is alot of lights and alot of electric. have you considered what your bill would be?

I think a good place to start is, what is your goal? Are you a caregiver or just looking to grow as much as you can?

A good rule is your veg area could be around 20-30% of your flower area and yes it would be in a separate area. There are variables of course. If growing trees, you may need more area, smaller plants like in a SOG would not need a veg area, just some moms and a good cloning setup.


Sealed versus non sealed is really preference. A sealed setup would require AC, Co2, dehumidifier, etc but would create a completely controlled environment. A vented room is easier to setup, but does not allow you to control every variable. I really dont know what growers do when outside RH is 90% and thats what they have to pull through their room. If your outside environment is good, then it may work for you.

I have run 4k to 30K and have also run sealed with air cooled hoods, just my preference



what is your growing experience? DIY skills?

 

[Islander]

I just wrote a huge reply explaining everything and hit the wrong button sending the whole thing into cyberfuckingspace somewhere never to be found again. I will try again.........

 

[Islander]

Weedfarmer, thanks for your response. First of all I have done about a dozen grows in SoCal in a 18x12 room with 8 1000w lights. Struggled with PM, spidermites, and heat, but have grown some amazing product. Never realizing the yields that some talk about here on this site but have had some success. Starting week 7 of bloom in my last grow here before moving and it certainly looks like the best ever. (Cool weather!)

I grow in FFOF soil in 5gal smartpots. Mostly in a vented room but have tried sealing the room as well. Have 2 ACs running when needed. If I were to stay here I would build a totally sealed room. Moving the the northwest onto acreage where we will be building in the spring. The basement is all mine to design as I please. I am unable to scan on my computer right now so cannot send you a floorplan of the basement but it is basically a 24' square. There is a 12x12 area as well. No the rooms are not predetermined and I can do whatever I want and make changes right up to construction time.

No decisions made yet but I was thinking of going with the 2 18x12 rooms side by side, leaving a 6x24 area for shelving storage, reservoirs, stairs etc. If I line up 4 lights w/glass down each side and run a cooling line from outside through the 4 lights and out into the storage area I can run an otherwise sealed room. I can control the cooling by moderating the speed of the cooling fans.

I was going to try a sog setup in a sealed room as described. Growing the huge number of mothers and clones I would need in one room and the product in the other. 2 beds 18' long and 4' (or even 4'6") wide. under the 4 1000w lights.

I think that I have attached a floorplan of the basement..... there will be no washer and dryer or anything else, just need the room for the stairs. 24' square and a 12x12 side room.

Thanks again for your input. Just trying to get feedback and advise from those with more experience as to the best way to proceed. Want to grow as much as is reasonably possible in this space.

 

[weedfarm]

I did not blow your pic up, but there seems to be contact info in it with a phone #. Make sure nothing can be traced back to you

 

[dentonland]

lol thats my neighbor ..doh

 

[bwash77]

lol thats my neighbor ..doh

hehe. yeah--I would remove that image--not sure how...
As far as room design--there are many options. If running multiple ducts outside is not an issue I would recommend at least venting the lights--unless you're not worried about a high electrical bill and bigger ACs. If you want to "go green" then set-up intake and exhaust fans. 2000 cfm total for exhaust fans should cut it and less than that for intakes.
I understand doing sealed rooms (I have two 16 lighters all sealed up myself) but in a cold weather climate I think it's best to use that outdoor cold air. You could run an intake/exhaust outside that only clicks on when the inside air is too hot and the outdoor air is plenty cold--and use your ACs for back-up when it's too hot outside. In that scenario I think a 3 ton would work (w/ vented hoods). Totally sealed I would go for a 4 ton (mult-zone to operate both rooms).
If you're going to be around every day and monitoring your environment and you want to minimize your electrical bill (which--as you know will still be plenty at residential rates for that set-up) I would go with vented. If you want to automate and dial everything in and guard against pests and the elements go with sealed. You can do very well either way really.
:rasta2:

 

[Islander]

The only contact info on that is the company that actually drew the plan ... That I bought it off of. They sell hundreds of these things all over the world (plans). I will see if I can figure out how to take the image off though...

 

[Islander]

I was thinking of running a 6" line from outdoors directly through 4 lights and then out the other side of the room. Straight line, a fan where it enters the room and a fan where it leaves the room. One line for each group of 4 lights on each side of the room. Glass on and otherwise a sealed room. Again, I am hoping that I can control the speed of the fans with a moderating switch and thusly control the room temperature this way.

Cant seem to see a way to remove the prior image or delete the post?

 

[weedfarm]

it seems like you can not edit posts after a certain period of time. You may want to PM a mod or admin, Or delete the photo from your gallery

I thought the contact info was to a local architect who drew those plans up for you. If they are general plans that anyone can buy, I doubt you have any issues.

A 6" line is barely going to be big enough to cool 4000 watts.

You could do a manifold design with a bigger intake like 10 or 12" and have that run down one side of the room, for an intake, and another 10 or 12" down the other side. Then the lights would be connected across the room, probably 2 per row. It is more tubing, but you can cool alot of lights this way. The airflow stays balanced. And instead of 4 6" fans, you can use 1 or 2 big fans.

I wouldnt reduce the speed of the fans. I would just put them on a temp controller and have them come on and off.

You seem convinced on a sealed room. 8KW per room, will warm it up pretty quickly. You probably wont have the fans shutting off.


BTW A SOG is A LOT of work. I have done a lot of SOGS. It is alot of plants, clones etc. It does yield very well.

 

[Underground]

...I really dont know what growers do when outside RH is 90% and thats what they have to pull through their room. If your outside environment is good, then it may work for you.

An ERV is the perfect tool for that job. It acclimates the fresh air to the inside temp and removes humidity. This brings in fresh air and reduces the load on the AC by lowering the temperature and humidity of the air.

 

[Islander]

I have been thinking that a major part of doing a sog like this is making sure that you have enough clones.... About 400 to do the 2 18x4 beds. (a single room) That is a pretty intense mother/clone operation. I am not sure but thinking that I will need at least 12 good healthy mothers to supply that kind of number.

 

[weedfarm]

A true SOG is 4 plants per square foot, and single cola plants. No side branching. Thats 288 plants per bed. Around 700 clones so you can pick the best, account for loss, etc.

Yes you will need alot of moms. I pulled around 1600 clones off 20-25 moms every month. My veg room was bigger than most flower rooms :). But it was poorly managed. With better management, you could run 8-10 moms.

I would suggest not doing a true SOG. It is a lot of work, plant #'s are through the roof. 700 in cloning trays, 500+ in flower, and you are well over 1000 plants

If you plan on using both rooms for flower, I suggest flip flopping so one is off while the other is on to prevent power spikes