Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | Mar 25, 2008 09:51pm | #1

   If you can come up with a layout for the machines that you are sure will work, then there is no reason not to bury the dust collection and electrical wiring.

   Another approach is to cast trenches in the floor that will have drop in plywood covers to bring them flush with the rest of the slab. The advantage to the trenches is that you have some flexibility to move the connections around if you add or move machines and it will be easier to deal with clogs in the pipes.

   Another approach would be to make the new slab sit lower than the slab in the existing basement allowing you to go in later, at your leisure, to lay a plywood floor over 8" joists. You can install the piping and wiring in the joist space and then change or service it later easily. As a bonus you'll have a warmer more comfortable floor to work on. This is the approach I would take. Adding a wood floor will be more expensive but you will save some some money by keeping the slab simple and by not needing the pricier specialized electrical components required for burying the wiring in the slab.

   There are no major code problems that I can think of with the dust collection pipes in the floor, but you should check with your local building department, they always have the final say in these matters, and some inspector's have strange interpretations of the codes.

   Installing the wiring in the slab would be covered by the code, but there is nothing exceptional about what you intend to do, an electrician experienced with buried wiring should have no problem getting everything set up right for you.

   Your biggest problem may be getting the pipe and wiring in place on short notice so that pouring the slab can stay on schedule.

   John White

1. 
   wandabar | Mar 28, 2008 05:36am | #2

   Be sure to put a vapor barrier under the slab. If you decide to put the wood floor in the code requires all wood in contact with a slab on grade be pressure treated lumber.

    Depending on were you live you might want to insulate the walls and get some heat into the space. I live in toledo, ohio and have a shop in my basement, the walls are not insulated, warm moist air from the rest of the house migrates into the cooler shop and causes my tools and paint cans to rust. This is a problem in both the summer and winter.

   Brad

   Registered Architect