Well I finally got together with my friend who wanted to set up a basement grow area. The floor joist were all exposed in the basement and there was no insulation. We thought the no insulation was a good thing as we had hopes of the additional heat gowing into the main house. The living room is right above were we set this up. The living room has a wall to wall carpet. So we attached the rail directly to the floor joist. Least I think that is the proper word. We did not first hook the rail to a piece of wood but rather just screwed it into the wood that was holding up the floor above us. Beleive me that baby was secure and wasn't about to drop. At the moment he only had a 200 watt cfl light that was in a Sun System 8. We got it all hooked up as was quite proud of ourselves. This is a new moving rail that doesn't have a chain. It worked what seemed flawlessly. Then we went up stair to have a cup of coffee in the living room. Not only could we hear the small motor but we could actually feel it on our feet. His wife immediatley said no way. He also has a 600 watt light with a ballast on the way, which is what we had planed on putting up once it arrives. My question is how can we keep the noise down from his living space. Only thing that comes to my mind is to build a stucture out of 2 by 2 or 2 x 4's that doesn't attach to the ceiling. I prefer not to do this as the ceiling isn't all that high. Do you have any ideas or suggestions. Right now his wife isn't too happy with me.

i dont think it is safe to attach it to the ceiling. What if the pressure from all the footwork from above eventually dislodges the rail and his plants get destroyed? i say go with the 2 x 2 structure not attached to the ceiling to be safe.

If it is securely attached to the ceiling/floor joists, then it shouldn't come loose from walking above it.

If you are attaching it to the structural elements of the house and there is nothing insulating the attachment/contact, there is probably not an easy way to eliminate the noise because the sound will travel these elements. Using a thick carpet padding or other sound reducing underlayment under the carpeting may help to decrease the noise, but won't probably eliminate it.

Susan

How about an indoor greenhouse for the basement? That is another option for him.

I've built a couple of racks with 2 X 4's and they continue to work well after 6 years. They were originally built to house terrariums for day geckos so they can hold some weight.

Have fun!

I would agree. The best way would be to make a structure not directly attached to the ceiling.

What about suspending the light from a metal pipe which is in turn suspended from several of the joists by heavy-duty springs?

another thought: how about some of that sound-absorbing ceiling 'tile' (white fibrous stuff, dont know why they call it 'tile') and then attaching a 2x4 under that and hanging the light from that?

If you end up having to build a free-standing frame up from the floor you can save headroom by making it out of metal plumbung; it'll be super sturdy and only 1" thick.

Thanks for all the suggestions. My friend took the unit back to the store who claims there is nothing wrong with it. However they are sending it back to the manfacturer to confirm it. It looks like the money may have been wasted on the light mover. In any case a 600 watt light is now in place and if he expands another one may need to be purchased.

Good luck! With a stationary light, his plants may grow tall and leggy and lean to one side.

how big is the grow footprint? the 600 watt should cover a 4' x 4' area....

Good luck! With a stationary light, his plants may grow tall and leggy and lean to one side.

:iagree::iagree: