Basement workshops - how to isolate dusty area

[Igor Petrenko]

I am panning to move my workshop into the basement and not sure what to do with all equipment like furnace, power panel, washer-drier, heater, etc. Basement setup is quite not friendly, there is just no place that can be isolated into separate room. Please take a look at attachet rough layout drawing.
It's all one open space and I got permission to use use as much as 50% for my woodworking needs. Furnace is HE forced and has no intakes in the basement.
So here are some options I came up with:
1. I can build a wall isolating half of the basement and cover power+cable+phone wall stuff with enclosure with some access doors. Not sure if it's allowed to cover all that stuff.
2. I can build a room with two walls leaving walkway to power panel but in this case shop area will be not as large as i need.
3. I can destroy storage rooms and rebuild them on the other side of basement and use that area to build workshop room. I still have to cover water pump/filters/softener/sump pump somehow. This option is rather work intence.

Not planning for now any dust control system. Just huge shopvac and separate ventilation fan to outside.

Any advice will be highly appreciated!

[Paul Johnstone]

Not planning for now any dust control system. Just huge shopvac and separate ventilation fan to outside.

Any advice will be highly appreciated!

Walling off part of the basement will help, especially if you drywall and tape the area, and put an exterior door on the entrance to the shop area.
Remember, you will also have to drywall the ceiling too. I did this at one house, and it was pretty effective.

However, all that is pretty labor intensive and expensive. In my current shop, I bit the bullet, got a cyclone (about $1000) and redid the DC duct work (went from 4" to 6"). Now, I no longer have a coat of dust all over my walls, tools, etc.
Even if you do blow a fan out the window while you are working, and run an air cleaner, there will be tons of fine dust suspended in the air which will eventually settle out.

IMO, when you weigh all the expense of studding the walls, and drywall, and your labor, a cyclone might actually be more cost efficient. It's better for your health too, IMO. I know it is a lot of money, but think about it.

[Igor Petrenko]

I've never actually seen anything like cyclone in work. Does in really mean you can have furnace/power panel/etc near by and no dust will set in?
I am also conserned about finishing stage, want the same area to be very well ventilated and isolated from furnace so no poly fumes will get anywhere.
Thank you!

[Brent Ring]

There was a recent article in the Tools and Shops 2008/2009 edition of FWW on pg 56 that discusses basement workshops specfically. Dust collection was critical in a basement workshop, due to the fact that there is so much airflow to the rest of the home.

My dad never had dust collection in his basement shop when we were growing up, and we always had dust on everything upstairs. Drove my mother nuts. My shop is in the 3rd bay of a 3 car garage, and I like it that way.

I would not personally consider a basement shop without dust collection, IMHO.

Of course, everyone has .02 worth

[Igor Petrenko]

Thank you Brent, I'll try to check out that artice.
I have no intake in my basement but I bet some dust is still going to leak into the house. I've already tried to use basement for finishing and some smell is getting through somehow.

[Mike Weaver]

Don't forget though if you wall off your mechanicals, you'll need to ensure that the furnace & hot water heater still have air flow IN to them, or things like pilot lights won't stay lit.

I found out the hard way in the last house.

-Mike

[Prashun Patel]

Even if you wall off the furnace, by code you might need to have air flow to the rest of the basement.

I have a basement shop, and have a single stage DC and an ambient air cleaner. Btn the two of these things, the dust pretty much stays downstairs.

You don't necessarily need a cyclone; it will make cleaning the filters easier, but if budget does not permit, you can get passable results with a beefy single stage and 1u filters.

[Anthony Whitesell]

My shop is in my basement as well. Prior to my purchase of the home, the previous home owner had an 'apartment' in the basement. It consisted of a 13x16 living room and a 8x13 bedroom with a 3x3 closet and 9x13 'outdoor equipment' storage area in the back half. The front half of the basement was completely open, besides the stairwell in the middle of it.

Over the past few years I have re-rocked the apartment removing the faux dark luann panelling and the popcorn paint from the walls. I have install 16 2-tube 4' florescent lights throughout the basement to improve the lighting from 4 single 100 watt bulbs. The 8x13 room is the saw and sanding room (where most of the dust is made) the 13x16 section is the 'clean room' where contain my wife's craft area, electronic repair workbench, finishing stuff, and workout equipment. The outdoor equipment has been moved, well, outdoors. I built a covered area to store stuff that doesn't need to be warm (like the 44 year old snowblower). That area is now home to the bandsaw, jointer, drum sander, and planer.

In the process of getting to where I am now, I have re-sheetrocked two rooms and rebuild two walls (studs going from 16"OC top to 16" On-edge bottom makes it a little difficult to install sheetrock). On of the walls has a built-in lumber rack. It's been a lot of work, some wasn't much fun, but it was all very much worth it.

Without knowing exactly the situation around the stairwell, I would propose the hard way. Move the storage area to the other side of the basement, build a wall near the the stairs splitting the area left and right. I would build a wall in front of the water pump/filters with inexpensive solid (non-louvered) bi-fold doors to maximize elbow room while minimizing floor space when you need to open them. It looks like there might be the possibility for a cut-off bin or drawers and shelving next to (upper right) the water pump area.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Igor, I have a basement shop in a townhouse, and the shop isn't isolated from the other areas of the basement.

I tried bag type collectors, gave up on them, and purchased an Oneida 1.5HP cyclone, couldn't be happier, and neither can my wife.

All my machinery connects to it;

- Hammer A3 31 12 inch jointer/planer

- cabinet saw

- shaper

- bandsaw

-drill press

- lathe

As well as my random orbital sander.

I don't have a dust problem at all, and my brother installed a 2 HP Oneida cyclone in his basement shop and he is extremely pleased as well.

For finishing I installed a variable speed fan that provides up to 400 CFM of exhaust air.

Intake air is provided by opening the kitchen window, so that fresh air is being drawn downstairs via the stairway.

This makes the basement a negative pressure zone, so fumes don't go upstairs.

Combustion air for my furnace, hot water heater and dryer are provided for by leaving the basement window open about 25mm year round.

Regards, Rod.

[JayStPeter]

My solution is most similar to Rod. My workshop is walled off from the rest of the basement, particularly the HVAC. I have a 2HP Oneida cyclone (pre Gorilla days). For finishing, I'm fortunate to have both a door and window to outside in my shop on opposite sides of the L shape of the shop. So, I crack the door and put a fan in the window. Works reasonably well, but if I do a particularly good job of fogging up the shop with a real stinky finish it'll sometimes escape.
The wall that separates my shop from the other half of the basement has an exterior door that I added extra sealing to. That helps a lot in both the dust and stink dept. Also, the HVAC vents in the shop are sealed off. I have to unscrew a cover in the dead of winter if the shop actually needs some heat. I've opened it once in 5 years as even unheated the lowest I've seen in the shop is 58*. Heat stays in despite the fact that it's insulated from the rest of the house for sound deadening.

Jay

[Thomas Pender]

I have a 2.5 HP Oneida Super Gorilla which pretty much means no dust where it is hooked up. However, my other advantage is that my gas furnace uses outside air for combustion run in on a pvc pipe that is then sent out, only slightly warm, on another pvc pipe (a 96% condensing unit). Also positive exhaust on the hot water heater. There is no noticeable dust upstairs and my furnace filters are reasonably clean - even after the normal replacement time.

My point is if you are considering a new furnace, get a Trane, American Standard, Carrier, Lennox, etc., that uses outside air and a circulating fan for the water heater. No dust problems and it is much cheaper to operate. My other point is get a cyclone. I have never heard anyone bemoan that purchase - it has been a key component for me - I do not know what I would do without it.

[John Eaton]

After looking at your diagram I think I would do a few things:
1. Wall off the furnace and hot water heater - put venting in the door or use a louvered door with filters mounted to the back side - this will prevent the bulk of the dust from getting into the rest of the house via air circulation and keep dust from the pilots if done right.
2. Use the larger area to the left of the new utility room for the bulk of your equipment and sanding, etc.
3. Use the area to the right for wood storage and finishing. You can hang a curtain to help with the dust.

I also think some real dust collection would be better than a shop-vac or similar if you can afford it - the difference has to do with fine particle collection. I put an inexpensive ceiling in my basement that allowed me to seal off the workshop from the rest of the house - insulating also cut down on noise. Photos of what I did here:

http://modernwoodworking.blogspot.com/


-- John