We established some goals for unpacking our belongings and finishing three improvements to the house when we moved in back in September. I also set some personal timelines for having my hobby space set up. We got unpacked pretty quick, and we’re only a few weeks behind with the home improvements. The good news is that today I finished setting up my workspace, and I’m about five weeks ahead of schedule.
I’m pleased that some of my projects have been moved forward as a result of having my workbench in place, but over the past weeks my paint booth has been quietly nagging at me as it sat with junk piled in its gaping maw. With all the necessary parts in place, it was time to get it running again.
The first order of business was getting a dryer vent installed into the side of the house. Actually, I had that done by the guy who installed the central air, three days after we moved in, so step one was as easy as writing a cheque. The rest of the repair and setup was much more time consuming, mostly because it involved actually doing the work, rather than paying someone else.
Due to a burned out blower and a lack of space, my paint booth had been idle for years. A few trips to the local industrial supply wholesaler netted a 105 CFM blower that seemed up to the task of exhausting the fumes from the booth.

After I scratched my head and consulted some friends, I was able to devise a way to attach 4″ dryer vent to the rectangular exhaust duct on the blower. I cut a rectangular hole in a 4″ duct cap, bent back the edges and taped it in with proper metal duct tape. Then I made a paper template and cut a piece of 3/4″ plywood to serve as a baffle board, and to move the blower far enough away from the back of the paint booth to clear the flange on the exhaust duct. I attached the fan to the plywood with countersunk machine screws.

Here’s the back of the paint booth without a blower attached:

I used bolts to hold the baffle board to the back of the paint booth, and then got out the tin snips to fit some 4″ duct between the blower and the dryer vent. Here’s a spooky pic of the paint booth hooked up and running:

Here’s a shot of my whole workspace (ignore the mess on the workbench):
What you can’t see is the compressed air supply line. I ran a metal pipe through the wall between the garage and the utility room. On the basement side of the pipe, I attached a flexible air line that I ran along the ceiling to the paint booth. I’ll attach my filter, moisture trap, and regulator on this end. On the garage side of the wall, I put a quick-connect to attach the compressor.
I’m about ready to start painting again!