Framing Out A Room (Help)

Any advice on framing fellas?

I planned on framing on an 16x13 area in my basement using a top and bottom plate and 16 inches on center. I've never really done this stuff before so I just went by what you "supposed" to do.

Comming up with a price list it seems I need a butt-load of studs to do this. The top and bottom plates are a given no matter the size of the room, but it appears I need about 50 8' studs to frame a 16x13 room. If I drop that down to 8x10, then I still need about 28-30.

Should I just space everything differently. I wasn't trying to spend $130-$200 framing before even covering the walls.


In the meantime I am going to further look up how much of a foot print different hoods have. (Or try to) I think the biggest sunleaves one is almost 40" and can cover about 3x3? The next one down, just under 30" is more in my budget.

Maybe I could save some money by figuring out exactly how much space I need and adding more in the future? I need to get out of this f'ing closet!!!!!

Thanks,

Bud

you only have to frame 2 sides right? if that is the case then you only need 25 studs. hope that helped, Im a carpenter by trade any other questions ill be happy to answer for ya

If its just for a grow space and not a load bearing wall, then you can cut corners and not go 16 inches each. You could even get 2x2's.

Nonbearing wall doesn't have to be 16" on center. You could go 2 ft on center and it will still work for 8 ft sheet goods.

Agreed, 24" centers on the studs is more than enough for an non load bearing wall, even in 2x2's, but good luck getting straight walls, lol. Have fun!

ak47caretaker said:

you only have to frame 2 sides right? if that is the case then you only need 25 studs. hope that helped, Im a carpenter by trade any other questions ill be happy to answer for ya

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I could for sure but I'm unsure about having the grow exposed to the walls. I have a 60 year old house and a cinder foundation that's not in perfect shape. I'm in the process now of dry-lok'ing the walls so they won't absorb from the inside and hopefully I can encap any exsisting nasties. Not the perfect solution for my pre-exsisting water problems but it's all I can afford right now.

My foundation is weird too. There is a ledge about 8 inches up where the poured floor meets the cinder and also I have drains cut out around the perimeter. Water basicially flows in and out like a river, even with the pump off. I think it's best to build around all of that - even though it's only like 6 inches total out from the wall.

On another note. I seriously wonder if I went back to well water from city water if my issues would dissappear.

SmoochieBoochies said:

Agreed, 24" centers on the studs is more than enough for an non load bearing wall, even in 2x2's, but good luck getting straight walls, lol. Have fun!

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Especially getting wood at Home Depot. And of course my in-law's got me gift certificates to there.

My wife also explicitately stated she doesn't want me doing this project myself. Not after my box debacble before I stole a linen closet. 1) I forgot that your supposed to add in the 2x4's all over - and I pre-cut, painted everything to "save time". Therefore EVERYTHING had at least a 1" gap or more, lol. 2) I totally forgot that A) It would weigh a ton assembled and B) It had to go through two doors and a hallway opening.

......then the plants got 2' foot tall in a 5 gallon and outgrew in 3 weeks. I will NEVER hear the end of that one.

Ha ha ha! Tears in my eyes... I'll bet you hear about that one until the end of time! I have so many fail projects it's ridiculous.

SmoochieBoochies said:

Ha ha ha! Tears in my eyes... I'll bet you hear about that one until the end of time! I have so many fail projects it's ridiculous.

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Right. I had two women helping me move it and at one point I had to hop through a window because the box was stuck between the door with a girl trapped on the other side. One of the many reasons I tell people you marry someone soley for love and the idealism to take care of eachother.

So back to the project. For an 8x10 room I figured out I'd need (4) 10' 2x4's and about (22) 8' 2x4. I haven't looked at the 2x2's yet but I had pressure treated 2x4's written down already... that would be $82.66 with tax, haha. Quite a difference. Now to come up with an actual layout to fit plants in there. I'd like to section off somthing in there for veg as well but obviously the big thing right now is getting a structure up.

How hard is it to light proof one of those $25 pre-hung Masonite doors? Anyone know?

Thanks alot guys you've really helped.

Framing a small room like this will cost you around $100 if you use plywood for the walls. Just remember to grab a few cans of great stuff to make it totally light proof.

ATL HYDRO said:

Framing a small room like this will cost you around $100 if you use plywood for the walls. Just remember to grab a few cans of great stuff to make it totally light proof.

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Any other advice besides going 24" on center?

buy a tent... I like the room I built but in some ways now I wish I would have bought a tent. It would have been cheaper and when it's time to move or for whatever reason it's easy to take appart.
and you dont have to worry about covering the walls with mylar or painting ... everything is there ready to go.

Honestly, a tent is the cheapest and easiest to maintain unless you just want a permanent grow room.

consider using treated 2x4s for the floor and or any other area where the stud directly touches concrete ONLY. The others can be cheaper non treated..... for the walls i think drywall is the cheapest route but then finishing and painting is a pain. They have some plywood in the lumber area of my menards that has decent looking white finish on it already that would make things easier.
Just a couple thoughts

I so wanted to resist the urge but cant. How is a grow tent going to compare on price to a room at the size the op plans?? Yes, the tent can be taken down when not in use (why would it ever be not in use) and overall portability in case of
moving or what not. Just one 4x4 tent is going to cost around the same as the entire room being built. Don't get me wrong, tents are great, but in no way cheaper (on the OP's scale) than a built room.

its def easier to build a grow room if you have a house. If you rent its all tent.

I have a room with a tent in it for my mother plant.

I didn't understand that one either Grumpy. I looked at 10x10 tents months ago when I first became legal and they were $800 or more if I remember correct. The smallest I would consider as a base outline for veg and flower is 8x10. I could make it 10x10 but if you saw where the window was in my basement you'd get why it's easier to add the extra two feet. So whats that, at the very least an 80% saving.

Plus my original goal was 18x16 until I figured out the price of framing alone. Not that I have the money to fill that space but I figured to do it now rather than later.

Also... The tents are cool, but I enjoy something solid to walk into. Plus, I'm not sure about the majority but I bought my house to enjoy and I'm not going to keep visitors out of the basement like there is a monster down there.

Thanks for the help everyone!