Needing advice on hobby room

If you are doing any spraying, keep the a/b booth.

Acrylics aren't as nose-insulting as laquer/cellulose/enamels, but are still a health hazard, & definately not good to breathe.

Invest in a mask capable with dealing with VOC's (Volotile Organic Compounds) & you'll be covered for all spray needs.

I have seen a mobile spray booth made out of one of those large transparent storage boxes blogged somewhere, usefull as a top to keep dust off drying parts.

That way you could also move booth to window for natural light to spray.

Looks cozy, Hans.

Hutch

This was my bench when it was in the Living Room of the one-BR apartment we first lived in..

My side, Above

Wifey's viewpoint from love seat

Display and coputer area, with computer dutifully tuned into FSM:

Display area, with WIPs and storage of stash, cont.:

Here is my two cents worth.  I do not have the luxury of very much space so I had to condense as much as possible.  What I did was build a paint booth that is also my workbench.  It is a box that is open on one side.  The dimensions are 2' tall, 2' deep, and 4' wide.  I installed a bathroom vent in the top (that also has lights) with a hose running to the window.  I made an insert that fits into the storm window track out of wood with an exhaust vent attached.

At the top I installed a switch for the exhaust fan and light.  I also lined the inside with aluminum foil to help increase the efficiency of the light.  I mounted the entire box on top of a small table.  Then with all of the wall space I could take advantage of I put small shelves to hold paint.  Also, I used nails to hang tools on.

My computer sits in the corner right next to my bench which is very handy to do research and find photographs to use for references.

In all, I have about 5' x 8' of space.  But you work with what you got.  I like having the workbench as the paint booth because it also is handy if I am using other chemicals such as glue, acetone, Future, alcohol, epoxy, etc.  Whenever I am using anything toxic, I can just flip the switch for the fan.

Ken

The height of your bench depends on how you prefer to work, it you work sitting down, something around 30 - 32 inches from the floor to the top of you work surface, depending on the chair you use. And leave a bit of a over hang so you can wheel up under the edge of the work top. Average table height runs around 31 inches.

If you stand more than sit, take a quick measurement from just below your elbow to the floor, that will give your a workbench height where you can simply walk right up to the bench, and with you arms bent at the elbow in front of you, they will lay in  a natural position right at bench height.

You may find a combination of the two heights ideal, if you are one for long building sessions, then you can stand for a bit, or sit for a bit, to give yourself a bit of a break from either position.

modelbuilder

Considered moving the booth into my laundry room and adding a Y to the dryer vent exhaust. Ive heard this can be dangerous though. Hutch can you provide a pic or exact name of the exhaust device? If I could figure out a way to incorporated the booth into my cabinets and be able to just hookup exhaust when I paint would be ideal. Also have any of you ever used the "model dryers" that are available? Ive seen them in several videos from Japan. Think I have a pretty good idea of how I want to do it. I am thinking of buying some base cabinets from Home Depot and putting them in a u shape at one end of the room with spces everyone so often to pull a chair up. The top I am considering making myself out of 3/4" birch or sandply ply wood and trim it in oak. No covering just a good heavy coat of varnish or stain. Then place a few upper cabinets on this in certain locations, peg board at the primary building area. At home depot you can buy workbench power strips so gonna get a few of those. At the other end I am thinking of doing several curio style display cases. I just prefer the models be behind glass. Still uncertain about lighting. What do you guys consider the optimum working height for a bench?

See attachment for the window:

http://74.6.117.48/search/srpcache?ei=UTF-8&p=dryer+window+exhaust&fr=yff40c&u=http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=dryer+window+exhaust&d=4606172330657196&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=fb248a9e,bc3011f4&icp=1&.intl=us&sig=KdFlI9wB_k_acA8rLX0GzA--

If you are going to run it through a cabinet, you may want to install a separate exhaust like you would for another dryer.  Also, I hope your dryer is not gas, as you have potential for igniting paint fumes.

Let me know if this helps.

Hutch

Considered moving the booth into my laundry room and adding a Y to the dryer vent exhaust. Ive heard this can be dangerous though. Hutch can you provide a pic or exact name of the exhaust device? If I could figure out a way to incorporated the booth into my cabinets and be able to just hookup exhaust when I paint would be ideal. Also have any of you ever used the "model dryers" that are available? Ive seen them in several videos from Japan. Think I have a pretty good idea of how I want to do it. I am thinking of buying some base cabinets from Home Depot and putting them in a u shape at one end of the room with spces everyone so often to pull a chair up. The top I am considering making myself out of 3/4" birch or sandply ply wood and trim it in oak. No covering just a good heavy coat of varnish or stain. Then place a few upper cabinets on this in certain locations, peg board at the primary building area. At home depot you can buy workbench power strips so gonna get a few of those. At the other end I am thinking of doing several curio style display cases. I just prefer the models be behind glass. Still uncertain about lighting. What do you guys consider the optimum working height for a bench?

I have only one window in my hobby room.  To vent fumes, I purchased a pretty cool do-dad that is designed to vent dryer exhaust.  It fits right in any window and the sides expand to accommodate and you lower the window to secure it.  Very easy and inexpensive.

I suspect you will regret getting rid of the paint booth.  Even though you will shoot acrylic, I still don't like breathing in that stuff.

Hutch

Sticking a box-fan in the window, reversed, as an exhaust would work too...

That's a nice amount of space to work with, not unlike my own hobby heaven attic which has the approximate same dimensions.

Like you i have only one window uphere, 1 by 1 foot... and the spraying is my biggest problem here, not the space.

Since i am using acrylics 99 out of a hundred times and dont have any venting system i solved the problem by just opening windows in the room and the one on the walkway outside whenever i spray. Never been a problem for me altough as a precaution i do go do something else for a bit after spraying in another room so the fumes if there are any will clear out.

Why not just stick the hose outside the window whenever you are spraying? I mean, you wont be spraying all the time....right? But the ideal solution would be a hole in the outside wall for it.

Subhuman1

I don't know that I would want to give up the spray booth, you are still going to have to deal with the paint fumes and such, but I can understand not wanting to loose part of the window, to making room for the exhaust hose, might be an idea to re-think keeping the spray booth, and having a vent pipe run through the wall to vent the booth.

I know I would not want to loose a spray booth. I mean a 15 x 15 room dedicated for modeling is a nice luxury most of us will never have, I would think there would be some way to squeeze it in there some how.

Not really a question of needing more room just a question of how often will it be used.

In my last place I put my bench and computer desk in an "L"-shape (to be able to use the computer monitor to show a particular detail photo)inside the closet, thus opening the maximum amount of floor space.. Same thing with the display shelves vs the cabinets, to keep max-floor space..  Can't really recommend any for the War Room.. Living room, yes.. Household Six has no issues with my dioramas in the living room... I just can't invade HER space with them.. I get two walls, the one behind the couch, and the one behind the TV.. She gets the other two for her pictures, her cross-stitch projects, and the kid's portraits... She also gets ALL the walls in the bedroom.. Fair is Fair..

Cabinets that go all the way to floor are ok for grocery stores, but not model-displays, IMHO..  The shelving is quite utilitarian, and not something you'd notice, which is the effect I want... I want folks to have their eyes drawn t' the models, not the furniture...  Models that are displayed anywhere below waist-height are seldom looked at unless one is sitting, the way I sit, anyway..

I'm probably unique in that way though, since I don't care about the looks of the furniture, and I'm also 6'2", so "eye-level" for me is a little high for most guests I have in there... But I got shelves for the "little people too.. I start at about counter-top height, and go up to 6'6" off the floor..

If the closet would have been wider, I'd have used the "U"-shaped bench area too, but it wasn't do i didn't... As it was, it had a ceiling light too, and I added a shop-light to it.. Didn't have a paint-booth, don't believe in 'em... So I'd say  lose it, but that's just me..They too just take up floor-space IMHO... Just the Lazy Susan, which was actually a CD/DVD rack... I don't have an issue with overspray, with the exception of rattle-cans, and there's no paint-booth I'd care t' use, since they'd need to be pretty big to handle the spraying positions and angles... There isn't enough overspray from an airbrush to matter, as far as i'm concerned..  Plus, I like the smell of laquers and enamels too...

Unbuilt Kit storage was the top shelf in the closet, and those kits were stacked up to about 8 foot... Also, I had kits stacked form the floor to the ceiling in other areas...

In the end, it's all about peronal space, and about how you utilize it... No matter what I plan out, no matter how efficiently I plan the work space, it's never enough,lol..  I once had an eight-foot long bench with a chaor that slid on rails like a library ladder its entire length, and I still managed to have completely full of projects... The more space I had, the more stuff I could work on at once, lol..

I don't know that I would want to give up the spray booth, you are still going to have to deal with the paint fumes and such, but I can understand not wanting to loose part of the window, to making room for the exhaust hose, might be an idea to re-think keeping the spray booth, and having a vent pipe run through the wall to vent the booth.

I know I would not want to loose a spray booth. I mean a 15 x 15 room dedicated for modeling is a nice luxury most of us will never have, I would think there would be some way to squeeze it in there some how.

Thanks guys. I should clarify a little. I do have a whole room to build in. Its roughly 15' by 15' with a huge walk in closet. Only has one window though. That was an over sight on my part. Should have told our contractor to add another when building it. We lost our old house to a very large oak tree during a wind storm. I like the idea of a U shaped building area. I am debating on getting rid of my spray booth as I am planning on painting with acrylics as much as I can. Not sure if they offer a lot pof automotive colors in acrylic. Was thinking of some cabinets for storage at the bench. What are your thaughts? Think I may go with several large display cases. Any recommendations?

Hans von Hammer

"She Who Must Be Obeyed"

IE: Wifey...

However, I've found it better for me to get a new "SWMBO" than to keep her around if gets in my way with hobbies... The first three didn't get the memo..

That's why I got back into model building back in '95...it was cheaper to build models than to rent a chipper!!    She and I didn't make it; but the one I have now is an ardent supporter of my model habit!  She's even been to a couple contests!! 

Cadet Chuck

(What's an "SWMBO" ?)

"She Who Must Be Obeyed"

IE: Wifey...

Oh yeah.. One more thing... Power.. Need at least ten outlets or enoght outlets to plug in two power strips... If you can have the basement, then take the WHOLE thing...

Basement, big windows to ventilate, and three workbenches or tables arranged in a "U" formation, shelves, pegboards etc all around it.  Works good for me!

(What's an "SWMBO" ?)

One that has it's own climate control, has adequate storage space (and display space), and is big enough to accomodate two workbenches... Or one and a desk.  Or one bench, a desk (with computer), and a chest of drawers/dresser and light, lots of light, both natural and artificial..  Walls in front of the bench to hold paints, tools, and spare parts bins, and plenty of space to add more, for the less-used, but still needed stuff, and a place for a "lazy-susan"-type airbrush/rattle-can paint station/cleaning area..

I also refrain from display cabinates, because I feel they have too big a "footprint", preferring instead to use wall-mounted shelving, since that's not locked into any one width...   I used a couple old hollow-doors for shelving as well, mounting it to the wall and use the space under it for storage. They're wide enough for the two B-29 dioramas, and long enough for two, plus a B-17 and B-24 diorama, and several smaller ones in the 12 x 12-inch range.

I like to have room to be building at least 5 kits at once, too.. 10 would be better, but let's keep it real, right?

What I did in one of my spare bedrooms was go to Home Depot and bought a couple lengths of kitchen counter-top on clearance then used a couple deck railing posts for the legs.  My wife at the time had one side of the room for her scrapbooking junk and I had one side for my model stuff.  We could have "together time" and "alone time" at the same time.

Any damn room you can get!, and do it quickly before SWMBO changes her mind!!! run man run!!!