Ventilating a finishing room

[John Branam]

I am going to convert a small room in my basement, that is just off my shop space, to a dedicated finishing room. The room is located under my front porch has concrete walls and has a window that is close to the ceiling and is about 30"x24" . I want to use that as my ventilation point but my concerns are keeping it weather proof (keep cold out in winer, heat out in summer)? Has anyone done something simular to this before?

[Chris Fite]

What I have done is to build an insulated frame that fits over the opening to insulate it when not needed. In the case of a window, you might make one that fits inside the interior frame and has a lip that extends over the casing to seal tight and provide a place for fasteners.

Hope this helps.

[Michael Ballent]

If you set up a fan to exhaust the fumes you will need to make sure that the motor is rated to handle flamable fumes (I think it's called sometime like explosion proof or something like that). The other option is to create positive pressure in the room where clean air is pumped into the room and the fumes are pushed out of the finishing area. Also you may want to consider using water based finishes since they are not flammable. Last thing you want to do is to have a fire because you did not ventilate the area properly.

[Kevin Post]

One other thing to consider is make-up air for the air you'll exhaust out the window.

This presents a safety issue when your house is buttoned up tight in the winter or hot days in the summer. The air you blow out the window needs to come from somewhere. Newer homes are sometimes so air-tight that air can only be sucked in through vents that normally exhaust combustion gases from water heaters and other gas appliances. Instead of the CO going out through the vents where it's supposed to go, you'll be sucking air in through that hole and prevent those gases from venting properly.

The simple solution is to open another nearby window when your fan is running. So much for keeping the hot and cold out. :rolleyes:

-Kevin