Garages, sheds and workshops can often have poor air quality due to a build up of carbon monoxide, particles or fumes. Inadequate ventilation in these sorts of areas, particularly when working with working with chemicals or power tools, can lead to illness or even death. To create a safe, pleasant environment for maintenance tasks or hobby activity, you need to ensure adequate ventilation.
How to ventilate garages, sheds, and workshops
Confined work areas where chemical fumes or particles (like sawdust or fibreglass) are likely to enter the air should be fitted with an effective mechanical exhaust system. Natural ventilators (except for the garage door itself) in most cases don’t offer adequate ventilation of noxious gases. In fact, depending on what sort of chemicals you store in your garage, you may be required by law to have special ventilation and storage systems.
How much ventilation do I need?
As a base level, your fan needs to be able to move one cubic metre of air per minute for every 4.5 square metres of floor you have. This is just a base; if you’re adding dust or fumes into the space, you’ll need to be moving more air.
For more information on exhaust fans, read this article.
