Now that ive decided to build a growbox in my loft. All i need to do is work out what matierials i need and how much i need?

Theres a few things to consider before starting....What do i want from my box?

Personally i need my box to be first and foremost 100% Safe (Regarding electricity/structure) Dont want it falling over or catching fire

I also need it to be 100% Light/Heat/Waterproof - Heatproof and Lightproof (to control the environment and keep it stealthy from - chopper coppers) and water proof to protect the floor and below ceiling from splills and leaks.

I also need it big enough to fit all my growing equipment inside. - Carbon filter/5" fan / Light/ballast / NFT 424 Growtank / 2/3 clip-on fans?...

Here's some plans i done on paint to give you an idea of what im planning and the space i have...

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First i want to build a sturdy frame with 2x2 and 2x4. Then i will use (18mm thick) chipboard to make the walls and roof of my growbox...After the box is is safe and im happy with the sructure i will use some kingspan (either 25 or 35mm thick) to fully insulate the inside of my box.

Any tips anyone can give me would be welcomed
Cheers TwoRoach

From all the loft grows I've seen I think it's better that you work into the highest point in there because 1.3m isn't a lot of growspace once you remove the NFT tank height.

Otherwise looks good to me...but make sure you specify a more powerful output fan than you think because with 2m to the wall, you need extra power to get push it out.

GN

It can get real hot and dry in a loft, i would definetly have a intake fan too, pefeably with a spliter so you can choose to draw air from outside, or if its wet /cold / damp draw from inside the house instead.

Hi there

Ima loft grower

I would build it in the middle - max height

Kingspan insulation all over - temps could be -10c upto + 45C winter - summer

Filtered air can be dumped in attic space aslong as you draw in from another room/source

Intake air ideally needs to be 18-20c - maybe intake thru chimney ?

hb

Take a look at my sweet seeds diary. I've built a similar set up. 1.8H x 1.0W x 1.0D (made from 4x2), 8" extract, 4" intake, wired to a primair controller, 600W HPS . Venting into the chimney. Just about to start her up in a week or to when then plants are ready from the veg room.

Burton

E2a.... My in take come from the eves of the house (north side as the air is cooler) and also from a gap in the rafters

@Heyboy
Good to hear from some fellow lofties

I have taken into acount the highest point of the rafters and the peaked roof of the box will be paralel with the peak of the roof itself (gaining the maximum height i can in the space available to me)

Im going to be using 18mm thick chipboard for the walls.....
Should i use 35mm or 25mm thick Kingspan on the inside? (i want it completely heatproof to the outside ie - chopper coppers) and do i also need to line the floor of the box with kingspan aswell?

Regarding the temps...i guess ill just have to get the box built and then i can start to worry about controlling the environment (dont worry ill do this before cutting any fan holes etc)..... though i have left a humidity meter up there for the last few days and its read a steady 50-60

Intaking from the chimney? Maybe thats something to consider if and when i come across that problem, ill bear it in mind for sure

Cheers for the help fellas
TwoRoach

yeah bro i would use the 35mm kingspan, i suppose the more thicker the insulation the easier it would be to control things

and if i was you i would do the floor as well, possibly even help with fan noise and stuff from below too mate
i would also cover the floor and up the wall say 6 inches with plastic sheeting , as spills are inevitable

Hey Burton Red i looked at the diary and its a similar set up to what mine will be just mine will be a bit barger and with a peaked roof and a possible peak height of 200cm?...i hope

i only have a 400w light btw and a 5" fan (Humidity is 50-60 in the loft) - my chimney is bricked-up and is joint (back2back) to next doors chimney (which im assuming is bricked-up also) another thing that may be important to add is that next doors loft has been converted into a room (and mine is in a complete state -no floorboards/roof insulation) if im extracting or intaking to/from the wall/chimney joint with next door then what are the risks of smell and noise (i have a rhino pro filter)

thanks mate

35mm it is then and the floor never wanted to do that (less height)

i have a 4m squared sheet of heavy duty pond liner that i was gonna waterproof the box with so thats covered

though everything i get has to be cut to fit a 550mm (loft hole) which will mean i have to cut everything into 500mm boards

Was going to put a peak on my originally but trigonometry was never a strong point of mine so that idea got dumped.
Extracting out the chimney.... I would take out a brick first, just to see if there's a way out for the exhaust - check my diary
So long as your Rhino is up to the job, has not been hammered and all joints/ducting sealed properly, smell shouldn't be and issue.
If next doors loft has been converted properly, I would have thought that their walls would have some sort of insulation ( I'm no bricky so this is an assumption) and this would help to reduce any noise that may be created from the air leaving your fan and leaving the chimney.
If you've no roof insulation, and you have the tiles right above you head, you've got to realize that when you have lights on and your door is open, it can be seen from the outside through the tiny gaps between the slates. Think
Hang your fan on bungies, Eliminates all vibration

And maybe put a few boards down. Saves you falling through the bedroom ceiling when your up there tending to your grow.

Hope some of this helps..

Burton

Ive screwed down boards to the joists as makeshift floorboards... enough to contain the diameter of my box and to walk around the outside of it.

Also there is a thick plastic waterproof sheeting betwwen the tiles and the rafters so no worries about when the growbox door is open with the lights on.

During the flowering stage i will have the lights on during the daytime hours anyway - less chopper coppers and better for my own peace of mind that they are not turned on at times whem im asleep in bed (where possible of course) cant do anything about it when its on 18/6

i got the bungie idea down already mate and a towel under the NFT to reduce vibration aswell. but if you got anymore you let me know

Cheers mate

out of intrest how many plants do you grow in your 1m x 1m x 1.8m?

Was planning on growing 6 plants, going in 10 or 11 Ltr pots. Unfortunately one of the buggers didn't really make it past the starting block and died, so only 5 will be going in. It will be the first time I am growing in there, as last time I did 10 plants in a DR120 tent (similar sized area) and it was crowded.

Burton

ahhh i was going to get the dr120W tent 160cm tall but decided to build one instead, are you glad you built a box rather than get a tent?

Well looking at it this way, I now have a groom that is built the way I wanted and planned for. Yep, tents are good especially if you keep moving around a lot. You just pack em up, move and rebuild it. If you don't have the tools to build your own or your crap at DIY then the're a good buy.
In hind site, I wish I had built my groom from the off. It was just convenience at the time which is why I bought it.

That makes me optimistic

Righto i have my final measurements for the box and am off to the timber yard to get the wood for the frame - when its up ill post some pics

i am checkin the humidity levels everyday in the loft and am worried at the fact that its so humid up there 70/80 its reading consistantly - thats very humid is it not?

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ok one at a time cos i dont know how to put them all in one post

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ill post some pics tomorrow but i have built the frame of my growbox and the final inside measurements of the box after it is lined (Head 2 Toe) with 50mm Kingspan will be.....
W - 130cm / D - 125cm / Height - Front wall 185cm / Rear wall 170cm / Roof peak 205cm
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"can ya see what it is yet"

Right
some pics as promisedClick to view attachment

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So ill have a measure up tomorrow and then nip down the timber yard and get my walls
Will chipboard be cool? im gonna get 12mm thick for the roof boards and 9mm for the walls once thats all up and secure its 50mm kingspan time

looking good fella. don't worry about your temp / rh levels yet. get the fooker built and then take some readings

Cheers Fella

Few things left to get done
1. finish the box.
2. order maxiswitch 4way thingy from greens
3. Get smoke alarm, Fire extinguisher and some baby monitors (leave one in the loft and the other one in the bedroom)

after i knocked up the frame my height at peak after the kingspan will be 210cm - so im chuffed
so after insulating the box the box it will measure 1.3m x 1.3m x 2.1m so i estimate... including the growtank and light i will have an rough grow height of about 140cm

im so impatient..... if only they had a 24hr timber shop

Excellent!

Coming along nicely mate ....errm what are the baby monitors for? so you can talk to the plants even when you aren't in the loft?

@ Mr Sparkle
cheers mate im so glad i went with the box instead of the tent now
the baby monitors ill leave one in the loft next to the smoke alarm and one in the bedroom with me, that way if the smoke alarm goes off i will hear it and have time to save the house

two bits of timber to add to the roof of the frame and then its off down the timber yard for the walls - i was gonna get 9mm for the walls and slightly thicker for the roof 12mm ? will that be cool do you think

Yeah the thicker the better I reckon, you know me I want concrete walls, preferably underground

It's looking good fella, I wish I had joinery skills like that then I wouldn't be growing in a poxy tent with a 400w

How's it working out on cost? even if it comes to more than a tent I think the custom built option will serve you better


You got all your ducting/cabling ports and other 'holes' that you'll need planned?


I don't know how much water a hydro system like your planning will use but from loft growing in compost I can tell you that hefting water up to the loft by hand is a bitch you got a plan for that? got the plumbing skills to fit a tap up there? or maybe theres a nearby header tank?


Sorry dude not trying to give you extra headaches, just remembering my loft growing days and trying to save you major ballache, and backache

Hey dood
£40 so far and thats the frame done and half of the roof chipboarded i reckon another £30 for the rest of the roof and all four walls then its the kingspan....now thats gonna fecking cost me

regarding the holes vents - put it this way... i know where the filter is going i havent even thought about other stuff yet tbh i was gonna just get the roof and all sides exept the door side covered in chipboard then work out where all my holes will be going. any ideas are welcome of course

no water tank up here looks like ill be lugging up buckets of water tbh mate.......i need to find out how many time the water needs to be changed in a NFT anyways???

Kingspan...... check out if there's any building sites near you. They may flog you some for cash in hand if you ask one of "the lads"

There's also a build on this site (can't remember which one) but one top idea I wish I had used was to have a "door" around the back, allowing access to the plants at the rear of the room;)

ive asked about and im getting a general price of £18/22 a sheet of kingspan 50mm and i think i may need about 4 sheets to do it

i made the box big enough to walk round the side and back of the NFT ......... in theory

speaking of the door i was gonna put a 800mm x 1400mm frame something like this ...Click to view attachment
its just a big hole in reality that will over lapping by 100mm and velcro used all around? it might take a good tug to get the door off though

but seriuosly i need to look at some other doors that have been made
i reckon the velcro door idea is good for me because there is no room to have a swing door and i cant think of anyotherway of doing it yet......im about to roll a ziggy so ill get the pen and paper out again and see what i come up with i suppose

Found the groom with a back door >HERE<

Yeah saw that mate ta

not too far from my box tbh and looking good.... cant wait to see the light on in my treehouse my gf says ill end up sleeping up there and i must admit the thought had crossed my mind

ive decided that im just gonna do the "stick on" door idea - its gonna be simple for me to do and it should work (fingers crossed) i should have enough room even with 6 plants to get round the back of the NFT but you never know i may put a back door on for the 2nd grow?

Know that feeling m8 . Nice framework though cant w8 to see it all together.

GT.

Thats a very nice looking GR so far mate.

Havent had chance to read the whole thread, what you doing for extraction ?

Here is how I fit my fans.....

http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?act=...t&id=274365

Have you got any fans yet ? I would use at least a 6 inch and 4 inch combination for that size room.

Thanks GT

Im not certain what to do as a door yet.... my original plan was to have a stick on door with an overlapping "Lid" if you will but now i think i could do a sliding door instead...it may be less hassle my head hurts

Hey Stealth thanks fella:wink:
i take it you get air from a room below then? and extract into another room? and also that your loft is "freezing" mine can get cold but i was thinking of just leaving a heater in the loft outside of the growroom if it were to get to cold? due to my passive intakes.

I have the low powerd 125 5" fan and a rhino pro filter - and unfortunatley i wont be able to get another fan for this grow
so im planning to (scuse me) passive intake the feck out of it.

The plan was to more or less finish the box then cut some holes where the filter and passive intakes will go (if you look through the thread then you will see where the cf is going)

How many holes are we talking about here?
Holes for the - Plugs/wires - cf - passive intakes.. anymore im missing?

cheers mate and stick around

EDIT
I was planning on extracting out of the chimney but have since realised that its closed up so if i just extract into the loft will it help increase the temps outside of the growroom?

some pics of the half done roof

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and the top/outside of the roof
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A close up of the top
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You could have one of those censors on it so it opens as you walk up to it. The velro stuck door sounds easier IMO.



Thats what i'd do.

and the peak
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In that picture I posted, it shows the intake coming from the soffit board on one side of the house, and the extraction coming from the soffit board on the other side of the house.

I like keeping the loft around the GR (which is uninsulated) free from GR air, I dont intake air from the loft, and I dont extract into the loft.

Even without an intake fan, you can still run some ducting from a vent on the soffit board into the GR, bend the ducting into an S bend, this will stop light leakage, your 5 inch extractor will happily pull in air from the inlet ducting, but you would be better of with a 4 inch fan doing the work on the intake. Maybe when you do buy an intake fan, buy a 6 inch, or even better an 8 inch, use this for the extraction, and use your exsisting 5 inch for an intake.

You'll be ok with this first grow as were heading into the winter, but you will need a proper intake fan for spring/summer.

You must get your air movement correct, its absolutley vital.

I bloody forgot about the cf hole so ill have to get rid of the central piece of timber and replace it with 2 bits of 2x2 to support the roof on that side...nothing major take 5 minsClick to view attachment

sorry mate but whats a soffit board? i could chop a hole in the ceiling of where my power is coming from i could intake from that room but tbh honest mate the loft is warmer than the room below and it suffers really badly with damp (i have an extesion lead from the room below going up through the ceiling at the moment but will get a maxiswitch 4 way timer thingy by the time i get going)

and yes i plan to get a 6" fan for the extraction next time

I wouldnt intake from the house, you'll need cooler, fresher air for that job. You could extract into the house, but during the spring/summer months it will be roasting in your house with so much heat. Much better to intake and extract from outside all year round, you'll just have to use a GR heater on a thermo for the winter months.

http://www.cornerhardware.com/howto/images/ht076_2.jpg

That picture shows you what a soffit board and soffit vent looks like, all new builds should have several of them fitted.

If you havnt got any soffit vents, they are pretty easy to fit, you can fit them from the inside usually. If you want to know how to possibly fit soffit vents without doing any outside work let me know and I'll tell you how to.

no mate no soffit vents im afraid im just gonna passive intake from the loft and see how the environment is up there

If you've got old fashion sofits, you can just ram some ducting in them and feed them back to your grow room with some nylon tights on for a filter. Your fan and CF will be enough to pull "fresh air" into your groom. If the sofits are the new sort, I think you have to have some vents in them (not to sure on this so don't quote me) to be able to do it
I'd put your oil rad inside the groom this time of year as well

E2a if your unsure, get your bloody head down there and look for daylight

i dont understand...do these soffits lead to the outside or inside of the house? is it vital that i utilise the soffits (if i have any that is) there is a brick vent in the wall of the loft that you can see the street from...can i use this to intake? that would be fresh cold air though and too cold im sure?

where would a soffit be in the loft - on the floor?

Yeah the airbrick would do nicely for an intake, like Burton Red just said,


Go outside your house and look up to where the brickwork ends, you see that horizontal board that goes from the top of the brickowrk to the gutter and fascia board ? Thats the soffit, can you see any vents in it anywhere? You wont have any soffit on a gable end, usually on your average semi it on the front and back only.