Attic or Basement

Hi there,


Thanks for the look. Basically I am trying to decide if I should build my new grow room in my attic or basement. I know that traditionally basements are preferable, however I am a little nervous about putting something too close to my water heater/furnace/fuse box. Also, the only viable venting option I see from my basement is to vent through the old unused chimney which has been chopped off below the roof line and ends up the the attic room I am considering as well. Feedback appreciated.


Thanks!

interesting, i had these concerns too, but decided the bassement. but i have a boiler and other shit in the attic where that would acually end up being more concerning. i think that if you did make the exhaust go into the attic then you should be fine in the basement as long as you can stop any light leaks and whatnot.

Ok, thanks for the feedback! Yeah, my basement stays nice and cool which would be a definite bonus! I think the real challenge for me will be building a nice room which doesn't leak any light. I'm not exactly the guy from Home Improvement.....but I do want to learn and this is a project that really excites me! Thanks again for the input!

Oh, on a side note I'm having a friend put in a new 20 amp panel for my basement 'workshop' . So, I should have enough juice to fire up the lights without burning down my house....

Attics get hot

Basements get wet

Keep these in mind while making your decision

the light leaks are not that hard to take car of, it just depends on how professional you want it, since you said your not the guy from home improvement, i take it you wouldn't care too much about how professional it looks.

"Attics get hot

Basements get wet

Keep these in mind while making your decision"


Excellent point. I've been debating this myself as well. I figure that if I put it in the basement then I'll need to put in a dehumidifier (my basement can get quite wet at times.....but working on that). If I go attic then I think I'll have to put in an air conditioner... I do plan on using in line venting....but I don't think that will be enough to cool in my attic.

I'm using a attic right now..Its getting warm up there but majority of my grow was in the winter, getting ready to harvest so the heat wont be a issue for me. So think about that. You can cycle your lights for night time when its cool outside when flowering but if you go 24/0 then it may be too hot..unless you live in alaska..or canada...go for the basement. use that old chimney for a vent. throw a scrubber in line to block the smell... Thats my 2 cents.

Greentoe said:

"Attics get hot

Basements get wet

Keep these in mind while making your decision"


Excellent point. I've been debating this myself as well. I figure that if I put it in the basement then I'll need to put in a dehumidifier (my basement can get quite wet at times.....but working on that). If I go attic then I think I'll have to put in an air conditioner... I do plan on using in line venting....but I don't think that will be enough to cool in my attic.

Click to expand...

In the attic you could pull fresh air from outside fairly easily to cool things down...but that would really only help in the spring and fall....as the summer months, depending on where you live, are going to be hot regardless

Basements usually get wet/flood, that's why I brought it up and it sounds like you've already put some thought into it. A dehumidifier would help things out, maybe but a decent industrial fan to keep the air moving

Basements get 'wet' because of high water tables and tiling systems not draining properly. A little heat and good air movement will solve most of it, and the dehumidifier can supply you with 'distilled' water. Buy a roll of panda plastic. You don't have to be Tim the tool man. Just string a wire and handle a staple gun.lol VV

I am in the middle of the same debate...attic or closet......attic has more space and my house is covered by large trees that keep it nice and cool in the summer...but its hard to access....where as the closet is right there....but i do like to keep my clothes hung up......i was also thinking of building these stealth grow speakers i saw on on of those hydro sites...they should be easy enough to build.....just not to sure on the yield factor...i could build two and use onr for veg and another for flower,,,,,,,

Hmm, well personally I'd favor the 'hard to get to' attic over the closet that is 'right there'.....but I may be a bit more paranoid. Still, if your attic stays cool....has lots of room....and is a little out of the way...well, those all sound like positives to me. Just my 1.5 coppers.....

I would go for the basement! Mine stays a constant 65 degrees and when I turn on the lights it pus it at perfect temperature!

Yeah, mine stays very cool too....even on a hot day. My only concern is that it sometimes takes in water.....though I'm planning on building the room away from where the water comes in...also will run a de-humidifier and fan.

Basically I have plenty of room to work with in either the basement or attic. As one user here pointed out....'attics get hot, basements flood'....I wonder though which is easier to deal with. Also, I'm not looking to grow commercially, just tired of paying through the nose and often not being able to find smoke. Smoking some nasty res right now till my one connection comes through. My wife and I probably smoke 1-2gs/day....plus I think it would be nice to be able to hook up my father in law who smokes as much as my wife and I put together.....and he's on a limited/fixed income. Ok, guess I rambled a bit....just thought I'd throw all that out there in case it helps folks make suggestions that may not be obvious to me. As always, I REALLY appeciate you all taking the time to read this. Thanks for all the awesome input!!!

basement vote here - but i grow hydro and it is right by a sink. i wrote this awhile back and may or may not help (it is regarding deciding on a grow area)...

The Grow Room or Closet

Before we can begin growing, we have to make some decisions regarding where to grow and what equipment to use. That's what this section is all about. But before we start making a shopping list and knocking out walls, let's decide where we're going to grow.

The ideal grow room should have the following qualities:

Clean - you don't want to give a lot of dust, mold, mildew, insects, or other unpleasant things easy access to your plants.

Climate controlled - you want an area that you can have some control over the temperature and humidity.

Secure - you don't want your garden to be accidentally or easily discovered. Some advice I heard was there should be no less than two locks between the outside and your plants. We'll also need to make sure we can control any odor emanating from the plants.

Easy Access to Water Source - this one is often overlooked. You don’t want to be running a garden hose through your bedroom or carrying heavy buckets of water up and down many flights of stairs. Not having easy access to fresh water can take the joy out of gardening.

Easy Access to Fresh Air - somehow, someway, fresh air must be able to enter the growing area, which infers a way to exhaust hot, stale and often very smelly air will be necessary.

Easy Access to Enough Electrical Sockets - provided it is convenient, heavy-duty power cords can be used to bring electricity to the garden. Often, it is necessary to add circuits to accommodate the electrical requirements.

Light-Tight - Finally, you'll want to be able to make your grow space light-tight. That means no light should be able to enter or leave the grow area. You want to keep light from exiting to prevent it from attracting unwanted attention. And no light should enter as to not disturb the plants photoperiod.

Fire/Water Proof- don't want anything easily ignitable in there. Also, a way to catch leaking water can save you much more than just money; especially if you have downstairs neighbors.

I'm sure a few areas sprung to mind. Closets, basements, attics and spare rooms all have their pros and cons. You can also purchase a grow tent. Building or modifying a cabinet is also a very popular option.

It is best to accurately sketch out the area you plan to use and draw in where all the components go.

wow......that was really friggin insightful......many thanks

Well my basement doesnt have water in it and attics do get hot.Im a carpenter by trade so fixing these issues isnt o much for me.In the attic you have to wtach temps and think about where you live. LAst summer in the northern US my attic hit temps of a little over 120 F and Im not in a hot area but asphalt shingles and a confined attic makes it hot. I have solar powerd vent caps but had to add an ac unit up there to keep the are 80 degrees .Unless you have a window for a windo unit that means bying a potable units for close to $500 so keep that in mind.Dehumidifiers if your basement isnt well built cost under $100 and its easier to heat then cool thats for sure.But if it were me Id grow in both why not

"....Well my basement doesnt have water in it and attics do get hot.Im a carpenter by trade so fixing these issues isnt o much for me.In the attic you have to wtach temps and think about where you live. LAst summer in the northern US my attic hit temps of a little over 120 F."

Yeah, mine gets up there are well. I think I'm going to go for the basement. Just trying to work out the best way to vent down there.

"....But if it were me Id grow in both why not."
I
I guess I don't think I need to, should be able to grow plenty in my basement....more room down there than I could use.

If your heat and air ducts or returns are in your basement then hook into them for your fresh air supply! If you have any windows in the room in your basement where you are going to grow crack the window open and build a box around it with a flange for ductwork then nobody can see in the window hook up some carbon filters and let it run out the window! Here is a link to a video that shows what I am talking about with the window. Hopefully this helps. Video Directions On How To Grow Or Set Up A Indoor Marijuana Grow Room watch the first video it has the box over the window!

Great video and great ideas Stang. Is that box really effective in blocking out light? It seems like 1000w bulb ducted to that box would still let some light through that speaker cloth. Yes, I do in fact have a window in my target room. I was just planning on covering it though since it's maybe 15' from my neighbor's house. I've never used a charcoal filter before or Odor Sok....how effective are these in blocking odor? I was planning on running the line up through the dead chimney instead for fear of blasting the neighborhood with the sweet smell of some righteous buds.

Well, I gave this some more thought and it occurred to me that the light would probably be blocked by the odor sok or charcoal filer. Is this correct? If so then the only remaining issue would be odor....so how effective are these things? Incidentally my neighbor is the town justice....lol. Police station is three doors down on the other side....soooo I REALLY do want to keep the odor down. Thanks!!!