Looking for a little advice, closet setup

Hey all, I've been lurking for the past few days reading and researching various methods on how I'm going to go about setting up my space for growing. I've learned a ton in those 3 days, a lot more than I thought I ever knew on the subject. Hopefully I'll learn a ton more in the coming months. This also is my first indoor grow.

Ok, so onto what I'm working with here. I've got a space 36" x 58" x 72" (L/W/H respectively) and I plan on growing no more than 3 plants at a time. This space is part of a much larger walk-in closet so I'm partitioning the area. If I didn't live in a studio apt I'd use the whole thing...but I need storage .

Now, onto the variables involved here. This closet's back wall borders my neighbor's closet and the last thing I need is for her clothes to be stinking and then complain about it. The left wall borders the staircase we both use to get to our apartments, so I can't have the stairs stinking too.

If I was to get some heavy-duty black plastic and tape it all up using duct tape and foam under the edges...can I effectively stop the odor from escaping this space? The smell in my apartment isn't a problem, I'll be using a carbon filter on the exhaust port in the front.

My biggest problems are the back and left walls...I can't have the smell getting through them (and I know it does...she asked me once if I was smoking in here because her closet stunk).

Other than that, my friend has rooted clones whenever I am ready for them and I'm really excited to get back into growing. I'm just deciding on lighting right now and I have to get a few other things. I'm clearing the space as I type this so if I can get some pics I can show you all what I'm working with.

Any help is appreciated...quick hit of the sour and I'm back to the closet

your two apartments could share an air duct and that;s why the smell travels. if this is the cause of her smelling your smoke you probably can;t grow in your apartment.

I actually thought that at first so I looked into it last night when I finally got everything in the room ready to be setup. No central air in here so no air ducts.

Before I start really getting into construction of this (in this space) I'm going to look into this a lot more.

If it was me I would grow in a different part of the apartment.
You want your grow area to have a wall that is facing the outside, that way when your exhausting the indoor air it doesn't have that far to travel. The more bends you have in your ducting, less air will be exhausted.

3 Plants is not that much, but when they start budding and you have a smell problem leaking into another persons apartment.
What are you going to do?.......Build another grow room?
This is why it's very important to do careful planning before you start growing.

If your neighbor has already said that she can smell it in her apartment. Then that question of doubt is already there out in the open.

Be careful dude.....The smell of marijuana plants travels, it seeps through the smallest cracks.

One thing you might want consider, is to seal off this closet as best as you can. Then fog it with something that gets rid of bugs. Like one of those cans you snap the cap off and it's lets a fog out that gets rid of all insects.
You'll accomplish 2 things, you'll rid your room of any bugs. Plus, if the fogger leaks into her apartment you'll know that growing weed in that closet won't work.

you probably share a common attic space. or your bathroom vents all tie to a common central duct

I see everyone's point and I have already begun thinking of another way of doing this. The biggest advantage to this space is there is a window in the room as well, not even 1' from where my exhaust is going to be (this was my venting plan and the reason I'm trying to make this room work).

Here is a picture to show you what I'm talking about:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee253/harrybird/roomprep3.jpg

Trust me, it may seem like I'm "pushing" my points to make this work...but rest assured I'm pulling the plug on this A.S.A.P. if I have even the slightest chance of getting caught doing it.

Finding a way to have a 100% sealed environment in this space is my ultimate goal. I have faith in my abilities to be able to build what I need and make it work, but usually I'm looking to enhance the smell of flowers and plants to liven up my living space, not mask it.

Knowing if 2 layers of black plastic plus a layer of mylar, all sealed airtight, will allow the smell to seep through or not is really what I'm after. The walls you see there are not going to be the walls of the room, I plan on building a sealed tent in the space. I was thinking of just modifying one you can buy, but I've got a certain amount budgeted to this and a tent isn't part of the equation.

I understand there can always be the odd hole in plastic sheeting or imperfections that could lead to leakage. I'll just have to be very meticulous in inspecting each piece before it goes up and fix or replace it.

Building on the bug fogger idea that was mentioned I could always build a dry run tent and light a small incense in there...see if anything leaks. I'll just leave a fan in the window in case it does.

I've been thinking about this more, looking at this space, measuring, drawing, thinking some more.

I'm ditching every plan I had and starting anew. Since it is very easy for me to get the materials I need into my apartment, I'm going to take the space I have and build a cabinet. This way, I know the box is sealed and my ventilation can work better.

I have plenty of time to build it. I know my neighbor's schedule and it gives me 3 hours after I get home from work to do any cutting I need to do. The wood I'll bring in over the course of a few days, after 9:00pm when everyone is pretty well settled.

It'll be easier to lock the cabinet up too rather than the closet door, keeps everything looking normal from the outside. Inside the closet (the main walk-in from my living room/bedroom) it'll just look like a wall with two doors, one for the flower side, the other for the veg side. I'm gonna use a puller fan/filter from the flower to the veg room and another on the final exhaust. One intake on each side, one circulation fan in each room as well. Cooling will be done (when needed) by using a fan to draw in cool air from the outside into the room so the intakes can draw that into the cabinet.

Outdoor growing was never a problem but I just don't have anywhere to do it in the area I'm living now. I'm going to have to get used to this indoor thing...quick.

I can read till my face turns blue, but hands-on practice is the only way to learn.

Thanks all for the advice and for making me think even harder than I already was on how important it is to keep things under control. Once I get it built I'll be sure to give you all a peek.

Cool, I get to use my power tools...good times ahead.

Check out this link.

International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums - DIY extend-a-closet GROW TENT

It's cheap and easy to make, and it's pretty damn airtight.

Also there is a video on Youtube of a guy building a great grow setup, what you should look for in the video is the way he makes his exhaust to the window.

YouTube - how to grow weed

It's a little long but at about 2 minutes you'll see what he does.

Hope this helps.

That first link is exactly how I was going to do this, just not with PVC...and now looking at it, I may revisit that plan. The PVC piping framework gives me so much flexibility it's not even funny. Going over the numbers again (budget-wise) I do have the spending power to buy a prefab tent but I really want to fill the entire 55" wide space I have.

I also love the fact that if it ever needed to come down QUICK...it would. No nails, no screws, no seam sealer, just cut the plastic in the right places and pull it all apart.

The window ventilation in that video is really nice, gives me tons of ideas on how to do it better. Now those guys have their stuff together!

I'm going to keep looking at different designs over the weekend and see what kind of things pop into my head and end up on paper. My plan is to start shopping around Monday for materials. If I take the PVC frame route I already have everything I would need at the local HD so that's covered.