Cheap Walls For Basement Rooms?

I'm a currently framing my walls. What would be good to use for the walls? Plywood? Drywall? Insulating panels?

...R-13 insulation w/ drywall.

Or sprayfoam insulation, and plywood.... No moisture, no airleaks,measier to clean... Drywall holds moisture and can mold...

Troyzkoi said:

Or sprayfoam insulation, and plywood.... No moisture, no airleaks,measier to clean... Drywall holds moisture and can mold...

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That would be really expensive for just one room. I would go with some r-13 or 15 but make the studs 16" apart most bats aren't very wide. That would be easy to clean though.

If you want to save as much money as possible you can just cover your studs with panda-poly, the white plastic some people use for a reflective material. If you do not need something substantial for strength you can close off your grow room using the same material you use for your reflective material. If you use the 6 mill. thickness panda-poly it will block light so you will not have light leak problems. The black side blocks light and the white side reflects light. You can even make the 'door' for the room by hanging a piece of panda-poly with Velcro on the edges and on the edges of the 'door' frame and seal it that way when it needs to be closed. A couple bungee cords on the ceiling above the 'door' frame will let you roll up the 'door' panel and hold it up with bungee cords.

I am not saying it is the very best that can be done but if someone has a smaller budget or just wants to save as much money as possible it is a viable option.

Plywood is cheap, a 4x8foot piece at home depot here runs 7$ and you can just paint it to help with mold and reflectivity.

Juicy Fruit said:

Plywood is cheap, a 4x8foot piece at home depot here runs 7$ and you can just paint it to help with mold and reflectivity.

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That's what I'm talking about...

I live in Colorado and I would like to know what kind of plywood you say will cost only $7 . I find nothing near that . Please forward info as I will need this in near future .

Juicy Fruit said:

Plywood is cheap, a 4x8foot piece at home depot here runs 7$ and you can just paint it to help with mold and reflectivity.

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@dadio161 - 7/16" OSB was under $8 a few weeks ago at Lowe's, my cabinet is built from it.

dadio161 said:

I live in Colorado and I would like to know what kind of plywood you say will cost only $7 . I find nothing near that . Please forward info as I will need this in near future .

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its not ply wood its more like press board it looks like wood chips pressed together to make a 4x8 sheet with blue paint on the edges, i have built a few boxes with it and it works good keep an eye out at homo depot some times they have the mold resistance sheet rock on sale with rips or damage for 2 to 3 dollars a sheet great deal if your going for a non movable room but if your going for mobility go with press board but seal it very well with paint or some other type of sealer because it will swell with water or moisture also 2x3 studs are cheaper than 2x4 sometimes-your building a room/box not a house i guess what im sayin is keep an eye out for whats on sale-the last box i built was 4x4x4 with a 400 hps on top with the reflector out side the box (for heat reasons)it was made with 3/4 press board (painted with kills paint) and 2x3 an 2x4 what ever i had lying around total cost about 50$ not including the light set up when i was done with it i gave it to a friend an he loves it he just added 2 more feet on top so its now 4lx4wx6h next will be a 1000hps {btw im in new england not colorado} but keep an eye on the sales and good luck an have fun or it wont be worth it

Right, OSB is "oriented strand board" it's a manufactured sheathing like plywood, particle board, MDF (medium density fiberboard) etc. I've also used foam insulating sheathing for partitions, it's a closed cell poly foam with foil on one (or both) sides sold in 4' x 8' sheets.

I usually find 4x8 sheets of plywood at lowes or home depot usually between 7 -9 dollars and im in Cali.

So no link needed dadio, just go to your local lowes or big company, no mom and pop shops they will usually be a lot higher prices!

I use 1/2" drywally @ $6 for a 4X8 sheet for the walls of my room and the OSB that was $7 for the same size sheet for the roof of my grow room. I put a roof on it and didn't go all the way to the 9' ceiling so I could increase strorage space in the garage.

I use the Panda film to make a curtain around the flower area inside the room and I caulked the top plate on the walls before installing the plywood to help with light leaks in the rest of the room. My room is 5'X10'X7'tall and I just have a 36"X42" area curtained off for flower. I left the rest open for now so I have walking room inside. It's still a work in progress since I just started upgrading the space from less than half the square footage a couple days ago.

I would frame it out of 2x4 (24" spacing) and use drywall on the inside ( I would run the lights and monitor the temps to see if insulation is even necessary)...good thing about drywall is it can be cut with a utility knife where osb or plywood you will need a skillsaw or table saw (more dust and mess). Tape the corners/seams with drywall tape and plaster for best results. Very east to frame a square/rectangle. You will want a hammer drill and anchor bolts to secure the walls to the floor. Also you can buy 92 5/8" studs at most places which are pre-cut studs for framing (no cutting required) for around 1.50 - 2.00 a piece...24" spacing is more than enough for something that is not load bearing (just a box no real weight sitting on it) and will save $$$$ compared to 16" spacing.

Honestly I would Spray foam and Plywood.. Watch these videos and you'll see the reason why I say this.

Peace and Happy Growing

[video=youtube;swSRQy6-rcc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swSRQy6-rcc[/video]



[video=youtube;koT301cVYyI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koT301cVYyI[/video]

He said cheap walls though... spray foam is really expensive. That one room the guy sprayed probably cost $600.

in the long run it is totally worth it.. security, sound.. smell.. pretty much convenience..
if your going to go through the trouble of framing in your grow room it only makes sense..

Yea cheap was on my mind when I made my closet box and had alot of left over materials, got 5 sheets of 4x8 plywood and 10 8foot 2x2 all for about 60$ Can. another 25$ and you can get your paint, screws, corner joints and also tape or silicone to seal the cracks up. I like this method as you get an enclosed enviroment and its alot easyer to controll the temps in it.

Now my mind is racing about the posibilities I can create . Will have to do more research and design homework . Lots of good info guys .

Brick Top said:

If you want to save as much money as possible you can just cover your studs with panda-poly, the white plastic some people use for a reflective material. If you do not need something substantial for strength you can close off your grow room using the same material you use for your reflective material. If you use the 6 mill. thickness panda-poly it will block light so you will not have light leak problems. The black side blocks light and the white side reflects light. You can even make the 'door' for the room by hanging a piece of panda-poly with Velcro on the edges and on the edges of the 'door' frame and seal it that way when it needs to be closed. A couple bungee cords on the ceiling above the 'door' frame will let you roll up the 'door' panel and hold it up with bungee cords.

I am not saying it is the very best that can be done but if someone has a smaller budget or just wants to save as much money as possible it is a viable option.

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I would go with this guys idea. I would pin the panda plastic inside the studs. For insulation I would use corolite. It looks like styrofoam, but it doesn't burn.