So i have a 12’ x 14’ shed that im not using. I want to move it closer to the garage for power and water. The garage has a breaker box and water.
I want to make this usable all year round. According to the usda i live in zone 3b. Avarage annual extreme minimum temps -30 F to -35 F. For those that use Celsius that’s -34.4 to -37.2. We can slso get 100F plus in the summer.
I want to be able to have everything in there. A few mothers, vegging and flowing. For lighting i have two 1k hps, two 600 hps, and about 16 for foot fluorescent lights (all 2 tube).
I need to figure out an interior layout that will work, heating and cooling, and ventilation. I currently don’t have a fan that would work. Im open to any thoughts.
also, i would like to grow enough for the wife and i plus friends. i’m hoping with having mothers and clones i can harvest about once a month when things get figured out.
I would like to change to leds but I’m not sure how many i would need for a space like that. I was thinking about putting a wall up splitting it in half. Part storage part grow.
I helped design a very similar grow. We used 2/3rds for the flower Chamber and the remaining for a veg and cloning area. We did have to insulate and install heaters (oil filled) Ac unit along with inlets and outlets for ventilation. Squirrel cage blowers set with rheostat and it was fairly easy to do.
That’s some extreme temp swings!
I’m not versed in temps that low, but there’s some mighty handy people around that’ll be around to guide you on that.
Basically, insulate it to the max. Walls, ceiling and floor. Its exposed beams, so you can shove batts up there and then close them in. Same with the walls. The floor will be more difficult; unless you lay a false floor and insulate between floor joists it’ll probably involve crawling under to install. Being off the ground is a good thing.
Whirly birds to extract heat (no idea what they’re called in other countries, but you’ll need the type that can be closed for your cold winters)
Maybe a split cycle aircon (heats and cools) might be more appropriate to keep temps constant?
Thought, the HPS, run at night, can help a bit (a little with those lows).
Maybe get rid of the windows, that’d help a bit again.
As I said, there’s some knowledgeable people floating around here, someone will be along with more ideas
If you are not worried about efficiency and aim for two harvests a year, one in early summer and one in early winter, you should be able to make it work. Word of warning though, I’m in zone 5 and a friend just tried growing through the winter in an identical setup until a February cold snap turned his plants, money, and efforts, into pure and unadulterated learning-experience.
One thing you absolutely need: Rigid foam Insulation – because the fluffy stuff isn’t good in high humidity – with an R-rating in the double digits.
Your temps are a bit colder than mine in winter we hit -20C regularly. My flower room is in my workshop which is 8x8x8 ft.
You will need to run heaters 24/7 in the winter with LEDs. I use 2x 600w HPS lights and they will keep my room hot enough for the exhaust fan to come on through winter every 20-25 minutes, and a 750 - 1500w heater at night.
I have to run a window aircon in the summer, If you can afford both Leds and HPS I would go HPS winter and LEDs summer to reduce your cooling bill.
You are going to need good insulation I have 3 inches of high density foam in my walls and about 3 ft of insulation in my ceiling which keeps the heat in well during winter and the cool air, cool in summer. If you go with a window aircon you will need to exhaust it outside, I cant do that in my flower room and the temps in the rest of the workshop can be unbearable outside the flower room, in the summer.
The reason i was thinking about using the shed is because right now im growing in the house. Im in an illegal state and want to have people over some times .
So you along with what everyone else says made me think more. The room im using now is about 6’ x 8’. But you can smell it throughout the house. With what it would take to get the shed ready i could make my room better. Carbon filter, better exaust fan. Fix any light leaks. I just don’t think the is enough room to also house mothers and clones.
Here is how I would set up your shed if I was going to use it as a grow space.
2x 6’x8’ grow spaces, SCROG, with 1 room budding at a time.
6’x12’ foyer/workspace
4’x18"x7’ nursery closet for mothers and clones.
6’x2’ workbench/counter top (beer fridge under counter)
Heat and air conditioning in foyer portion.
Floor spray foamed between joists.
Roof spray foamed between rafters.
Attic to provide flat roof above grow rooms.
Exterior door South facing for natural lighting while working on babies.
If you use air con in the summer, and he will need it, even with LEDs you are going to have to cut a hole in a wall or duct the heat from the air conditioner through a window to outside the shed. You could put a window air conditioner in the front part and have passive intake to both rooms, but it wont be as efficient.
It would be cheaper to upgrade your grow in the house, but if you want more space, use the room in the house for veg, the plants dont smell as strong, like in flower. Then flower out in the shed. This is the setup I now have, for a perpetual grow, 5-6 harvests a year depending on strains.
Dont exhaust into your roof space, come the spring thaw, you will have a hundred gallons of frozen humidity coming through the ceiling.
If money isn’t a concern, Get a 15k btu mini split and put in flower room A and a 6" fan between space A and B. That will take care of heating and cooling for the flower space. A small window unit for the front half of the shed will take care of that side, and heaters when need be.
The best single thing you can do is INSULATE the dickens outta that shed. Insulate the roof, then build ceiling rafters and insulate and sheet rock the ceiling as well.
A solid foundation will keep the cold/heat from the ground in check, with swings like you are describing it’s a good thing to plan on.
Most Portable building places will come back out and move a shed/outbuilding for you for a small fee. Have everything set up and ready to “transplant” and it’ll be even cheaper.
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