: So what about the fumes?

: I typically build in the winter and in my basement. I have a system
: to ventilate but then I can't control the temperature. So I do
: not ventilate while epoxying. I do where a mask and gloves,
: close doors to the upstairs and tape off return vents, but I'm
: afraid the fumes still travel throughout the house especially
: during the bigger area jobs.

: I too used vinegar. I'll have to change my ways.

To deal with epoxy fumes, I mounted five computer ventilation fans in a piece of plywood sized to fit snugly in a partially opened window in my basement shop. I run the fans with a battery charger which provides the needed 12 volts. The fans suck air out of the shop and keep the pressure in the shop slightly lower than the rest of the house. For epoxying, I seal up the furnace ducts with blocks of foam mattress material, put the plywood fan assembly into the window, turn on the fans, and add some heat from an electric space heater. Using this setup, there is no hint of epoxy smell anywhere else in the house. You could do the same thing with a 120 volt ventilation fan and a piece of ducting, but the computer ventilation fans were cheaper, i.e. free, from the local computer repair shop. They seem to keep used fans that are removed from people's desktops when the old fans are replaced, and the fans are usually still operable. I don't leave the fans in the window because they will allow quite an inward draft of air when they are not turned on, and at the moment, that air here is about -18 degrees C.

For this to work, the basement shop has to be reasonably separate from the rest of the house space, ideally a room separated from the rest of the house by finished walls and a door. And of course, you need a window that opens if you don't want to cut a hole in the wall. The less separate the space, the more powerful the fan required.

Best regards,

Allan Edie