Need a bit of a refresher and room critique after a long time out..

Hey, been out of action a long time after decommissioning everything after "ex problems" etc..

And it's been a long time since i had my head in this game so i've forgotten a few of the finer details, but i'm considering starting up again - new house, new mrs and all of that

I'm looking at a subtle grow just to give me a bit of percy and have a small space under my roof (heavily insulated) behind some plaster board in the attic room. The space is about 5 foot long (ish), 18 inches wide, about the same height, with a handy door at the end for access. Things need to be disguised and discreet for occasional visits by certain family members.

High yields are not the priority, but a nice little set up that is easy and cheap to run and velly discreet.

Now i didn't know a heap about fluorescents when i was active so this is where i need a critique/advice:

My initial thinking is to run some T5 tubes down the sides and top of this space (not even sure of the length these tubes are available as), have maybe (?) four plants in there and bend the bleep out of them, maybe SCROG them, effectively have them vertical. Obvs i dont plan on veg-ing for very long at all.

This is a vaguely sound idea, tech wise?

Heat build up is unlikely to be an issue with these tubes?

I've got a plan (i think) for air out take, thinking of using the body of a tower PC to house pc fans to draw air and be the disguised outlet. I was thinking that this was a great idea while chatting with a chum, but we were not exactly compos-mentis, so feed back would be good.

I know i got a heap of catching up and reading to do, and that's cool, but if i can take a little short cut with some contributions from you loverly folks, then it would be very welcome :up:

pitchforksandtorches said:

Hey, been out of action a long time after decommissioning everything after "ex problems" etc..

And it's been a long time since i had my head in this game so i've forgotten a few of the finer details, but i'm considering starting up again - new house, new mrs and all of that

I'm looking at a subtle grow just to give me a bit of percy and have a small space under my roof (heavily insulated) behind some plaster board in the attic room. The space is about 5 foot long (ish), 18 inches wide, about the same height, with a handy door at the end for access. Things need to be disguised and discreet for occasional visits by certain family members.

High yields are not the priority, but a nice little set up that is easy and cheap to run and velly discreet.

Now i didn't know a heap about fluorescents when i was active so this is where i need a critique/advice:

My initial thinking is to run some T5 tubes down the sides and top of this space (not even sure of the length these tubes are available as), have maybe (?) four plants in there and bend the bleep out of them, maybe SCROG them, effectively have them vertical. Obvs i dont plan on veg-ing for very long at all.

This is a vaguely sound idea, tech wise?

Heat build up is unlikely to be an issue with these tubes?

I've got a plan (i think) for air out take, thinking of using the body of a tower PC to house pc fans to draw air and be the disguised outlet. I was thinking that this was a great idea while chatting with a chum, but we were not exactly compos-mentis, so feed back would be good.

I know i got a heap of catching up and reading to do, and that's cool, but if i can take a little short cut with some contributions from you loverly folks, then it would be very welcome :up:

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DO NOT GROW IN A ATTIC ........at best u get the winter months spring summer and fall u are looking at a 1 ton ac just for that area

T5 lights make a good amount of heat ....i have 8 bulb 2 ft i use to start my plants (the heat from the light itself is prefect for a little jiffy greenhouse my seeds sprout in 3-5 days)
attics are the worst area to use heat and low natural co2 lvls ....plus the molds and other things that gets caught in the insulation


this is your house .......not renting or anything like that
build a floating wall and section off a room in the basement ( say u have a 15x20 room cut off 5 feet in the 20 and u have your hidden grow area)
piano hinge on part of the wall and use magnetic locks so not keys or things like that

if u are dead set on the attic .....change the lights out to a LED system and 3/4 ton ac should handle that small of area during spring summer and fall

Thanks for the reply.. it is my house as opposed to renting etc but sadly i dont have a basement (i cant begin to tell you how many houses i viewed for a large enough one with a basement. Meh).

The space i'm speculating on is the attic, already fully converted to a bedroom, with a few spaces under the roof (at the edges) converted into cubby holes etc. It's one or more of these spaces i'm thinking of growing in.

I can seal off the potential grow area and have air intake and out-take no probs so i'm not too worried about molds etc, but heat does worry me, esp due to the size of the space and the wish for discretion etc. It's a bummer to hear T5's make a decent amount of heat though, so i guess i need to look more into LEDS.. ta for the feedback!

pitchforksandtorches said:

Thanks for the reply.. it is my house as opposed to renting etc but sadly i dont have a basement (i cant begin to tell you how many houses i viewed for a large enough one with a basement. Meh).

The space i'm speculating on is the attic, already fully converted to a bedroom, with a few spaces under the roof (at the edges) converted into cubby holes etc. It's one or more of these spaces i'm thinking of growing in.

I can seal off the potential grow area and have air intake and out-take no probs so i'm not too worried about molds etc, but heat does worry me, esp due to the size of the space and the wish for discretion etc. It's a bummer to hear T5's make a decent amount of heat though, so i guess i need to look more into LEDS.. ta for the feedback!

Click to expand...

well if it is a full bedroom it has to meet some codes..........u should have AC venting already in that area (as it is the attic heat raises ) so for someone to live there in hotter months they would need a AC

if this is a small grow and u are not looking to do more then a few ozs a month .........u can get away with a Apollo 300w LED and auto flowers in a soil mix (auto flowers will allow u to keep them all in the same area on the same light timing ) so u only need one area for veggie and flowering ....start 1 or 2 plants every month and u will cut down 1 or 2 every month too

Hello Pitchforksandtorches,

You are in Blighty and justugh is in the the Grand old USA so even though he raises a lot of valid points. I think Loft grows are very workable here. Most American homes use central air for heating and cooling while the majority of British homes use boilers and rads for heat and no AC because to be frank the AC would be redundant for 300 days of the year. The fact your loft is converted means more than likely it is has a radiator or benefits from ambient temps of the rooms below. I am also willing to bet there is a fair amount of kingspan behind your plaster boards.

If the loft has been converted before you bought the house it would have been up to local regs or your surveyor and or mortgage company would have brought it to your attention before they signed off on it. If you converted it then you know what is what. Does the loft have a Velux window? I have an idea about the cubby holes you mentioned a lot of loft conversion seem to have them. You maybe able to vent from you soffit boards to remove some hot humid air from the grow space.
justugh was spot on when recommending LEDs. I am in the same boat as you and have just ordered some bits to complete my first DIY led fixture. It is easier than it sounds and the best way to spend your coin. I would point you over to the LED and other lighting section where there is a bunch of clever chaps that have helped me solve many of my problems. Justugh also made a fair point about Auto flowers if you wanted to go that route. Tao seeds has a strain called micron I believe that is stubby little bugger. I like photoperiod strains but throw the odd auto in the veg room for a giggle.

You can monitor the ambient temps in your space with a max/min thermometer to get an idea of the fluctuations that occur.

Your space has height restriction so you are going to have to train your plants but you probably already knew this as it sounds like this is not your first rodeo.

DIY leds will allow you to design a light the suits the grow space. If you need a lift with what gear to buy and where from give us a shout. I would be happy to help.

Los like you're getting some good advice here.

As I'm familiar with what passes for a British summer, I don't think you'll need AC, either. Let's not be too hasty, however; is this cubby on the north side of your home? If not, you'll at least want extra venting.

DIY COB LED would absolutely smash that space! If you're running from seed, I'd say to buy a shoplight fixture for the babies and set about to building a good LED.

OTOH, if your electronics skills are as good as my computer programming skills, you might see if you can contract with someone to build you a good LED light for your space.

Low, flat trays to maximize your vertical space.

I would line walls and ceiling with panda film or similar to get the best possible reflection.

I've successfully grown in an Arkansas attic throughout the summer... with NO AC. It can be done! Active ventilation is key, preferably on a thermostat. Pull plenty of air from the top of your space and leave some cracks near the bottom for cooler air to replace it. I try to steer people away from active cool air intakes, as the damn fan itself heats the air in the act of pushing it- which tends to defeat the purpose.

Wherever you vent to needs to be able to accept the smell, unless it's to the outside.

@Pitchforksandtorches

I was just looking at your original post again. Your measurements 5ft x 1.6 = 8 sqft (ish) of space. You will have to dedicate a bit of that for fan/carbon filter your plug sockets or extension leads, timer you know the drill just think scale down from your last grows. Most definitely try to reach your soffits or if your roof is slate/concrete tiles on battens they are never airtight. You might be able to just vent past your insulation to either your vented soffits (pretty common) or the underside of your roofing tiles. A passive intake grill on the door would keep the air exchange going.
You know yourself the U.K. is damp. Keeping up the air exchange will save you problem in the future. 4" exhaust fan with carbon filter ramped down with a speed controller for noise reduction should do the trick.

120mm PC fan make great mini circulation fan with a small footprint and low power usage. (quieter than those clip on one from fleabay)
You could still maybe 5-6 sqft to dedicate to your plants on perpetual cycle like what justugh suggested. Stagger the planting so you are harvesting one and starting another. Might take a few tries to get the timing right but you will dial it in eventually. Also think about where you will dry and cure your percy sledge. You may need to lose a bit of grow space for that (maybe a cardboard box with vent holes inside the grow space) so you can benefit from your carbon scrubber to keep everything on the down low.

Cheers,
Will

@ttystikk,
Arkansas attic in the summer..wow! I was not far from there in Houston for a month this summer. If Arkansas is humid anything like Houston tending your garden must have been a mammoth task! Did you vent it with an old jet engine?

I have been in Europe far too long to handle the heat over there. We spend most of the year complaining about the cold damp weather over here and then go on holiday somewhere nice and complain it's too hot.
I have never used active intakes myself but did not think about fans contributing heat themselves, good point! maybe would be negligible in larger grow spaces but in smaller spaces definitely worth considering.

Cheers,
Will

Will Thayer said:

@ttystikk,
Arkansas attic in the summer..wow! I was not far from there in Houston for a month this summer. If Arkansas is humid anything like Houston tending your garden must have been a mammoth task! Did you vent it with an old jet engine?

I have been in Europe far too long to handle the heat over there. We spend most of the year complaining about the cold damp weather over here and then go on holiday somewhere nice and complain it's too hot.
I have never used active intakes myself but did not think about fans contributing heat themselves, good point! maybe would be negligible in larger grow spaces but in smaller spaces definitely worth considering.

Cheers,
Will

Click to expand...

I was dumb enough not to know better, young enough to try anyway... and smart enough to make it work! And in fact it was done with active air intake and passive exhaust.

The weed was fine for a noob, lol