WeedFreak78
Well-Known Member
I've been growing for awhile now, both inside and out, so i though i had a good grasp on what was needed to design/build my first real room, no more Poly-walled off corner. Apparently construction planning isn't my strong suit..
( I work with metal mostly, something gets messed up weld it and redo it, wood isn't as forgiving). I came up with a design/layout for a room , 8x12 total, divided into veg/clone/mother/work area and a flower area, its own electrical ( 2- 20A 110v circuits and 1 30a 240v circuit ) and water supply, filtered ventilation( intake and exhaust). I've had to change my design/layout at least 4 different times now, just during the building..can't wait till i get up and growing and see what isn't working out...
. I wanted to see what things you did in your first room that either didn't work out or had to be changed once you got up and running and why? Maybe get some pointers out there for anyone doing their first room. Most of my issues are due to poor planning, along with a few bad measurements. Measure 3 times, cut once, still too short..
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I didn't follow std framing practice because I thought "it's not structural". I put studs sideways every 48" on center just so i could sheath the room and didn't double stud the ends of walls( this is where i lost most of my interior space according to a friend who does framing). It made my room smaller than designed, supposed to be 8x12 inside, made it 8x12 +/- outside...which ended up around 7'8"x11'6" inside.
You say "what's a few inches?" I had originally designed the interior around 24"x48" grids for different growth stages, which won't fully work now. I'm going to end up with an odd area I'll need to custom build/modify a rack for and my 24"x48" flouro's might not work in that area. I had to move a couple hard mount power strips now so they don't get buried behind the racks I'll be using. I never factored in the width of the divider wall either which is contributing to loss of interior space.
I went from planning to use a 54gal rubbermaid tote as a holding tank, which would have fit out of the way under one of the 24"x48" racks that should have gone in the now odd sized area, but now won't fit, to a 55gal barrel. This made me move it outside the room because of space issues, breaking my first rule of "keep it all inside the room" for security reasons. Now i need to change my plumbing around,which i recently roughed in, to accommodate that change.
When i wrapped the room in black poly I never took note of where the existing plumbing and electrical was in the floor joists that i was covering, so i had to cut it down and redo it, so i knew where they were and didn't put a screw or nail through a pipe or wire..
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So what were some of your "oops" or just poor designs that you ended up changing and why. Or just basic construction pointers that someone outside of the field might not think about. What are some thing to look out for when designing a room?
Here's a couple i learned the hard way:
If you can, have at least one other person you trust around to discuss plans, a second set of eyes could have caught most of my issues, sometimes security overrides this.
measure, measure, measure, and write down your measurements, i forgot stuff walking from one end of the house to the other..lol. ( i guess don't heavily medicate while working would fall in here too)
factor in your saw blade width in your cuts, stack up 3 or 4 cuts and your off by a 1/2"
Check for square, level and plumb. I went off existing foundation walls i assumed were....they weren't, my room is now a weird trapezoidal shape by a few inches every direction., again messing with my interior planning/space.
( I work with metal mostly, something gets messed up weld it and redo it, wood isn't as forgiving). I came up with a design/layout for a room , 8x12 total, divided into veg/clone/mother/work area and a flower area, its own electrical ( 2- 20A 110v circuits and 1 30a 240v circuit ) and water supply, filtered ventilation( intake and exhaust). I've had to change my design/layout at least 4 different times now, just during the building..can't wait till i get up and growing and see what isn't working out... . I wanted to see what things you did in your first room that either didn't work out or had to be changed once you got up and running and why? Maybe get some pointers out there for anyone doing their first room. Most of my issues are due to poor planning, along with a few bad measurements. Measure 3 times, cut once, still too short...I didn't follow std framing practice because I thought "it's not structural". I put studs sideways every 48" on center just so i could sheath the room and didn't double stud the ends of walls( this is where i lost most of my interior space according to a friend who does framing). It made my room smaller than designed, supposed to be 8x12 inside, made it 8x12 +/- outside...which ended up around 7'8"x11'6" inside.
You say "what's a few inches?" I had originally designed the interior around 24"x48" grids for different growth stages, which won't fully work now. I'm going to end up with an odd area I'll need to custom build/modify a rack for and my 24"x48" flouro's might not work in that area. I had to move a couple hard mount power strips now so they don't get buried behind the racks I'll be using. I never factored in the width of the divider wall either which is contributing to loss of interior space.
I went from planning to use a 54gal rubbermaid tote as a holding tank, which would have fit out of the way under one of the 24"x48" racks that should have gone in the now odd sized area, but now won't fit, to a 55gal barrel. This made me move it outside the room because of space issues, breaking my first rule of "keep it all inside the room" for security reasons. Now i need to change my plumbing around,which i recently roughed in, to accommodate that change.
When i wrapped the room in black poly I never took note of where the existing plumbing and electrical was in the floor joists that i was covering, so i had to cut it down and redo it, so i knew where they were and didn't put a screw or nail through a pipe or wire..
.So what were some of your "oops" or just poor designs that you ended up changing and why. Or just basic construction pointers that someone outside of the field might not think about. What are some thing to look out for when designing a room?
Here's a couple i learned the hard way:
If you can, have at least one other person you trust around to discuss plans, a second set of eyes could have caught most of my issues, sometimes security overrides this.
measure, measure, measure, and write down your measurements, i forgot stuff walking from one end of the house to the other..lol. ( i guess don't heavily medicate while working would fall in here too)
factor in your saw blade width in your cuts, stack up 3 or 4 cuts and your off by a 1/2"
Check for square, level and plumb. I went off existing foundation walls i assumed were....they weren't, my room is now a weird trapezoidal shape by a few inches every direction., again messing with my interior planning/space.
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