Starting Over

[tohellwithuga]

I was in the process of finishing my basement (home office, guest bedroom, kitchenette, game/media room) when I found mold on some sheetrock I was about to install. I started looking around and found it under my stairs, all over a couple couches (left), and covering the under side of my shelves in my workshop (right).



I had finally finished my HVAC system and started it up a couple months ago. I guess I got lazy thinking that the new HVAC system would keep the basement dry, and hadn't been monitoring the humidity. Well, with all the rain that we have been having here in GA lately, my basement had apparently been hovering between 70-80% humidity. Even though I had been keeping the temperatures right, the other two components for mold growth (humidity and 'food') were present (I also have WAY too much crap in my shop, especially after adding my dad's tools).

So, fast forward a few days, and I have purchased 2 dehumidifiers (which are in extremely short supply around here right now, btw) and a mold fogger. I have the humidity down to 40-45%, and have blasted my entire basement with Concrobium. All visible mold has been removed from all the studs/stairs/etc. Woo hoo!

Unfortunately, I had to get rid of all of my shelves (well, the actual 'shelf' parts that were particle board - twenty 2'x4' shelves - any suggestions for better replacements are appreciated), and I may have to part with my 8' bench, as it has a good bit of mold, too.

At this point, almost everything has been moved out of my workshop, and I have promised myself that I will be diligent about what gets moved back in. I have decided to finally paint my workshop floor to make it easier to clean, so that will be the next task (starting tomorrow).

Next (and the reason for this post), is that I thought I would take this chance to rethink (or, think about for the first time) my shop layout, and see how I could improve things as I moved stuff back in. I would appreciate any thoughts/opinions.

My shop is basically 20'x20'. The back wall (SE) is concrete, which was covered with my shelves (which is where most of the mold was). The NE wall has a lumber rack and my makeshift bench (which, as I mentioned, may be going), and a set of plastic shelves with some temporary small wood storage. The NW wall has a set of double doors that I added, and the original single door. For good or bad (mostly bad), I usually ended up with my miter saw (12" Bosch on a MSUV stand) in front of the double doors, which I would fold up and put in the space between the doors when not in use. The SW wall has a utility sink , the door to the rest of the basement, a subpanel, and a metal bench. I kept my BT3 table saw somewhere in the middle of the room, depending on the project.

I also have a dust collector, bench drill press, bench band saw, and hand and power tools (routers/bits, circular saws, drills, nailers, lots of construction related tools as that's been about all I've been able to work on the past decade).

I know I could arrange this much better, it's just kind of where things have landed. With surprise twins, the death of 2 parents (MIL and father), homeschooling, and everything else life has thrown at us, shop layout hasn't exactly been a priority. I would like to make it one (or, at least more of one).

Thoughts?

[wardprobst]

My sympathy for your personal losses and the mold problem, I know what they are like. We use wire shelving in both our shops though we still have some traditional shelving in one of them. The wire shelving allows dust and some light to pass on through is light, strong and flexible. If you are loading heavy stuff there is a heavy duty version. We have some rolling wire shelves also as well. The only thing we've found that works as well for storage are the Gladiator cabinets and lockers. You can make the equivalent out of wood but fire safety is a big thing here and metal wins for that.
Hope this helps,
DP

[tohellwithuga]

Thanks wardprobst.

So, here are the shelves. The metal part is fine, but I got rid of all of the particle board shelves. I hate to just throw out / sell the metal frames and buy different ones, but I do like the idea of the open wire shelves. What are my other/best options for shelving material if I wanted to try to reuse these shelves?

[cwsmith]

My shop is also in my basement, and here in NY's Southern Tier we do have some terrible humidity.

Here at the newest residence I keep a humidifier running on days when I notice the humidity getting up above 70%, and that drops the humidity down to about 55% at the "normal" setting. No mold or mildew at that point.

Except for project stock, I don't keep a lot of wood just laying around and what I do have doesn't present a problem. I do keep a humigraph in the shop and check it often, turning on the dehumidifier as needed.

PAINT seems to be the best shield against mold, as most have some kind of anti-mold agent in thier formula. That would be good for the underside of benches and/or on shelving.

Addition: You posted your pictures while I was writing this post. I now see what you mean. Nice shelving, and if you really like them (as I certainly would), I think I would simply take all of the particle board outside, mix a bucket of water and bleach and wipe them all down, then paint them with something like BIN or other anti-mildew/mold paint. Then I'd roller-paint a good latex acylic gloss or semi gloss, covering both sides and the edges. Unless these shelving boards are damaged, they can be saved without an awful lot of labor.

The other thing that I just noticed and might want to correct is that the steel legs are sitting directly on the concrete floor... if there is any chance of moisture coming from there (or accumulating there), I'd place some kind of thin barrier under the legs. In my basement shop I use Dri-Core 2 x 2 plywood/PVC barrier blocks as flooring; and, where I have my lumber rack sitting directly on concrete, I have scaps of fiberglass wall panels (you know, that beaded surface stuff they use in commercial bathrooms and labs)... that keeps those wooden pieces from absorbing any of the seepage during the heavy spring rains.


I hope this is helpful,

CWS

[tohellwithuga]

Thanks cwsmith. I already chucked the shelves, as I decided cleanup just wasn't worth it (maybe I should have tried a little harder, but got pretty tired of it after doing just a couple). Here is one of the bottom shelves:



The bottom shelf was one rung above the floor already. Since they are adjustable, I was probably going to raise the bottom shelf a couple rungs on all of them.

Painting is a good idea. I also thought maybe the white melamine shelves would be pretty mold resistant, but that may get expensive, not sure.

[woodturner]

I already chucked the shelves, as I decided cleanup just wasn't worth it (maybe I should have tried a little harder, but got pretty tired of it after doing just a couple).
...
Painting is a good idea. I also thought maybe the white melamine shelves would be pretty mold resistant, but that may get expensive, not sure.

Those are similar to the shelves I have in my basement shop. I get the white "efflourescene" from the partical board, too, but it wipes off fairly easily and doesn't seem to cause a problem.

As a point of reference, only a few species of black mold are harmful, mold is otherwise basically harmless.

If you are really concerned about mold, you could make the shelves from PVC such as Azek. Shop around for a good trade supplier - they will really gouge you for it at the box stores, if you can even find the 4x8 sheets.

[tohellwithuga]

Thanks woodturner. I have corrected the humidity problem, so I'm not as worried about mold as I was originally. I just figured it would be better to get rid of the shelves all together. I could still dig them back out of the trash and try to clean them again I guess. Might be easier than anything else (certainly cheaper).

[Cochese]

I will have to check my shop for mold as well, considering I have no climate controls. The rain has been biblical this year.

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[Stytooner]

In the past two months, we may have had two or three days that it didn't rain here as well. I mean gully washers too. Not just typical afternoon summertime showers we typically get. Swamp plants are starting to come up in my yard.
There are parts of my yard that has went back to nature. Typically wet areas have no chance to dry out. I'll probably wind up burning that off rather than trying to cut it. We have the first spot of sunshine today that I have seen in about 5 days.
I think it's time to plant some mangos, bread fruit, bananas and coconuts. Rice would do well too.

[tohellwithuga]

So, this paint that I have (Rustoleum Epoxy Shield) is actually the garage paint, not the basement paint. It's just what I already have, though (picked up on clearance somewhere). Is there any reason that I can't use the garage paint in my basement? I tried to find some info on this, but I'm not sure.

[Stytooner]

As long as it's fairly dry concrete and not getting moisture from below, I don't think it would matter. Same with a garage. It may not work right if you have wicking through the concrete.

[tohellwithuga]

I'm actually second guessing the decision to paint the floors right now. I just don't know if it's worth the work, time, fumes, etc. Plus, my wife is showing me stuff that says that mold actually feeds on paint.

Everything is removed from the workshop right now, and this is probably going to be my one and only chance to do this if I'm going to do it. Someone convince me one way or the other

[wardprobst]

We've got some of those same units you have, we plan to replace the mdf with extruded metal if we keep them.
Painting the floor with garage paint is a great way to cut the concrete dust. With your moisture, you may have to seal it well first.
Good luck,
DP

[chopnhack]

Congrats on the twins and sorry for your loss. Sounds like an emotional roller coaster! The shop can be a sanctuary in trying times, something to think about to get your mind off of things..

As for the shelves, I have a similar if not the same unit. I would just use plywood in place of the old mdf. Much stronger and greater capacity to load. Prime it on both sides with some Kilz and you should be good to go

Skip the Azek, I am a little surprised to see that recommendation coming from an engineer... Azek is pvc and is not meant to be used in load bearing situations. It is only a trim material and can be used to span (in vertical application) as long as it is fastened every 16" in certain applications. Not shelf material.

[tohellwithuga]

Thanks, wardprobst. Did you have a source for the extruded metal you would be using for the shelves?

Still debating the floor, but I can't debate too long, as I've got to get everything cleaned up and put back inside soon. The etching process is going to be annoying, since I can't just spray it off out the door like you can in a garage (would have to clean up with a wet dry vac, probably multiple times). Plus I have some cracks and divots (or whatever you call them on concrete) that I don't really want/have time to fix right now, so I'm not sure how the paint is going to do over them.

I honestly don't think the floor has much moisture. There wasn't a bit of mold or hint of moisture on the floor after everything was moved. It was just on the porous wood like the plywood on my bench and particle board on my shelves. I think if I stay on top of the humidity with dehumidifiers I should be ok.