first attic grow

Ok well ive started an attic flower room.
Temps were hitting 142 degrees F during the day about a month ago.
Demensions: 8x8 floor space, 8 foot ceiling. but walls are the current truss system of house<prism shape>.
Medium: Coco coirXgeneral hydroponics
A/C:5k btu ac<10k btu portable available when second light goes live>
Lighting: 1000w xxxl 6 inch reflector<2 1000w watters after im comfortabel
interior walls are sealed with 10 mil. plastic<very thick> glues to studs/trusses.
i have a 5K btu ac mounted in a corner, currently i have only hung one of my 1000W xxl hoods 6 in. exhaust attached 465 CFM squirrel fan mounted out side the room exhausting out of the attic.<all ballasts are outside as well>

I'm hoping that the window unit ac will work for my cooling since i'm only running my lights<eventually i plan to hook up my other 1000w light>with only my fan and ac runnning no, light yet, i was able to drop the entire attic space down to 68 degrees F tonight. outdoor temps were around 75 degrees. tomorrow I will seal my room and plug my light in and give it a test run.

Should i use insulation batts and plywood or insulation styrofoam boards for my exterior walls? And what rating should i use?

ANY POINTERS are welcome. its gonna happen so any naysayers without constructive comments can kiss it

ewbwa25 said:

Ok well ive started an attic flower room.
Temps were hitting 142 degrees F during the day about a month ago.
Demensions: 8x8 floor space, 8 foot ceiling. but walls are the current truss system of house<prism shape>.
Medium: Coco coirXgeneral hydroponics
A/C:5k btu ac<10k btu portable available when second light goes live>
Lighting: 1000w xxxl 6 inch reflector<2 1000w watters after im comfortabel
interior walls are sealed with 10 mil. plastic<very thick> glues to studs/trusses.
i have a 5K btu ac mounted in a corner, currently i have only hung one of my 1000W xxl hoods 6 in. exhaust attached 465 CFM squirrel fan mounted out side the room exhausting out of the attic.<all ballasts are outside as well>

I'm hoping that the window unit ac will work for my cooling since i'm only running my lights<eventually i plan to hook up my other 1000w light>with only my fan and ac runnning no, light yet, i was able to drop the entire attic space down to 68 degrees F tonight. outdoor temps were around 75 degrees. tomorrow I will seal my room and plug my light in and give it a test run.

Should i use insulation batts and plywood or insulation styrofoam boards for my exterior walls? And what rating should i use?

ANY POINTERS are welcome. its gonna happen so any naysayers without constructive comments can kiss it

Click to expand...

your grossly under estimating the heat build up 5000 btu ac is nothing....a bucket of water in a ocean .........and u plan to run HPS 1000w
stop this plan .........u need a mini split 2 ton at least maybe a 3ton (24,000/36,000 btus)

besides the heat 2nd big issue Co2 as it is a heavier gas attic is not going to have a high amount (i am guessing even less then normal outside ground lvl) so the plants will not do as well as u think they will

if u are going to do this
1 paint your roof white (no joke paint it white it will reflect most of the light hitting it lowering the temp inside during the day) i never understood why they are black
2 Co2 tank is only choice trust me get the 50 gallon the 20s might seem like better choice but u replacing it every 3 weeks (that is running a 5x5x6 tent) .......set it up downstairs run the tubing to attic (excuse is u have a home soda machine for movie area) they will not sell u 50 gallon tanks but rent it ..........if u do go 20 gallons they sell u those and then u only pay for Co2 when u exchange them ....i would get 3 1 to use 1 for back up 1 to exchange

oh the other thing

doing it in roof is going to make your house light up like a X-mas tree to cops ......Flair cameras will see it very clearly since only 1 lvl of material blocking it
your roof will always be hotter then the neighbors .......in the winter time your roof will melt snow (u be the only roof with no snow on it in area)

so if u are going to do it .......u need to IR block the whole floor
1 do not pop the bubbles the mylar reflecting the heat back in and outside back out need the air barrier to make it work effectively
2 over lap if a gap is open heat goes out u are seen

i wish i had specified i plan to add r-19 insulation batts to the space between the studs and the floor. and capping the exterior wall with plywood, probably 1/2 in. since its built along the trusses it doesnt share a roof with the actual roof i plan to build a self-contained room not a tent. So will ir reflector on the exterior wall help? Oh and it rarely drops below freezing here so it only snows once every few years,



I have a gas hot water heater. has anyone ever used to vent for Co2 for their rooms?

subbed - it'll be interesting to see how you do with the high temperatures after you get done with the modifications

its gonna happen. im plenty experienced in carpentry and building. if i have to add the other ac i will but i dunno. Also im venting my lights and the rest of the attic outside the house should i blow this in any direction. Im looking for helpful knowledgeable assistance

ewbwa25 said:

i wish i had specified i plan to add r-19 insulation batts to the space between the studs and the floor. and capping the exterior wall with plywood, probably 1/2 in. since its built along the trusses it doesnt share a roof with the actual roof i plan to build a self-contained room not a tent. So will ir reflector on the exterior wall help? Oh and it rarely drops below freezing here so it only snows once every few years,



I have a gas hot water heater. has anyone ever used to vent for Co2 for their rooms?

Click to expand...

IR in inner walls .....it is reflective so it is better then white walls .....this will make a thermal barrier (all that insulation is good) but the mylar will reflect 98% of all thermal heat the bubble wrap in the middle makes a air barrier that the last 2 % does not travel tho and the other side of mylar reflects back the ambient temps (they can not see shit looks to be cool to them)

sealed room is good ...........take out the window ac and get a mini split (2 ton will work 3 ton might be better with the fact u are venting co2 using gas burner)
this will need it own breaker .....u can mount the compressor outside or in the opened air attic vent (it will make heat and if u do mount on ground u will need a extended tube so a AC person might be needed)

as for your venting u want to tie it into the chimney if u can .......cap the real one and then tie in will blow up and out (if u do not have one u can make a fake one ) just make sure u use insulted ducting so they can not see it and trace the path using flair .........other wise u would need to figure a way to split the full force and dump it out evenly using vents on the overhangs of the roof (again insulted ducting)

Seems like an ambitious project my friend but at least your cursed in carpentry that will definately help .....the heat in an attic is what Id be most worried about and then adding more heat with equipment will make your climate control Literally life support to your grow ......I wish you the best in your project and just remember that what works now as far as ac goes may not work in the hottest times during the year even 10 degrees difference outside changes things huge in an attic ......but like I said hopefully you can get it set up and run the lights and equipment for a few days to get temp control dialed in before you get plants in there .....good luck I look forward to hearing your results and modifications to be successful Good luck

well the room will be about 260 cubic foot if that can help anyone help me

ewbwa25 said:

well the room will be about 260 cubic foot if that can help anyone help me

Click to expand...

that is still a small room alls it means is the heat will increase faster
1 IR heat from the Light (hps is about 70% IR heat mh is about 40% )
2 Heat from the black roof
3 Heat raise from the house
4 Heat coming in from the CO2 dump from burner (and u will get higher humidity)


i used 1000w ....so i know with it running on 400 cfms in a 150 cf tent using a 240 cfm powered intake with the intake temp controlled
10 to 15 degrees temp diff between outside the tent and inside the tent at the ejection point (and that is just the ir heat from 1 1000w ) i had the CFMs dumping all the air in the tent every 20 secs (dumping the hot air completely outside the air cycle path using insulted ducting )

appreciate the help. im going to concentrate on lower my general attic temps with a duct booster on far end of house exhausting and possibly another squirrel fan to intake cooler outdoor air. i also talked a guy at the hydro store today and he said to try and seal my lights as best i can and pull my fan air intake from outside the room and exhaust it out the attic. and he tried selling me some thermashield black backed white faced, and told to tack it to roof studs over room

rough mock up of room
yellow light
silver vents
blue insulated walls

ewbwa25 said:

appreciate the help. im going to concentrate on lower my general attic temps with a duct booster on far end of house exhausting and possibly another squirrel fan to intake cooler outdoor air. i also talked a guy at the hydro store today and he said to try and seal my lights as best i can and pull my fan air intake from outside the room and exhaust it out the attic. and he tried selling me some thermashield black backed white faced, and told to tack it to roof studs over room

Click to expand...

it is called panada roll ........it not the same as IR blocker ....panada roll is more for black out / white washing the walls
as for the studs and making the area air tight (sealed room) u should be using polywrap 6 mil thick comes in 20x100 feet use this to seal the room u build ....use caulking over the staple/nail holes when u put up the drywall (the door in u can use a zipper system ) but it will allow u to use 1 sheet to do the walls and 1 sheet to do the floor (tub design works just make the top over the highest point u plan to let plants grow ) it makes sealing it up simpler

do not mess with the temps outside the grow area.....that number is to large to control effectively in a attic with out jacking your power bill sky high.......if u are doing a sealed room with Co2 u need a mini split (this is so the air in the area is cooled with out losing the Co2 u built up too) any other system will cycle in some outside air lowering the Co2 lvls
portable AC are crap
window AC does not work for u (co2 leakage water from humidity being collected ...this water will stink like weed and set off dogs )
mini split AC ...this has the power and will only cycle the air in grow area

now strait up unless u are in a area that is dry/ low humidity u can not drawl outside air over a hot HPS bulb .......the humidity out side gets to high water gets in hot bulb cool water boom
the other thing is IR heat from the light sealing it up and passing 400 cfms over it will not remove that IR heat it builds up

so in a sealed room u need a mini split to save u on IR heat and keep the CO2 high ...........other wise u need to go with a exchange system ......this is fine for plants on ground lvl but attic is going to have lower lvls unless u are in a big city with millions of ppl making Co2 then those lvls can reach up to 5/6 stories (depends on the design and natural wind tunnel effects tall buildings make along with placement)

the design u have now will work in winter only and it still needs tweaking .......spring summer and fall unless u have a mini split 2 ton u have no chance .....look at your first post temps of 147f a month ago u do not want the plants getting above 90 smarter to keep under 80 ...above 80 thc degrades faster unless u are Co2 enriched then something like 85f then degrades faster

why noone offered him to use cobs / led instead , so he wont have to deal with heat and invest in ac or ir reflective film

He will still have to deal with heat and ir. The heat or lack there of will be the double edged sword with LEDs too. I'm in an attic and @justugh nailed it. I can't express enough how important the insulation is, along with being smart about your intake and exhaust ports. Intake from your house that will save you some effort, but still heat is going to be your issue. I'm forced to run Co2, even when it's 80 outside. Shit it was hot this summer and the coldest room in the house was the grow, almost slept in it one night! Also in your design, try to be proactive about pathways for yourself, don't make it a bitch to get around. Also flood trays help with watering and carrying that water to the attic can be a bitch. If you're going to split to veg and flower and do a perpetual (I'd recommend it) put your flower room last and veg room first... I'll admit I fucked up there haha sometimes I want to look at lights off but can't. Besides that just run your lights opposite of the sun, and again your going to have to run at least some form of Co2. Not just to help with heat, but attics are very low you can't tell but your plants can! Good luck

thanks yall. @justugh i started my build by sealing my room in 10 mil. and it was caulked to the studs. So i think ive decided to use 1" r-30 styroam insulation board for the exterior walls. should i puan IR blocker on exterior of the grow room walls? And i've been looking in to the 2 ton ac's and it make mores since in the long run to buy one, especially since i was planning on turning my garage into a living area in the first place. But that wont be untill the spring so hopefully the window ac unit will work until then. how much and how much am i going to have pay for the over looked Co2? If i intake from inside my house, will that cause my my house to have an odor? because it would be so easy to add duct from my ac to my room.