Any advice for soon to be apartment growers?

jack the beanstalk said:

Ok, I shook my 8 ball again and it says...

fine, listen to these guys if you want to. I used to do it and it was scary as hell. I wouldn't do it again unless it was a PC or small cabinet. When you're on week 6 and your "mango-elephant" hybrid starts smelling like satan shat smoothie all down the hallway and people on the elevator are commenting on the scent as you fumble for your keys...just know as you chuck the half finished buds into a black plastic bag for dumping down the trash chute...that one guy on RIU tried to warn ya.

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If your even lucky enough to have a "trash chute" on the basement! An elevator sounds like fancy livin' to me Jack! lol I jest my friend +

Murfy said:

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all locked up something like this would work well. if you're handy you could use metal cabinets and use construction adhesive to glue sheets of louan to them. same with the trim. stain it up and it would look great.

and a lock.

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Is that a grow cabinet or just a dresser? If you can build a cab like that and not have any light leaks or wierd sounds from fans, etc you might be able to get away with it. But If you live in an apartment, do you have the tools and space to be able to build something like that?

dont do it

"Apartment" is so vague, you might as well say "domicile." Anyone who has told you what to do yet is talking out of their asses, because you have yet to specify so many variables. All we know right now is that you live in a basement apartment (good for many reasons) and that you have people coming down to your floor to do laundry in some sort of hallway.

* When is the last time the landlord was inside of your apartment? Is there any predetermined schedule of visits, if at all?
* How is the door that leads into the hallway secured? What sort of door is it?
* Big one: How many other people live in the building, outside of your apartment? What are they like?
* How much do you trust your friend/roommate? Think hard about this.
* What is the ventilation system like?
* Is trash shared? Do you have a way to securely dispose of your grow waste?
* What is your climate like (this determines how often climate control devices, if any, are running)?
* What is your community like, without getting too descriptive? This helps to gauge the general level of suspicion surrounding your operation.
* What variety are you looking to grow (sativa has greater space requirements).
* How are utilities payed/metered?

Don't answer questions you aren't asked, that just gives inquisitive minds ways to determine your identity. Unless you live under a cathedral, hopefully the above are not too probing, along those lines.

Others feel free to chime in so that we can give this guy some useful advice.

My vote is you're playing with fire and it's about 50% that something will put you in jail over growing in an apmt. You like those odds? Go for it. When the plant is at it's peak of bud production the smell is at it's worse. You're hard pressed to throw out a 3 month old plant of time and money b/c the neighbors smell or rumors etc....Inspections from renter owners/mgmt. can and do happen when you least expect it. They also really only need to give no notice to check on something other then a knock on the door. Electrical, water, sower anything is a great way for owners to check the property on short notice to make sure renters are treating the property right. Bug spraying is regular and with little notice.

I say get to a point that you own a house before entering this hobby. So you decide who and when someone is in your house and mostly around your house(incase the filter doesn't work properly, etc). Remember you most likely hear about a grow smelling from it SMELLING reported by neighbors. Reported to mgmt/police/maybe you.....Till then get in another hobby. This one for mistakes is very high in current and the future of someone.

I've read several times......for every person that knows about a grow the % bust goes up 10%. 4 people know about your hobby you have a 40% chance of going to jail. Ex girfriends can be the worse when mad...even for just a minute....

Relaxed said:

My vote is you're playing with fire and it's about 50% that something will put you in jail over growing in an apmt. You like those odds? Go for it. When the plant is at it's peak of bud production the smell is at it's worse. You're hard pressed to throw out a 3 month old plant of time and money b/c the neighbors smell or rumors etc....Inspections from renter owners/mgmt. can and do happen when you least expect it. They also really only need to give no notice to check on something other then a knock on the door. Electrical, water, sower anything is a great way for owners to check the property on short notice to make sure renters are treating the property right. Bug spraying is regular and with little notice.

I say get to a point that you own a house before entering this hobby. So you decide who and when someone is in your house and mostly around your house(incase the filter doesn't work properly, etc). Remember you most likely hear about a grow smelling from it SMELLING reported by neighbors. Reported to mgmt/police/maybe you.....Till then get in another hobby. This one for mistakes is very high in current and the future of someone.

I've read several times......for every person that knows about a grow the % bust goes up 10%. 4 people know about your hobby you have a 40% chance of going to jail. Ex girfriends can be the worse when mad...even for just a minute....

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For starters, the 50% figure is pulled from your nether-regions. Second, your inspection premise is entirely false, and most states require that tenants receive 24-hour notice of any intrusions by the landlord. Your lease sure better say that, or else you are a fool for signing it. And you act like you've never heard of a carbon filter, or the relative odor of strains (some smell more than others, select accordingly). Then you assume that he's telling the world. Now, in my opinion, nobody at all should be privy to the operation, but it's not as though having one trusted partner blows your cover.

Don't go scaring people for no reason.

Do not do it...the risk to reward and the chances of being found out are too high. Every apartment complex has an "All Knowing" neighbor. That person will be the first one to inform the property manager. Hello cops and eviction.

easy way it caugth that's for sure

If you want to grow, rent a house at the minimum. Best if that house is out in the sticks a ways. Better if you own that house out in the sticks a ways near public land and waterways. Apartment growing is scary. Like I said, if you wanted to grow a single plant in a PC or cab and spend a lot of money doing it only to realize that it's too tough, go right ahead.

Plenty people do it.

You guys all seem to assume that every apartment is in a complex. In urban areas with rowhouses and townhouses, the basement apartment is very private, provided no main utilities (heat pump, AC, etc.) are housed within the unit.

But yea, if you're in some large apartment community where they conned you into signing a lease that lets inspections happen whenever, you're really just out of luck. If you have to take your trash to a community trash room/drop in a trash chute, you're also probably better off not using soil. In general just about any volume of soil will arouse suspicion when carried to the 12th floor more than a couple times. You could carry it up in a duffel ag, etc, but it's still quite a hassle.

In any situation where your electricity usage is being watched, move in using incandescents for a bit, then switch em to CFLs when you fire up your high-power bulb. The drop in domestic lighting wattage makes the switch invisible.

We still need to see the place and decide if it will be suitable. If it seems too risky, we just won't do it. Right now the plan will probably be to construct a pretty elaborate grow cabinet, made so that it has another function, won't be moved and will hide the grow in plain site. That way, inspections or maintenance shouldn't be a problem.

If we make sure to keep in light leaks and we can run a carbon filter quietly enough to be covered up by the sound of another fan, the idea could work out very well. I don't want to run the risk of having a grow area that someone could just come across, but I came up with an idea for hiding the grow in a piece of custom made furniture. If we do a good enough job designing and building that, then I would be confident that no one could find it.

thats right!

Santiago & Dunbar said:

We still need to see the place and decide if it will be suitable. If it seems too risky, we just won't do it. Right now the plan will probably be to construct a pretty elaborate grow cabinet, made so that it has another function, won't be moved and will hide the grow in plain site. That way, inspections or maintenance shouldn't be a problem.

If we make sure to keep in light leaks and we can run a carbon filter quietly enough to be covered up by the sound of another fan, the idea could work out very well. I don't want to run the risk of having a grow area that someone could just come across, but I came up with an idea for hiding the grow in a piece of custom made furniture. If we do a good enough job designing and building that, then I would be confident that no one could find it.

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You have the right idea for sure. Plus, I thought it was more fun designing/building my cab than actually growing the plants!

Any ideas for how to keep a carbon filter quiet?

Great thread i too will be facing this issue in the near future. Insulated ducting would be a way to make the carbon filter less noticeable, exhaust through it. Another suggestion i have after reading through the thread is to time your lights and fans accordingly. In other words keep them off during the day when people who will get you in trouble will most likely be in the apartment, granted the smell is still not noticeable. One last thing i am considering as a option for growing is a metal storage cabinet like you would see in a office and turn it into something like a BC northern lights producer and disguise it in a way that looks like really important information is in there like a internet server or something. Just need to remember there will be a power cord essentially going to nowhere and some people can be really nosey when they have the opportunity to be.

thinkn about this too! i remember me and my partners use to kick it at some apts and some blunts all day long and those crazy fucks would party day and night and not one problem i mean they were nice apts. thinkn about growing in apt could be do able just like everyone else sayn dont do anything to bring any attention and find some apts that dont get checked every month

It seems like you're determined to do it. If I lived in an apartment I would do it, but your situation sucks. You've got not one but TWO roommates who will be in on this grow. I'm predicting some bad shit going down with that. These dudes could be your best friend and swear up and down they won't tell anybody. Well, they will. 9 times out of 10 it's the people who know about your grow that get you busted. I don't tell anybody in person about my grow. This is coming from somebody with much experience. Nobody should know about a grow if it's illegal. I know what you're thinking in your head right now. My boys won't do me like that. Just wait, Bro. It might be a long way down the road, but it will eventually happen.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck and stay safe.

My roomate who i thought was a friend told everybody!! But best of luck to ya

Just remember, landlords and the leasing office has the keys to the house.

Just recently (during my break of growing) fucking lady from the leasing office came into my apt looking for me because I didn't answer my door. Guess it was cool since I wasn't growing but god damn.