My room is done. It came out very well although it took me a long time to complete the build. Thanks for asking. I'm really pleased with it. Purpose building from scratch is definitely a great option. I had lots of time to work on the layout, wiring, etc. which really helped. Everything is right where it needs to be allowing for a very efficient use of space. It is wood frame with drywall making it just about air tight. I located intake vents just under the plant canopy together with an overhead scrubber / fan for exhaust. Keeping temperatures under control is much much less of an issue than I feared. The room is 7.5' L x 5' W x 6.5' H. I have a 3' x 5' scrog for flower and a 2' x 5' x 3' cabinet built under a counter top for mothers / cloning / vegging. Plus I have a 2.5' space between the two allowing me full access to plants on either side. The counter top has proven especially useful. It's a basement room with no external exit for heat so I pull the air from one room and vent into a separate room.

I'm not giving up. The plants vegged really nice and I am sure that I can get where I want to be with some effort. And I still don't like the idea of a HPS burning away in the basement but I'm thinking that a 400w or 600w bulb would significantly improve my grow while also freeing up one of the panels for veg / mothers. I'd keep the other as supplemental. I probably should do another run before I decide. The lights were 10" - 12" above the canopy. And with the scrog setup I was able to keep the light pretty uniform.