PVC Film vs. Painted Walls in Grow Room?

Drop That Sound said:

How does that roll of PE insulation provide R-11 is what I wanna know. Thats equivalent to like 2" thick rigid foam boards. More than fiberglass batting inside a 2x4 wall, lol.

Most of those radiant type insulation rolls, especially the mylar bubble wrap kind like reflectix don't provide any R-value at all, unless you fir the walls out and put in air gaps..

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for how thin it is, It looks like a pretty great insulator. Reflectix is just a bubble wrap but this stuff has a foam core which has very small air pockets in the foam which I saw in a picture. Pretty cool stuff! I hope they make a version for HVAC some day.. Looks like it could be pretty thin and maybe a bit more expensive to achieve r8 on ductwork!
cool to stumble on this product if I could "access" it I would ponder how much it costs, because it looks damn expensive actually per ft compared to bubble wrap.

this looks like a different picture and shows how the core looks https://www.amazon.com/MOTUKA-Reflective-Insulation-Aluminum-Material/dp/B0BHST44PM?th=1

Edit: doesnt show the R value on that link, So R value is still questionable. R-11 is a bold claim

Paint 100%

Good reflection and cleanable. Nothing hiding behind the plastic like mold or bugs.

My personal favorite. The reason I think everyone should paint whenever feasible. PLASTIC wall coverings are extremely flammable.

Please paint people. You’ll be better for it. The fire marshal might not have to investigate your house fire because the plastic panda paper did NOT catch fire when the tape gave out and the plastic hit the light causing an incident.

All in fun! But........I do favor paint.

Aeroknow said:

I’ve built ALLOT of growrooms. I’m also a builder of walls by trade. A drywall/lather. Union lather.
White black poly all day.
Insulated walls>shitrock>firetaped>Panda film.
If you are doing something where you are getting mold behind the poly film you are doing something wrong and need to address that humidity problem period.
We all have to spray or foliar feed stuff once in a while. The old flat white paint ends up dirty as fuck.

100% white black poly here.

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For the insulated walls, what do you recommend?

And the sheetrock you mean like gypsum or cement board?

Overgrowtho said:

For the insulated walls, what do you recommend?

And the sheetrock you mean like gypsum or cement board?

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There’s a few other factors that might need to be factored in but usually just fiberglass batts is what I choose here in Ca.

And yeah, just regular old gypsum drywall. I haven’t even used green board in my builds for years. Just sheetrock and then fire tape it and then drape and staple the panda film. If you are one to push the vpd green board or better yet Densshield/ Densglass/ Densarmor would be wise either way. I try not to let my bloom rooms above 60 percent humidity. Keep them under 60. Never have done a CBU on walls in the growrooms. Behind and under tile yes

I’ve uncovered walls while tearing down rooms that I built a good 10 years before. No mold no nothing. I dont know what the last poster is doing that they need to worry about the panda film catching fire lmao. In just one of my builds, well actually 3 of them, the panda film burned up. But that was because we lost everything in the Camp fire in Ca.

I recommend using quality staples if you tack anything up btw. The cheap ones will rust out pretty quick in a grow environment...

Grow room designer?

This is what you want: https://www.duramaxpvcpanels.com/wall-ceiling-panels/
Something like that. Make it easier to clean and keep clean, no risk of moisture damage, highly reflective…checks all your boxes and is extremely simple to install.

That reflective roll insulation doesn’t really do much, r11? More like r0.5

nxsov180db said:

That reflective roll insulation doesn’t really do much, r11? More like r0.5

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Yeah I was thinking more like 1.1 and they missed the period.. maybe it is that with the thin layer of foam, and a 1-2 inch gap between it and the wall.... but none of the other links for the same product list the r-values at all. Cheap chinese garbage with a steep price tag.. It does add a radiant\vapor barrier to some extent, but I would't count on it to insulate much.


It breaks down very easily too. Ever pull some reflectix down off the wall, and hold it up to the sun or light? OR leave a peice outside for a few months in the sun? The cheap mylar coatings wear out so fast. Doesn't block no where near 90+% of the light either. FLIR can see HPS through it when covering over windows, almost like its not really there. Maybe the double sided foam sandwiched stuff is a little better, but I wouldn't count on it.

Hard to tell when its up against the wall how bad its getting, with millions of nicks and scratches, even after installing it.. You can't just clean it all he time with cleaning products, or it will fade back into clear plastic eventually. Especially with UVB lighting anywhere near it!


Where is all the faded/flaked off mylar coating going, in the buds?



I would opt for the rolls of the embossed diamond texture mylar, the same kind they use in tents. It will hold up way better IMO, and is probably cheaper too. Or just go ahead and use the plastic, or good paint.


Those PVC walls are legit, especially if you have rough wall framing without drywall or paneling. Just gave me the idea to recycle and reuse some cheap/free white vinyl house siding on the inside of the new grow room I'll be workin on this coming year...

I’d use the 4x8 roll of reflective bubble insulation or on the cheap free emergency blankets.