New to attic growing....... input??

[NorCal Grown]

I've never tried to do any growing in a attic space, anyone on here have input?? Problems I might run into?? I have a unused 15'x15' space with 5' hight. I'm going to lay plywood down over the rafters, insulate the roof and drywall it. Basically turn it into a room. Is the drywall necessary? Or is something else better? Planing on painting everything white, whats the best paint? I'm thinking heat might be a problem, so I will be putting vents in the roof. I think I'm just going to do soil, never built a hydro setup. I know there are some small things I'm over looking, but are there any big things I'm leaving out?? Thanks alot for all your input & help

NorCal Grown Reviewed by NorCal Grown on 03-20-2007. New to attic growing....... input?? I've never tried to do any growing in a attic space, anyone on here have input?? Problems I might run into?? I have a unused 15'x15' space with 5' hight. I'm going to lay plywood down over the rafters, insulate the roof and drywall it. Basically turn it into a room. Is the drywall necessary? Or is something else better? Planing on painting everything white, whats the best paint? I'm thinking heat might be a problem, so I will be putting vents in the roof. I think I'm just going to do Rating: 5

[JackdaWack]

Ive always thought the attic was the best place to start.... but i know how hott an attic can get. If you have hot summers and such it might be a bad idea unless you know u can keep the area cooled to atleast 80 degress. You dont need to drywall, you can get some white tarp and staple it into place and duct tape the seams, all u need to really do is cover the walls u dont need any support like a drywall, esp for an attic. Make sure that heat will not become an issue before starting... u will be very dissapointed if you cannot get temps below 95, and thats not that hott for a summer attic which can get up to 110 degress on a 90 degree day just from the sun on the roof.

[NorCal Grown]

I was thinking of insulating the roof. I'm like 5 miles form the ocean, during the hottest times it MIGHT hit 80 outside. I think if I vent it really well it shouldn't be a problem. Whats the best growing temp? Thanks.

[stinkyattic]

Growing temp- 65-68 night, 72-78 day
Cellar is the best palce to start because it is already insulated
Drywall is all well and good but have fun taping and mudding, priming, and painting. Or save yourself the hassle and use shower wall board that is alreadyu finished in gloss white on one side and hangs in minutes.
You need super vents. My attic has windows at the gable ends and thus space to run a/c. You WILL need ac regardless of whether it's only 80 degrees outside because yup the roof will get HOT and also heat rising from the rest of the house is a pain.
Attics are all good but enjoy your heat problems... I know I did! And my crops suffered badly as a result.

[Racerx]

Growing temp- 65-68 night, 72-78 day
Cellar is the best palce to start because it is already insulated
Drywall is all well and good but have fun taping and mudding, priming, and painting. Or save yourself the hassle and use shower wall board that is alreadyu finished in gloss white on one side and hangs in minutes.
You need super vents. My attic has windows at the gable ends and thus space to run a/c. You WILL need ac regardless of whether it's only 80 degrees outside because yup the roof will get HOT and also heat rising from the rest of the house is a pain.
Attics are all good but enjoy your heat problems... I know I did! And my crops suffered badly as a result.

stinky so nailed it (gee I wonder why). Your outside temps may only reach 80 degrees...but I guarantee your attic will get at least 100 degrees. I fully agree with stinky that you will need an A/C. If you do not have a window to use, then I would consider splitting the room into the grow room and a smaller outside storage room. Set the A/C between these 2 rooms with a simple wood frame with 2x4s and have vents in the smaller outside room with exhaust and intake fans. Set a bucket under the A/C on the outside to catch the condensation and either take the water out yourself or setup a simple pump that you can plug in when you need to drain into a bathtub or sink. You could then run a sealed room as well without any need for exhaust or intake fans inside the grow room. With a recirculating A/C (removes no air from the room), just add the CO2 and you've got yourself a serious grow room. 15 by 15 feet is a lot of space. The 5 feet tall will be an issue, you will need to heavily LST or screen it, but thats a ton of space.

hydro is great, but it is almost always taller (either because of buckets or raised tables) then soil grows and the water temperature can be very important in hydro (which is a problem if you have high temps).

[NorCal Grown]

Well, most of it is about 5 feet, in the center it is at least 6 feet. I'm going to keep my eyes open for an AC unit. I have a temp sensor up there right now, its only 68, it about 65 outside. I'm sure that will change when we get a few days of sun. The shower board sounds like a better idea, I do construction so I have tons of scrap drywall, thats why I was thinking of going that way. Would there be any advantage to putting in a couple skylights?? Or would the moonlight hurt the flowering stage? Once again, thanks for all your input.

[stinkyattic]

Naw NO SKYLIGHTS your house will be like a glorious beacon of gro-lite for the world to see, saving wayward sailors from crashing on your front porch, yet somehow NOT keeping your ass out of jail.

[NorCal Grown]

I dont know what I was thinking....... ofcouse light would get out!! Whats really annoying is the weather outside is PERFECT most of the year, so I'm almost thinking if I vent the crap out of it I can keep the temps under control most of the year and only have to use the AC for a few months. How many plants do you think I should try and grow? I'll get a few pics of the space up on here soon.

[stinkyattic]

How many plants do you think I should try and grow? .

All of them! Mwahahaha!!!!

[growinforthefuture]

i have found the key to temp control (in my case) i got a box fan as a trap door it fits perfect! then i got exhaust fans that are puashing air out an unused chimney. this creates a little low speed windtunnel across the grow area, and controls odor. the temp in the attic is always only slightly watmer/cooler than the inside temp (depends on outside) thus far i have had far more trouble with cold than heat. luckily i am situated at over 4,000 feet or so (in the east). we don't even need any A/c inside, but i think i'll have one in my attic.