Bubblelicious, New York Power Diesel, and Super Skunk in DWC

Okay. Your garage is a lot like mine, except I can get a car in. Cracked concrete floor and all. Now you should maybe consider removing the rails. It would be a shame to limit yourself to 7 feet. The are usually in two pieces anyway, the horizontal piece could be removed. You would have to detension the winding spring though and you need to really know what you are doing with that or a gory death can follow. I didn't realize you weren't using the garage for anything else (except your junk). To deal with that ledge you just have to fir out the studs you want to tie your room walls to.

shnkrmn said:

Okay. Your garage is a lot like mine, except I can get a car in. Cracked concrete floor and all. Now you should maybe consider removing the rails. It would be a shame to limit yourself to 7 feet. The are usually in two pieces anyway, the horizontal piece could be removed. You would have to detension the winding spring though and you need to really know what you are doing with that or a gory death can follow. I didn't realize you weren't using the garage for anything else (except your junk). To deal with that ledge you just have to fir out the studs you want to tie your room walls to.

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Hmmmm...........as romantic and "Shakespearean" as a gory death caused by trying to grow weed in my garage sounds, I'm thinking I might keep that one as a last resort (although I definitely appreciate the help/input).

Anyone know of any threads where someone build a box to contain a window AC? If I did that, I could have exhaust and intake running to and from that vent, and it could pretty easily keep the entire garage cool.

BTW people, this is not a drill - temps are getting up fast in my part of the world, and I'd like to be DONE this renovation within a few weeks, so this is no longer "pie in the sky" daydreams.

EDIT: whoever sent me a PM via Youtube, I don't respond to them there, but will gladly on here...........

Anyone know what would happen to the condensation from the back of the large window AC if it was mounted inside?

Would that water just form a puddle in the middle of my garage?

Sitting here with my finger on the "Buy" button for a 14KBTU portable, which I would use in tandem with a 1/2HP water chiller and some Ice Boxes to keep the garage cool - that gives me about 20K worth of combined cooling, and allows me more even cooling throughout, as I can use Ice Boxes for spot cooling.

Another (and probably the biggest, in my book) advantage is that there'd be no wiring issues, which I like

Also wouldn't have to mount a 200 pound AC ten feet up in the air, which has its obvious benefits.

Also lets me run a HydroGen for CO2 supplementation, whereas with the 24K I'd just use my current generator and the AC would simply have to overcome that heat.

So, the question is, in all of your professional opinions, would I be better off with one 24K unit or the combo package described above?

Wow, just laying it out there, assuming that I can wire a 240V circuit and the AC wouldn't be constantly leaking onto the floor, the price savings of installing a $300 24K AC seem to overwhelm the other factors.

$500 for the AC plus another $100 for wiring, vs. $500 for the portable AC, $1000 for the chiller, $100 for an insulated reservoir, $300 for two ice boxes, $400 for the HydroGen..........$600 vs. $2300, and the $600 is more reliable on hot days.

Boy, that's a toughie...........now someone just tell me that there's a way to mitigate the condensation from the fucker.

EDIT: Of course, could just get two 14K portables for $1K.................just realized that, and with the wiring issues that I'm sure I'll encounter, I think that might be the best option.........we'll call that Choice C.

Thanks greatly for all your help last time; probably could've installed the additional circuits myself, but just paid an electrician instead.

Like a moron, however, I got both (20amps a piece) wired at 120V, and it's becoming increasingly clear that I really need a 240V circuit in there.

So, my question is two parts:

Firstly, how can you tell if an outlet is wired for 120 or 240? I have no idea what a 240 outlet looks like, in all honesty.

Secondly, everything I've read on the Internet states that a double pole breaker is a 240 and a single pole is a 120 - is this correct?

Asking because it would appear as though I've got 240 in the garage already if this is the case, as per the pics below:

First a pic of the overall breaker box.



Now here's the circuit(s) in question - obviously this is a double pole circuit, so shouldn't there be 240V power going to both the garage and the shed?



And since there's a bazillion outlets in the garage, I figured I'd take a pic of the outlet in the shed, as it's the only one there.




So with that evidence (although I can gather more if you need it), what is your professional opinion of what V I have running on that circuit?

Also, is there a cheap and easy way to test it?

Finally, since I'd imagine you're gonna say something along the lines of "nope, you've only got 120", how difficult (and costly) would it be to upgrade one of those new circuits to 240, or even to run a brand new one?

Thanks so much for your time, my friend.

Hey Bob, The A/C will condense mucho agua. Need to catch it just like the dehumidifier.

Looks like a 110V outlet. Test it by plugging in a light if it lights up and doesn’t blow, it’s 110V You can get a voltage tester it’s a good thing to have a round. Like I said earlier it looks like it’s installed wrong, by the way you described it to me earlier. But it also seems like your way close. Just need to find the other side of the orange wire leaving the breaker box. There is probably a junction box somewhere between the breaker and the garage and shed.

Appreciate the help Caz, but as of right now I'm not sure that re-wiring is necessary, and am actually kinda certain it's not.

Depending on what you electrical/AC pros come back with, I'm thinking that one or two of the 14K BTU portable ACs are the way to go, and they'd each run on their own 120V 20 amp circuit, leaving another 600 watts for other things on each of those circuits (that 600 number took into account the safety margin).

Then, I'd just have to pop out the dual pole 20/20 breaker and install a 30 amp breaker there, and that would run my flowering lights (either two 1Ks or 4 600s).

If running 600s I wouldn't even need to do that, but I'd prefer to start with the 1Ks in the new system, as it's cheaper to buy one more 1K than 4 new 600s.

Sooooooooooooo....................anybody got any ideas? Or more specifically, anyone think that two 14K portable BTUs wouldn't be enough to handle that heatload?

Great info. Hope my next grow goes as well. Scribed.

Bob Smith said:

Appreciate the help Caz, but as of right now I'm not sure that re-wiring is necessary, and am actually kinda certain it's not.

Depending on what you electrical/AC pros come back with, I'm thinking that one or two of the 14K BTU portable ACs are the way to go, and they'd each run on their own 120V 20 amp circuit, leaving another 600 watts for other things on each of those circuits (that 600 number took into account the safety margin).

Then, I'd just have to pop out the dual pole 20/20 breaker and install a 30 amp breaker there, and that would run my flowering lights (either two 1Ks or 4 600s).

If running 600s I wouldn't even need to do that, but I'd prefer to start with the 1Ks in the new system, as it's cheaper to buy one more 1K than 4 new 600s.

Sooooooooooooo....................anybody got any ideas? Or more specifically, anyone think that two 14K portable BTUs wouldn't be enough to handle that heatload?

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Oh sorry, I see, I thought you were going 220v. ( don't rule it out I think it is the way to go.)

That seems like a way to go. Something like this?> http://www.costco.com/Common/Search.aspx?whse=BC&topnav=&search=Portable%20Air%20Conditioner&N=0&Ntt=Portable%20Air%20Conditioner&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US
?

And Let's not move to quickly here on switching out the 20/20 breaker! You need to find out exactly how that line is run. You did say the line looked like an orange 10gauge romex wire leaving the breaker box and that it supplied power to both the garage and shed. Looking at the line to the outlet in the shed it looks kinda like a buried line not the same line leaving the breaker box. Where is the splice? What gauge is the line going into the shed outlet? Can you see the line going to the outlet connected to this breaker in the garage anywhere?

to get either 2 - 30 amp/110v lines or 1- 30amp/220v line you need to have both the red and black hot lines and the white/neutral and ground wires coming into the garage somewhere?

cazador said:

Oh sorry, I see, I thought you were going 220v. ( don't rule it out I think it is the way to go.)

That seems like a way to go. Something like this?> http://www.costco.com/Common/Search.aspx?whse=BC&topnav=&search=Portable%20Air%20Conditioner&N=0&Ntt=Portable%20Air%20Conditioner&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US
?

And Let's not move to quickly here on switching out the 20/20 breaker! You need to find out exactly how that line is run. You did say the line looked like an orange 10gauge romex wire leaving the breaker box and that it supplied power to both the garage and shed. Looking at the line to the outlet in the shed it looks kinda like a buried line not the same line leaving the breaker box. Where is the splice? What gauge is the line going into the shed outlet? Can you see the line going to the outlet connected to this breaker in the garage anywhere?

to get either 2 - 30 amp/110v lines or 1- 30amp/220v line you need to have both the red and black hot lines and the white/neutral and ground wires coming into the garage somewhere?

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Going with this guy (but getting it for $500):

http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Conditioner-Heater-Dual-Hose/dp/B0018DKYTK

Also, forgot to mention that I think there's a good chance that there's another 15 amps/120V running in there without me doing anything (75 amps, all 120V), which thoroughly covers my power needs - although flowering with 1Ks would limit me to 2-3 lights, whereas using 600s I could squeeze 8-9 in there in summer, and 11-12 in winter. I think with me getting dialed in, 2000 watts should be plenty for me for flowering.

Gonna do a circuit test within the next couple of days and determine what outlets run off of what breaker - I think that bottom left circuit that says "Garage Spot Lights" most likely also feeds an outlet or two in the garage.

View attachment 732420

if it weren't a dual hose i'd tell you to save ur money... i have no experience with those. i would guess they work much better than a non-dual hose portable a.c. unit.

the normal 'portable a.c.' units are complete crap, though. They pull so much air into the room you have to have a separate room air intake (not a sealed room) just to run them. And they blow so much air straight outside that you may as well just be sucking un-conditioned air straight through the room.
.

DaGambler said:

if it weren't a dual hose i'd tell you to save ur money... i have no experience with those. i would guess they work much better than a non-dual hose portable a.c. unit.

the normal 'portable a.c.' units are complete crap, though. They pull so much air into the room you have to have a separate room air intake (not a sealed room) just to run them. And they blow so much air straight outside that you may as well just be sucking un-conditioned air straight through the room.
.

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So whadya guys think? Think two of those portables could keep my 10x15 area cool?

Certainly the 24K could, right?

Also, if the answer to question #1 is "no", would I be better off making one of the ACs a window unit? They're a little more rugged and heavy duty and could withstand hotter intake temps, right?

Trying to get something ordered fairly ASAP, would love some input..........

Bob Smith said:

Going with this guy (but getting it for $500):

http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Conditioner-Heater-Dual-Hose/dp/B0018DKYTK

Also, forgot to mention that I think there's a good chance that there's another 15 amps/120V running in there without me doing anything (75 amps, all 120V), which thoroughly covers my power needs - although flowering with 1Ks would limit me to 2-3 lights, whereas using 600s I could squeeze 8-9 in there in summer, and 11-12 in winter. I think with me getting dialed in, 2000 watts should be plenty for me for flowering.

Gonna do a circuit test within the next couple of days and determine what outlets run off of what breaker - I think that bottom left circuit that says "Garage Spot Lights" most likely also feeds an outlet or two in the garage.

View attachment 732420

Click to expand...

HD sells a tester for a breaker box and outlets. You plug it into an outlet and go to the breaker box with the probe and it tells you which breaker it is connected to. Label all outlets and switchs with the appropriate breaker number. That way it is all clear and you wont overload anything. Your starting to add a nice load to the breakers too, so I would suggest you make sure your load balancing correctly? You have 2 - 100amp lines coming into the house and you want to make sure your not loading one up too much. You don't have to worry about it when running 220v as it is already riding on both 110amp lines. Make sence? Just trying to help and keep you out of trouble. I'm still suggesting you use 220v for anything that will run on 220v.

DaGambler said:

if it weren't a dual hose i'd tell you to save ur money... i have no experience with those. i would guess they work much better than a non-dual hose portable a.c. unit.

the normal 'portable a.c.' units are complete crap, though. They pull so much air into the room you have to have a separate room air intake (not a sealed room) just to run them. And they blow so much air straight outside that you may as well just be sucking un-conditioned air straight through the room.
.

Click to expand...

excellent point!

Bob Smith said:

So whadya guys think? Think two of those portables could keep my 10x15 area cool?

Certainly the 24K could, right?

Also, if the answer to question #1 is "no", would I be better off making one of the ACs a window unit? They're a little more rugged and heavy duty and could withstand hotter intake temps, right?

Trying to get something ordered fairly ASAP, would love some input..........

Click to expand...

Not sure about the 14K BTU A/C being able to do a good job in there. I would again go with a 240V A/C if I had the choice. I am not sure at the moment how a window A/C would be best installed so that it will exhaust the heat properly. Shouldn't be a real hard thing to figure out though. The condensation should be easy enough just attach a hose to drain.

My buddy and I installed a window AC in his old room by cutting into the wall (made our own damn window) something kind of tells me the GF would flip out if you busted out the Ol' power tools and started hacking into the side of the garage though...women...

statik said:

My buddy and I installed a window AC in his old room by cutting into the wall (made our own damn window) something kind of tells me the GF would flip out if you busted out the Ol' power tools and started hacking into the side of the garage though...women...

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Yeah, unfortunately that's just not much of an option at this point, although it wouldn't be my girl who cared - too much of a security risk.

HD sells a tester for a breaker box and outlets. You plug it into an outlet and go to the breaker box with the probe and it tells you which breaker it is connected to. Label all outlets and switchs with the appropriate breaker number. That way it is all clear and you wont overload anything. Your starting to add a nice load to the breakers too, so I would suggest you make sure your load balancing correctly? You have 2 - 100amp lines coming into the house and you want to make sure your not loading one up too much. You don't have to worry about it when running 220v as it is already riding on both 110amp lines. Make sence? Just trying to help and keep you out of trouble. I'm still suggesting you use 220v for anything that will run on 220v.

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I'm totally with you, and would prefer to use 220; I'm just VERY hesitant about running extra wires through walls and whatnot.

How long would it take you to turn an existing 110V to 220V? How much work is actually involved?

Because I have more confidence in running a 24K window AC than I do in running two 14K portables for keeping temps down.

Not sure about the 14K BTU A/C being able to do a good job in there. I would again go with a 240V A/C if I had the choice. I am not sure at the moment how a window A/C would be best installed so that it will exhaust the heat properly. Shouldn't be a real hard thing to figure out though. The condensation should be easy enough just attach a hose to drain.

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I'd buy one to start out with, but during install, would prefab somewhere for a matching one to be installed as well.

That'd be 28K BTUs of cooling, which should theoretically be plenty of overkill - but again, not knowing how well those portables work hurts.

Also like the flexibility of having two 14Ks vs. 1 24K window unit.

Yeah, I knew it wasn't going to work in your case...but I thought I would bring it up. Fortunately my buddy lives in a quite town in Nor Cal, so security is not really a concern...for the most part anyway.

Bob Smith said:

Yeah, unfortunately that's just not much of an option at this point, although it wouldn't be my girl who cared - too much of a security risk.

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You could mount the window A/C on the roof of the structure your going to build inside the garage and vent it out that gable vent that magically showed up.

Bob Smith said:

I'm totally with you, and would prefer to use 220; I'm just VERY hesitant about running extra wires through walls and whatnot.

How long would it take you to turn an existing 110V to 220V? How much work is actually involved?

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It's not to hard running wires but it sounded like you already have the wires running. You just need to identify exactly where they go. To turn an existing line from 110 to 220 takes about 20 mins(approx). The hard part is making sure you know exactly how the line is run. The process to switch from 110 to 220 is so easy you'll think it can't be that simple. Any line can be converted to 220V. All you do is make sure you know all the outlets that are connected to the line(circuit) and label them 220V or better replace them with the proper 220v outlet so you or someone won't be able to plug the wrong thing into them in the future. Now open your breaker box find the line you want to switch from 110v to 220v. Take out that breaker and replace with a double pole breaker of the correct amperage for the line in question. Reconnect the black wire and then remove the white wire from the neutral/ground bar and connect it to the other pole of the new double pole breaker. your done! (now I do this live but have to suggest that you kill the "main power" (top 2 breakers that has 100amp printed on it)

Now that I said all that your garage/shed line sounds like it is already set up, just need to identify where/how it is run. The breaker is there and the line is going somewhere in the correct direction.

Bob Smith said:

Because I have more confidence in running a 24K window AC than I do in running two 14K portables for keeping temps down.

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I hear you on this one but I'm think the portables will do the job too. I do like the idea of two small ones if you have the room and cash. There will be times that one might be perfect? you will need to plumb the condensation to drain to something.

Bob Smith said:

I'd buy one to start out with, but during install, would prefab somewhere for a matching one to be installed as well.

That'd be 28K BTUs of cooling, which should theoretically be plenty of overkill - but again, not knowing how well those portables work hurts.

Also like the flexibility of having two 14Ks vs. 1 24K window unit.

Click to expand...

Yea that dose sound good too.

cazador said:

You could mount the window A/C on the roof of the structure your going to build inside the garage and vent it out that gable vent that magically showed up.




It's not to hard running wires but it sounded like you already have the wires running. You just need to identify exactly where they go. To turn an existing line from 110 to 220 takes about 20 mins(approx). The hard part is making sure you know exactly how the line is run. The process to switch from 110 to 220 is so easy you'll think it can't be that simple. Any line can be converted to 220V. All you do is make sure you know all the outlets that are connected to the line(circuit) and label them 220V or better replace them with the proper 220v outlet so you or someone won't be able to plug the wrong thing into them in the future. Now open your breaker box find the line you want to switch from 110v to 220v. Take out that breaker and replace with a double pole breaker of the correct amperage for the line in question. Reconnect the black wire and then remove the white wire from the neutral/ground bar and connect it to the other pole of the new double pole breaker. your done! (now I do this live but have to suggest that you kill the "main power" (top 2 breakers that has 100amp printed on it)

Now that I said all that your garage/shed line sounds like it is already set up, just need to identify where/how it is run. The breaker is there and the line is going somewhere in the correct direction.

I hear you on this one but I'm think the portables will do the job too. I do like the idea of two small ones if you have the room and cash. There will be times that one might be perfect? you will need to plumb the condensation to drain to something.

Yea that dose sound good too.

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Grrrrrrrr................I forget who said it, but someone on this site said that controlling temperature/airflow while also being tasked with controlling odors is the hardest part of indoor growing.

I'm starting to agree with him.

Also Caz, not sure I'm able to turn that garage/shed line to 220V because there are some light fixtures that run off of that, so I'd need to do it to one of the new 110V lines that I had installed.

That being said, how difficult are we talking?

And BTW, spoke with a portable air expert for about 15 minutes on the phone today, and he (I was shocked at his honesty) said that basically a portable won't do what I need it to do, and two of the same (14K) unit won't do anything if the intake temps are too hot (which they could be, on some/many days).

So, I need anywhere from an 18-24K BTU window unit to really cool it down.

Gonna mount it on my "structure", and put a Rubbermaid under it to catch any condensation.

Just need to figure out this wiring situation...............if I can't (I'm sure I could, but if it involves lotsa shit that I'm not crazy about doing), then I could (and will) go with two smaller (14K) window ACs that can run off of 110V.

Gonna partition the garage into a 15x10 enclosed room and a 5x10 "dead space", and gonna get a LARGE centrifugal fan (1000CFMish?) to exhaust the dead space, and use a 425CFM for intake, hopefully keeping it <95F 97% of the time so that the ACs have a reasonable chance at working correctly.

EDIT: I'd obviously be exhausting filtered air and intake-ing clean (outside) air through that "Gable vent". The "dead space" would be ~500 cubic feet (5' by 10' by 10'), so I think that even with the heat produced by the AC(s), exhausting the air twice a minute (1000CFM fan) should be able to keep those temps relatively close to outside temps and therefore allow the ACs to work fairly well, no? Anybody got a guesstimate as to if this would work?

Would also be running the majority of the HID lighting (2500ish watts) at night, so that even on hot days, the outside temps would be at about 80F when the second AC needed to kick on.............

Bob Smith said:

Grrrrrrrr................I forget who said it, but someone on this site said that controlling temperature/airflow while also being tasked with controlling odors is the hardest part of indoor growing.

I'm starting to agree with him.

Click to expand...

Bob Smith said:

Also Caz, not sure I'm able to turn that garage/shed line to 220V because there are some light fixtures that run off of that, so I'd need to do it to one of the new 110V lines that I had installed.

That being said, how difficult are we talking?

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Well that's good to know. I suggest that you remove the bar keeping these breakers together as this is clearly installed incorrectly.

Now I am assuming your talking about working on breaker spot #17 with the two 20amp breakers. is this correct?

Of course it would be easier if I could stand in front of the breaker box... The difficulty I see is that you need to move things around a bit to fit in the needed double pole breaker...never mind that for now, see if you have enough line from either breaker in spot #17 to reach the top empty spot on the left make sure the white wire paired with it reaches too. If so then that is where you'll put the new half-height 20Amp double pole breaker or in spot #17 once one of them is moved up. Then connect the black and white wires to it. Make sure you have nothing plugged into the line anywhere and label the plugs and then turn the breaker on and your in business. You can also change the other line into 220v if needed/wanted as you now have the unused breaker next to it.

Bob Smith said:

And BTW, spoke with a portable air expert for about 15 minutes on the phone today, and he (I was shocked at his honesty) said that basically a portable won't do what I need it to do, and two of the same (14K) unit won't do anything if the intake temps are too hot (which they could be, on some/many days).

So, I need anywhere from an 18-24K BTU window unit to really cool it down.

Gonna mount it on my "structure", and put a Rubbermaid under it to catch any condensation.

Just need to figure out this wiring situation...............if I can't (I'm sure I could, but if it involves lotsa shit that I'm not crazy about doing), then I could (and will) go with two smaller (14K) window ACs that can run off of 110V.

Gonna partition the garage into a 15x10 enclosed room and a 5x10 "dead space", and gonna get a LARGE centrifugal fan (1000CFMish?) to exhaust the dead space, and use a 425CFM for intake, hopefully keeping it <95F 97% of the time so that the ACs have a reasonable chance at working correctly.

EDIT: I'd obviously be exhausting filtered air and intake-ing clean (outside) air through that "Gable vent". The "dead space" would be ~500 cubic feet (5' by 10' by 10'), so I think that even with the heat produced by the AC(s), exhausting the air twice a minute (1000CFM fan) should be able to keep those temps relatively close to outside temps and therefore allow the ACs to work fairly well, no? Anybody got a guesstimate as to if this would work?

Would also be running the majority of the HID lighting (2500ish watts) at night, so that even on hot days, the outside temps would be at about 80F when the second AC needed to kick on.............

Click to expand...

That sounds like a more robust way to go IMO.

cazador said:

Well that's good to know. I suggest that you remove the bar keeping these breakers together as this is clearly installed incorrectly.

Now I am assuming your talking about working on breaker spot #17 with the two 20amp breakers. is this correct?

Of course it would be easier if I could stand in front of the breaker box... The difficulty I see is that you need to move things around a bit to fit in the needed double pole breaker...never mind that for now, see if you have enough line from either breaker in spot #17 to reach the top empty spot on the left make sure the white wire paired with it reaches too. If so then that is where you'll put the new half-height 20Amp double pole breaker or in spot #17 once one of them is moved up. Then connect the black and white wires to it. Make sure you have nothing plugged into the line anywhere and label the plugs and then turn the breaker on and your in business. You can also change the other line into 220v if needed/wanted as you now have the unused breaker next to it.



That sounds like a more robust way to go IMO.

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Damn, I really need to rep more people, I guess - everytime I wanna rep somebody, I've already repped them recently (smoking, that goes for you as well).

Anyways, that was a long-winded way of saying "thanks Caz" - gonna lay off the wiring for now, and see what I can come up with.

They have 15.1KBTU ACs (window) that can run off of 110V, so I'm probably gonna pick one of those up (although I might do a 14K off of Craigslist if it makes sense financially).

After that, I'll probably get a 14K portable for spot cooling closer to my actual flowering plants, and call it a day.

Gonna order a 1000CFM fan as well sooner rather than later.

Now I need to do some pre-fab work (I sound like such a handyman when I use terms like that) and get my flowering tent all setup and ready for this next run.

Dropping outta site for a little bit, and I'll be posting the link for the new journal within a couple of weeks.

Thanks everybody

P.S. - if anyone knows of any handy tips/links for building an insulated wall with a door, please feel free to post

Anytime. Don't through in the towel to early. I do believe you'll be happier getting the 220v going, either for your lights or the A/C. Both will run more efficient using higher voltage. The ballasts will run cooler, the A/C will be stronger and both will last longer. Not to mention you'll have more amps available with less lines? My 3k of lights running on the same wire: 110v = 27.3amps or 220v = 13 amps. Now you see, that if I didn't switch the same wire (no new run) from 110v to 220v I wouldn't be able to run the 3k lights on a 20 amp circuit I'd be over by more than 7 amp. now that I switched to 220v I have a very safe margin in fact I'd split off a110v leg at the lights and run a few low watt fans too. All on the same line that would have be way maxed out otherwise or I would have had to run a new line (pain in the ass and not as cheap). Making any sense?

As far as building an insulated wall. Just get a HD framing book. Frame out the structure put up your inner walls insulate between the studs and put up your otter walls. Hanging a door can be a bit tricky to get perfect. the easiest way is to get a pre-hung door. I went to a rebuilding store and picked up a great office door 7'+ tall hard, wood, glass (viewing window so I can look inside without letting CO2 out). $20 new it would have been over $1000 I was hard not to use it on the house. Maybe one day.

Looking forward to your new thread. Good luck. call if you need help