22 Nov Long Term vs Short Term: Rethinking Cannabis Cleanroom Wall Systems
One of the most important parts of our job is to get our clients thinking about the long term, even though their current focus is on getting their cleanroom built and certified ASAP.
Their focus is often on getting on the market as quickly as possible, so they can claim an early market share and try to beat the countless other cannabis start-ups racing to build their facilities.
Our job is to change the conversation to be more future-focused. Yes, we could absolutely rush through design and build you a cleanroom that will pass the certification, and you could always retrofit it with more after the fact. But that’s setting yourself up for massive problems later.
One of the key places we want to be future-focused is looking at your would-be wall systems because it all starts there.
Here is the difference between short and long-term thinking when it comes to a cannabis cleanroom’s walls.
Cleanability
Our conversations typically begin with looking for proper coving at the top and the bottom, or at the ceiling and at the base.
Our customers are looking for cleanability. How easy is it to clean the wall? Is it smooth? Is there surface mount stuff on the wall?
If somebody’s using insulated metal panels (our biggest competition) everything that you put in that room has to be surface mounted, whether it’s a fan on a wall or an electrical outlet in the corner. The conduit, which is round, has to be surface-mounted on to the inside of the flower room, and the electrical box has to be surface-mounted.
You have an environment where you’re cultivating cannabis and you’ve got a whole bunch of surfaces that need to be wiped down. You have to get in behind that piece of conduit that’s on the wall because particles are small and they’re going to get in there.
Is that what you want?
Surface Mounting vs Flush Mounting
All of our stuff is flush mounted. You can walk up to it, spray it down with a rag and wipe down the whole wall. You won’t have to worry about little crevices and nooks and crannies or getting a toothbrush out to make sure that you’ve got it all.
Think about how much it is going to cost you down the line. Maybe you saved 40% upfront by using a slated metal panel. But, a cleaning issue leads to a breakout in your room. You think you’ve sanitized the room, but you bring your next crop in and they get infected because you weren’t able to completely clean this room.
How much product did you just lose? What will that cost you? It’s not all about the initial build cost of the facility. It’s also about the ongoing costs.
Moisture Issues
If you really step back and look at what insulated metal panels were designed for, they’re designed for coolers. They’re meant for walk-in coolers in the back of a restaurant, or cold storage in a commercial set-up
Those panels were designed for cool and dry environments. But, you’re looking to use them in a warm, humid environment. It’s not what that panel was designed for. It’s simply far too much moisture.
You’re bringing steel into your grow room. We use aluminum because it doesn’t oxidize or add particles into the air. Steel most certainly does. It’s called rust.
If you put steel in a humid environment, it’s going to expand, it’s going to contract, it’s going to crack, it’s going to rust and it’s going to bring particles into your air that you don’t need on your plants.
You need to pay special attention to these things, if you are going to go with an insulated metal panel solution. You have to pay special attention to the coving on the ceiling and at the base of your room because that’s where your water infiltration is going to be.
Let’s Talk About Your Cleanroom
At Grow Optimum, one of our mottos is, “Know your grow.” We know the grow. We can build you the facility so you can know your own grow.
We’re backed by a team with over 35 years of building this stuff, designing and building everything from cannabis facilities to pharmaceutical-grade laboratories.
How can we help you? Click here to find out.