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Walk-In Grow "Rack"

Nepenthesis

Formerly known as Pineapple
So I'm currently getting out of another hobby which occupies my 6' L x 6' H x 2' W closet. I'm selling all of the stuff off and it should be gone by mid summer. There is also a massive window about two feet from the closet that gets very, very bright afternoon sun. It also happens that I have a 150w metal halide from that hobby to, hehehehee. :mwahaha:

So here is my plan... I'm going to make a walk-in "grow rack" instead of just putting a terrarium in the closet! It will be pretty simple. I will fassen ome wire shelving racks from Home Depot, the same stuff I used to make the racks in my greenhouse, to the wall. Maybe two or three of them. I have a wooden shelf at the very to of the closet that I can attach lights to, which would light the highest shelf. I could attach lights to the highest shelf, which would light the next shelf down, and so on. I would cover the opening of the closet with greenhouse material and attach it all the way around the frame of the closet. Not sure how I would make a door. I would cover the inside of the closet with reflective bubble wrap.

Just a rough idea, but I think this would be pretty cool and a good way to maximize my space for growing lowlanders. It will be a lowland grow "rack".

Just curious how you guys that are more experienced with this kind of stuff would go about doing this. If you have any ideas, let me know. This would probably be set up in July or August of 2012. :)
 
You mentioned covering everything with reflective bubble wrap and whatnot, but I really have to stress the importance of MAKING SURE you have it COMPLETELY sealed up. If there's a crack somewhere for moisture to leak out of the "tent," so to speak, and get between the bubble wrap and the wall of the closet, that combined with the heat of a lowland setup will absolutely DESTROY the drywall. It might be worth leaving an inch or two gap between the bubble wrap and the walls, and running a box fan to keep air circulating back there. 's what I would do, anyway; it's just not worth completely destroying the drywall in the closet. I suspect your priory hobby wasn't one that necessitated as high a humidity as Nepenthes do and, thus, didn't require you to worry about that sort of thing. ;)
 
You mentioned covering everything with reflective bubble wrap and whatnot, but I really have to stress the importance of MAKING SURE you have it COMPLETELY sealed up. If there's a crack somewhere for moisture to leak out of the "tent," so to speak, and get between the bubble wrap and the wall of the closet, that combined with the heat of a lowland setup will absolutely DESTROY the drywall. It might be worth leaving an inch or two gap between the bubble wrap and the walls, and running a box fan to keep air circulating back there. 's what I would do, anyway; it's just not worth completely destroying the drywall in the closet. I suspect your priory hobby wasn't one that necessitated as high a humidity as Nepenthes do and, thus, didn't require you to worry about that sort of thing. ;)

Would it be better to not cover it in reflective bubble wrap? Still destroy the drywall? ???
 
Yep, the humidity would still rot the heck out of the drywall. Drywall and moisture don't mix. It's DRYwall. XP

Oh, also, you're going to want some way to protect the carpet or whatever is in there. If you own the place, you can yank the carpet out and paint the concrete with an epoxy and caulk the gap between the concrete and the baseboards. Turns it into a sort of bathtub, lol. That's what I did in the basement, it works beautifully.
If you DON'T own, I'd use a vinyl tarp or something to lay on the carpet, and go a couple inches up the walls, again creating a sort of "bathtub." That way, condensation, spills, etc won't ruin the carpet and can't creep under the baseboards and, again, eat up your drywall. Lol. Pesky drywall. >.<

Speaking of epoxy, I suppose you could paint the entire closet with one, thus preventing moisture from eating up the drywall. Then you still have to watch for mold, though.
 
Yep, the humidity would still rot the heck out of the drywall. Drywall and moisture don't mix. It's DRYwall. XP

Oh, also, you're going to want some way to protect the carpet or whatever is in there. If you own the place, you can yank the carpet out and paint the concrete with an epoxy and caulk the gap between the concrete and the baseboards. Turns it into a sort of bathtub, lol. That's what I did in the basement, it works beautifully.
If you DON'T own, I'd use a vinyl tarp or something to lay on the carpet, and go a couple inches up the walls, again creating a sort of "bathtub." That way, condensation, spills, etc won't ruin the carpet and can't creep under the baseboards and, again, eat up your drywall. Lol. Pesky drywall. >.<

Speaking of epoxy, I suppose you could paint the entire closet with one, thus preventing moisture from eating up the drywall. Then you still have to watch for mold, though.

It doesn't have a carpet. Hardwood floor. I am going to repaint the room this summer, so that would be a perfect time to paint it with something like Krylon. Krylon would do the same job at keeping the moisture from the drywall, right?

...The floors are already corroded from saltwater, I don't think a little extra humidity would hurt noticeably lol...
 
I'm not sure about Krylon. And I believe high humidity will warp the hardwood floor, so you'll still want to use some kind of barrier. But if you find a moisture-proof paint to paint the closet with, I suspect the drywall would be fine, and you shouldn't run into mold issues if you keep the air moving a good amount in there 24/7.
 
I seem to remember seeing a picture thread of someone starting something similar a few weeks ago. Don't remember who it was.
 
I'm not sure about Krylon. And I believe high humidity will warp the hardwood floor, so you'll still want to use some kind of barrier. But if you find a moisture-proof paint to paint the closet with, I suspect the drywall would be fine, and you shouldn't run into mold issues if you keep the air moving a good amount in there 24/7.

I know somebody who used Krylon to paint something going into a reef tank, so I think it should prevent corrosion. Again, I'm not sure though.

I seem to remember seeing a picture thread of someone starting something similar a few weeks ago. Don't remember who it was.

There was a thread of a basement grow room that had the reflective bubble wrap, maybe that is what you're thinking of?
 
That was me, and the build thread is in my signature. But that's quite a different build, I think.
 
  • #10
No, that wasn't it. This person cleaned out a closet and lined the walls with reflective mylar and put up shelves and lights.
 
  • #11
No, that wasn't it. This person cleaned out a closet and lined the walls with reflective mylar and put up shelves and lights.

Oh, well I may want to have a look at that. Let me know if you find it again! :)
 
  • #13
This is a really cool idea. I've definitely thought about doing it myself, and there's a closet in my apartment that's kinda perfect for it...

I'll definitely be following this thread!
 
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