would this be a good choice for putting in a basement? 10'x9', $250 at sears.



i dont' feel like constructing anything with wood. don't have tons of tools for making something nice. pvc seems too cheap. what are some other affordable options. trying to spend the money on gear not the room.

Arrow Buildings SR68109 10 x 9 ft. Gable Lawn Building at Sears.com

it's ashame you don't want to build anything, 2x4's and some cheap plywood are your best bet. If you don't really want to build anything the shed would be a good deal but it isn't very stealthy..not sure if this matters. Plus the shed is probably gonna be a chore to put together, some of them aren't very user friendly and in my opinion more trouble then they are worth.If you have a drill i would say just go get some 8 ft. 2x4s (don't cut them) and some sheets of cheap paneling or plywood. You would have an 8'x8'x8' area and it would cost roughly...

$2-$3 for each 2x4 (1x3s are even cheaper)
I found drywall for $9 a 4x8 sheet.
Some screws

You could build it in a corner, this way you only need to build 2 walls. So roughly tou would need 8 2x4s and four sheets of plywood/drywall. So the cost would about $60, then you could develop your own little system for the inside i.e. what kind of shelving, drill your air intake and outtake, yada yada....

excellent post gygax!

my basement is not finished and the ground is concrete, which i understand absorbs heat and shows leo what you may be doing.

any ideas for raising the ground up? basically a floating room inside a room.

what helps making the ground perfectly level? this may be important for hydroponics. or do i not want perfect level for accidental drainage.

how much space between 2x4s?

would tyvek or insulation help odors/temp control?

I also have the unfinished cement floor basement.

you could frame out the floor and do some plywood, Home Depot also sells something called Dry Lock(?). They are in the lumber section. They come in 2x2 sections and it is basically for basements. It is particle board on top and plastic grooved on the bottom...it allows water to go under the floor with out touching the wood.And it is tongue and groove. You could also just throw down some carpet. Or perhaps some reflective material on the floor to stop the cement floor from absorbing all that heat.

Leveling the floor can be a chore, they do have cements for that, but just make sure that your wall framing is level with some shims and build off the base of the frame.... you are good to go.

Code on 2x4s is usually 16 inches, I do 24, but you can get away with whatever you want (although the wall could bow if you go with more than 24 inches between 2x4s...we're not to worried about code until we sell the house...right? You could even go a whole four feet but the wood will probably bow at some time...so I forgot to add more 2x4s to my idea above....woops! So building this room would actually require 6 or so 2x4s per wall.

I also use tyvek (reflector side facing into the grow room) to improve the lighting...not sure what this does to the temperature. Not sure that it does anything for odor control but there are many DIY odor control techniques on this site. Look for the DIY carbon filter post.

I am by no means an expert but I have a room similar to what I have posted above.

a room in a air conditioned room is a great stealth move. IR detection is almost impossible in this manner. the real problem with most basements is the humidity levels

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Go Medicate Yourself..... Then we will Talk

Humidity can be a huge problem, but I have a dehumidifier....if you have one then great if not you could invest in one. It's a good investment for growing and also for your basement and anything that you may store down there.

yes, humidity is a huge problem in my basement. 75%-85% on my cheap hydrometer. no direct access to fresh air to lower the humidity at the moment.

heat is not a problem, yet. i'm only running cfls and tube florescent and temps are 70-75.

so when i get a few thousand watts of hid lighting in a 10x10 room only cooled by fans, will temps most likely float into the 80s? how can i get a/c to the room without central air installed in the house? one of those 500 dollar portable units with output exhaust?

what kind of dehumidifier should i be looking at?

i never thought when i started doing this i'd be looking at constructing rooms, making air ducts, adding circuits and wiring just to smoke some quality grass. it's all new to me. it's all worth it. very expensive to do it right.

if you put any carpet on the floor of your basement make it indoor/outdoor.
regular carpet would mold if it gets wet

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You have two options on dehumidifiers, a big one for the basement or a little one for just your room. Most of them come with a humidity setting i.e. only turn on when humidity goes above say 60%. It all depends on how much moneu you are willing to spend. Most appliance and Home Depot types would sell these.

I just bought a house say 6 months ago. I have really gotten into building stuff, yes it can cost money but it saves you from hiring people all the time to fix or build things. Not only that after you build it, it's done and you will feel very proud...at least I do. Spend the money now and do it right rather than spend a little and find it doesn't meet your needs. Some poor guy on here was saying that he got cfl's for a grow and they weren't the right kind, he didn't have money. Long story short he spent the money on worthless bulbs, with the amount he wasted on buying the wrong bulbs he could have gotten a HID/HPS set-up for the same price. If you have the money do it right, if not do the best you can and save the dough for the future. Never rush into this it can be a big money waster. Spend a lot of time asking questions and looking through these forums and all we be good. Good luck!!