A Grow Chimney, Primarily for growing Lowryder Options

[Inda]

I live in an old Victorian terrace, 2 up/2 down. The free space in this house is not plentiful. I had a choice: an expensive loft conversion or something else. I picked something else. I picked a chimney conversion.

The first job was to remove the block board that the previous owner had wedged flush with the top of the chimney opening. More than ten years worth of soot and mortar came down, enough to fill a Tescos carrier bag. I have no pictures because if the missus had seen it, I'd have no bollocks left. Using a dustpan and brush, I crouched in the opening and brushed the remaining soot, mortar and cobwebs away. A final going over with the hoover and I was ready to start building.

I was fucking filthy, gov'ner.

I built a simple frame in the opening using 12x25mm pine. The top and bottom plinths are only there to create straight edges. These are made from standard 45x12mm pine. No mucking about with drilling holes, wall plugs and screws; cheap 'no nails' filler to stick the lot together.



Next job was to fix a shelf to hang the reflector off. This is 25mm pine and stands 130cm from the floor. The sloppy brickwork in the chimney meant I only had to fix one support to one of the sides. It is not glued down; gravity will hold it in place. This was the hardest part of the build. I could not physically reach any higher and drilling by torchlight cannot be recommended to anyone.



The front of the Grow-chimney is made of 12mm MDF. MDF is so easy to work with plus it's nice and light. I rough cut the MDF using a powered jigsaw then finished the fit using a block plane. The fit is tight and a knife is needed to get the MDF cover off. This is for security purposes and my peace of mind. I did not want handles on the front. This is one of the first things you'd see when entering my house and I can already imagine the in-laws asking tricky questions.

I will paint over the front at a later date.



A test fitting of the reflector came next. I can get the bulb height to 100cm. 110cm if I decide to trim one end off the reflector. If I trim the reflector I can kiss goodbye to the thought of using a 200w Envirolite in the future.

Securing the reflector was done using 4mm nylon rope threaded through three holes in the pine shelf. I picked nylon because it's strong and friction free. Friction free because it needs to slide over the pine without snagging. Once the reflector is up high, I cannot reach up there to cut it down if it gets stuck.

The reflector height can be easily adjusted then tied to a cleat hook at the base of the grow chimney. This cleat hook is normally used on long washing lines.



A hole for the lamp wire was needed in the frame and the MDF front cover.



Finally I fixed some Reflectagrow sheeting to every side of my grow chimney. This was done using staples, gaffer tape and Evo-stik impact adhesive. Be warned if you use this type of glue; it contains solvents and should not be used in a confined space like a chimney. I have a minging headache and I'm getting dizzy flashbacks of my old school glue sniffing days.



All this took me the best part of a Saturday what with two trips to the DIY centre and the local hydroponics shop. If I had to make it again then I'd say 5 hours start to finish.

Total cost of the materials was about £35:

• Wood was £3
• MDF was £8
• No Nails glue was £3
• Metal cleat hook was £3
• Nylon rope was £3
• Reflectagrow sheeting was £12
• Evo-stik was £4

The draw on the chimney is fantastic. I may butcher a ventilation slot from a PVC window in the future and attach it to the lower frame plinth.

I have some Lowryder #2 seeds; this chimney will probably only grow Lowryders. Keep a look out for a diary in a week's time.

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[steevo]

Looks just the ticket Inda

[T1]

yeah that does look like a great idea, and if you can get that front panel blended in well and stick something like a small table in front of it no one would have a fecking clue what your up to Just watch santa doesnt wreck it trying to get in, in a few weeks
Nice one
T1

[theory]

Just watch santa doesnt wreck it trying to get in, in a few weeks

if he does he won't be getting out

[Inda]

That's what my daughter has been saying all afternoon: "How's Santa going to get in?". She got a little upset at one stage. I shouldn't wind her up really

It's getting dark now and I've noticed something I've got to fix. Even though the MDF cover is a tight fit on the plinth, there is a little light showing through. The knot on the top pine plinth has cracked during the day too and I can see light streaming through that.

A 10 minute a job for Sunday because I've had enough for today.

[T1]

A 10 minute a job for Sunday because I've had enough for today.

a Second job mate, get the gaffa tape out and cover the knot with that,
T1

[d|t]

nice job, looks the part

[sizzle 420]

Nice work buddy...(would make a nice space for my mums!!)

In same sort of house but split into 2 flats... I was wondering about putting my ducting from the g/room into the chimney.

Are the chimney's for both floors separate? or do both floors share the same one?... didnt want the granny upstaire getting a wiff from a backdraft!!!

Anyways.. nice job

sizzle

[Nuno]

Genius idea...well done

N

[Inda]

Are the chimney's for both floors separate? or do both floors share the same one?... didnt want the granny upstaire getting a wiff from a backdraft!!!

Both fireplaces share the same stack. But the downstairs chimney goes behind the upstairs chimney. In my house you can see the the downstairs fireplace is bigger than the upstairs fireplace.

Think back to when people used them. You wouldn't want smoke from the downstairs fire filling the bedroom upstairs.

The nasty niffs can travel a long way though. I personally wouldn't trust it. I suppose it depends on how much ambient updraft there is.

[Gorf]

great plan and job

looking fwd to the diary.

[Bish]

Aye, good luck with your grow mate

Any probs, just shout

[skunky nomis]

how about a pic of the livin room wall when its closed mate? surely u can see the lines where the board moves away. top idea btw

[Inda]

I'm not sure what you mean. The board is flush with the wall give or take a few millimetres. A rub down and a spot of filler will tidy it up when I decorate. The third picture down shows how it look now, today. When I get round to painting this room, it'll look like the chimney has been blocked off by someone with poor DIY skills. I also need to fix the skirting board back on. The missus has been nagging me about this since I laid the laminate floor 6 months ago...

Here's another picture from a different angle.



Here's how it might look if I painted it orange to match the wall. Which I wont because orange is fugly.

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[aitchy1]

great idea mate

i've got a boarded up chimney in ma spare room

have u got a filter of some kind above light?? what if some debris falls down chimney (soot, old mortar)

when its a bit windy i can here stuff coming down my chimney..........

good luck wi yer grow