Hello all,
I’m in the process of expanding my basement (hobby) workshop. My current (small, 12X16 + 8X12) shop will be used for for sanding and assembly work, as well as small tool and hardware storage. My dust collector (Woodsucker) is in this area as well. The ‘new’ main shop will have the tablesaw brought into it, as well as a new joiner and a new bandsaw, a planer, router station and a drilling station. Wood storage may be here as well, with most of the tools on wheels in some form. This new room is still tight in space, measuring 34 feet by 14X, but in the center third it’s only 9 1/2 feet wide.
I’l like to add a small finishing room to one end (cutting into my totatl 34 foot length). This endwhas one of the windows. Since this room won’t get used that often compared to the rest of the shop, I’d like to make it as small as possible but yet still beuseful. I’m not interested in a curtain setup, but want a permananet room, and I only need to construct a single wall.
As for the typle of work I do – I doubt I’ll be building any single piece wall units, but kitchen cabinets and small decorative boxes and the like would be the majority of my efforts. I won’t be spraying, but rather hand finishes only.
What is the smallest I should think about making this finishing room and still be useful? I hate to cut into my main shop as little as possible. Is 7 by 14 adequate? 8 ft? Larger, Smaller?
Thanks in advance,
Fred
Replies
I doubt that any of us can tell you what size finishing room to build. It all depends on your work flow and scale of projects.
I recommend using your next typical sized project as a guide. You need spaces for finishing and for dust-free drying, so why not mock up a "wall" with tape on the floor in a section of your shop at 7x14, work in just that space and see if it has enough room to move the work pieces around and to work on them without interference from the drying ones. Mark the "doorway" and try moving pieces in and out without disturbing the drying ones.
I think I would plan on using sliding wardrobe doors to keep from losing usable space by opening and closing of hinged ones. You can hang a short curtain over the top edge to prevent dust drifting in. A box fan at the top of the wall with a furnace filter over it would be a good way to circulate clean air and to produce a small positive pressure to prevent dust from infiltrating.
Thanks for the response, much appreciated. I do realize that the sizing requirements are very subjective, just looking for feedback so I can use that info in a final decision.
You brought up a good point:
" .. produce a small positive pressure to prevent dust from infiltrating .."
Can you elaborate on this just a little. Should I used an inlet from the main shop with a filter on it going to the room and have an outlet back to the main shop? Or just use a fan to blow out of the room? Maybe I'm just asking how to I prevent a negative pressure in there?
Thanks, agian,
Fred
"Maybe I'm just asking how to I prevent a negative pressure in there?"If you blow air out of the finishing room (with an exhaust fan to clear out vapors, for instance), air will be drawn in somehow to replace what is blown out; most likely from under the door or through gaps somewhere, dragging dust with it. If you install a fan (with a good furnace filter capable of removing visible airborne dust) blowing into the room from the shop, you will create a slight positive pressure so that air will have to flow outward under the door or through any gaps in the wall. Also, very helpful when you open the door to go in or out. If vapor ventilation is important, you would have to provide an outlet vent to move large volume of air out and use a bigger well-filtered inlet fan with enough CFM capacity to change the air volume of the room in a reasonable time. BruceT
Edited 10/10/2007 1:03 pm ET by BruceT999
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