grass_hopper

...in the attic, that is No, I'm not giving up the ghost just yet. I'll be frank it's been a LONG time since my last harvest and I'm getting jittery. Good thing I've got a stash the size of a dresser drawer to keep my nerves at bay

The thing is my attic is far from an ideal place to grow, and I'm guessing that it's going to become nearly impossible to even be up there come mid-May. And I'll probably have to shut it down for the summer, starting up again maybe in October. I've got the most elaborate fan system I can think of and even in winter on warm days I get overheated. It's also a giant PITA to lug everything up a folding stair.

I'll be honest, I'm also considering putting a dormer addition on my house to add two bedrooms and a bathroom "upstairs". That would pretty much obliterate the grow room.

So I've been toying with the idea of relocating the grow room to a new site which is currently outdoors but could be enclosed pretty easily. It's under my deck, which is a full story off the ground. The ground is all prepped for it, with crushed stone and all. I would just pour a slab and frame out the walls and a waterproof ceiling.

The even better thing about this site is that it's located directly next to my downstairs bathroom, so no schleping around with hoses and buckets. When I'm ready to dump, I just dump and it goes into the floor drain.

We've had an unusual warm stretch here in New England so the top part of the ground is far from frozen (actually quite muddy). I am pretty sure I'd be able to excavate out a 12" slab edge and get a 4" slab poured before it gets cold again.

__________________
"Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk in front of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone."


Ancient History:
Blueberry/Mazar (started in hydro, moved outdoors)...Skunk#1/Blueberry in Soil
Botanicare 42 Site Cloner - a Review...Grass_Hopper's Butane Honey Oil (BHO) Thread

Website goodies:
Grow Guide...Cecil_B's CO2 Enrichment Guide...Grower's Dictionary...Getting Females From Standard Seeds

mr_chow

would it have to be inspected? if it does, it will most likely increase your property taxes. what's the dimensions? would you put its own window/wall a/c unit? if so, don't forget about its drainage from the coils...


peace,

mr_chow

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we are a peaceful and wise community. what we do, we don't consider immoral or illegal. we take personal responsibility for our actions and understand the ramifications therein. with that said, we choose to peacefully pursue a practice that we believe helps us achieve a better quality of life...after all this is america...weren't we granted by our forefathers the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

Lucid Phoenix

Hey Grasshopper, careful with the whole building thing...

First off, let me state that ive worked two summer internships for a city in CA, specifically the building department. The second thing I have to say is that if you're planning on a two bedroom and bath addition you probably know all this, but I'm just looking to help, anyway:

Two things on your construction. One is that unless you live in a very sparsley populated area, permits would be wise even on such a small project. All that would have to happen is have a neighbor be awakend from a nap while you're skill sawing up some 2/4's. they call the city/town/township (whatever you live in...), check for permits, see you have none, send out an inspector who has a nice big red tag for you. This is of course attention you dont want considering this rooms eventual purpose My second point is that most of the cities that ive delt with have grading moretoriums. meaning that at the onset of the raining season they dont allow excavations and that sometimes includes foundation laying, no exceptions. So if you do start work without a permit & it is in violation of the moretorium, they'd be all over you. anyway, I know you' re a smart guy as you have advised me well on many occassion so you probabley already know all this but I thought i'd give you the heads up anyway.

Best of luck with the project, it sounds like an ideal space once its up and running

-Lucid Phoenix

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-=Lucid Phoenix=-

grass_hopper

Thanks for the tips guys - actually I'm a licensed general contractor in MA so i got that all covered. The two story addition is purely to boost the resale value and give me an extra cushion to sit on in case I decide to move. This would be nothing more than an enclosed storage area - won't add to the living area of my home. I work with building officials all the time and wouldn't dream of doing this job without a permit. But that doesn't mean I'm going to have a fully functional grow op running when Mr. Building Inspector comes for my final signoff.

Up here there no moratoriums on groundwork/excavation because there really isn't a rainy season. You can build right through the winter if you want. Most of the time the ground is full of frost but it's been so mild the frost hasn't settled int the ground to bad.

I have a portable A/C unit that I could install in this place so it's not very obvious, but even though the unit has more BTUs it doesn't seem to do the same job as a window unit. Maybe it will do better in an area that isn't right under the roof.

__________________
"Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk in front of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone."


Ancient History:
Blueberry/Mazar (started in hydro, moved outdoors)...Skunk#1/Blueberry in Soil
Botanicare 42 Site Cloner - a Review...Grass_Hopper's Butane Honey Oil (BHO) Thread

Website goodies:
Grow Guide...Cecil_B's CO2 Enrichment Guide...Grower's Dictionary...Getting Females From Standard Seeds

dawg13

Down where I am from GH, all of our houses are elevated drive unders. due to flooding. What you talking about doing is probabaly less expensive than building a whole new building or something.
The only real expense will be the seal-o-flex or other water proofing system for your upper deck floor. By having it down like that heat issues should not be bad.

What they do down here to make it not enclosed perminant structure (this avoids permits). Is louver (not lattice) between the structural columns so it looks like screening not enclosed space and then slap plywood on the backside so it is enclosed. This avoids problems with permitting and insurance companies for putting enclosed places in the flood zones. Because it is louvers the screening would not be considered a permanant structure and not require a permit. the slab would be considered a lower patio. I know down here that does not need a permit either. so the grow room would not have any govt. paperwork stuck to it. It looks like totally unusable space other than yard stuff storage from the street. I think it would be stealthy if constructed right. No windows or anything like that.

I'd go for it. sounds like a great idea

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