Sheet of plastic as a divider…fire danger??
troutguy
| Posted in General Discussion on
Woodworkers,
I’m preparing my wood shop in a 3 car garage and one garage bay will be sectioned off with plastic from floor to ceiling. Is this a potential fire hazard, because of dust eventually accumulating on the sheet of plastic and due to static electricity or other factors igniting a fire?
Of course I plan to keep the shop fairly clean and have a dust collection system but there’s always some wood dust buildup. Thanks in advance!
Replies
Prolly not the answer you want, but I’d frame and drywall it. Now you have everything the plastic would do with the added benefits of wall storage and better dust and noise mitigation. Overall, plastic is not going to hold up well in a garage wood shop.
We just spent several years and a truckload of money building this new house and I can't imagine framing a new wall, drywalling and painting the wall. It would need a new door too. Yes, it's likely the best solution and would help with dust (and sound reduction) but I can't face it, ha ha.
There are anti static sprays or ionizing blowers or even water( like maybe even a humidifier) to reduce the static cling. There are also systems for temporary floor to ceiling plastic curtains. Contractors use these often to protect areas in buildings from areas where they are producing a lot of dust...and by the way a busy construction site can produce lots and lots of dust. Its bad form for contractors to burn down buildings they are working on. If a contractor is working on a building and there was a fire caused by anything , up to and including lightning, they will get the blame and they know it! If dust clinging to plastic curtains were a potential fire hazard they would not be doing it!
Good ideas! I'm looking into industrial low-flammability curtains. There appear to be some here that might work; I'll keep searching for others...https://www.curtain-and-divider.com/product/woodworking-curtains/
Plastic sheets are pretty flammable on their own. Are you thinking of an explosion hazard as in dust in the air?
Yes, I'm imagining a buildup of dust in the air AND on the plastic. This is a very dry spot (9400 ft. elevation) in the Rockies with low humidity.
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Have you thought about using fabric instead? Fabric has the advantage of being less staticy. 40d or 20d materials are available - amazon - that could be joined together to make the size you would need. More cost and more work (but it's not framing ;-). Water Repellent Windproof Dustproof Airtight PU Coating.
You can also get fire retardent fabric tarps from Amazon and other places. If you think you are going to generate that much dust, for your own health, you should look into dust collection, air filtration and at the very least a very good quality respirator.
If this is a fire hazard, then everything made of plastic in the wood shop is a fire hazard.
I think gulfstar's heading in the right direction here. If you are allowing enough dust to accumulate to represent a fire hazard on vertical plastic sheeting, it's accumulating on other flammable surfaces as well. I think the answer is to have a good dust collection and cleaning routine which is advantageous for a variety of reasons in addition to the issue you are asking about. I use a combination of central dust collection, overhead air filter unit, shopvac, and broom. For vertical and difficult to reach surfaces, I'll use a jet nozzle with my pancake air compressor while running the overhead filter unit. During all of these operations, I have a simple face mask in place. None of these is perfect on its own, but as part of a regular routine would, I believe, resolve your issue and make the shop a healthier more enjoyable space. The amount of residual dust from static cling would be negligible.
The giant yellow eye shields next to each welding station are made of plastic and welding and grinding sparks hit those all the time. So the big question is what kind of plastic? And what are those shield made out of? My question to you: is this temporary? Are you planning on replacing it with a wall or?? Unless it well sealed it will not stop the dust. Good luck.
Looked it up. "Welding curtain."
"DURABLE - PVC material resists tearing; Flame, mildew, and water resistant."
The way it works with plastics is the fire rating, it’s simple as there are only two commonly used ratings, it either says UL94 or UL94-VO. The first rating applies to plastics that will burn and drip and the VO will self extinguish. I know this is more complex but for a quick reference, look for the V0 rating. In either case I can’t think of a fire hazard coming from static electricity build-up on a plastic film.
No, this is not a fire hazard. Don't overthink things.
Just don't do it.
Whoever parks their car there will soon get fed up of it being covered in dust and leave it outside where it belongs, so you will then have more workshop space.
See - pragmatic solutions win every time!
You might first want to check with your building inspector about codes re: the fire resistance of materials used and the design of an interior wall in a garage, but IMO, the cost and time to erect a simple 22' - 24' long stud wall with either drywall, plywood or T1-11 sheathing on one side of the studs, is not that great. After you buy the materials, it's a one weekend job for most DIY'ers. As others have pointed out, it will do a much better job of controlling dust, it won't move about when the wind blows or you turn on air-moving equipment, and it gives you a place to hang items, eventually mount storage shelves or cabinets, etc.
A cheap hollow core passage door would be a nice addition, but if it's the outside stall of a three-car garage it already has one that leads to the outside in case the overhead door fails.
How were you planning to hang the plastic sheets from the ceiling and weight them down on the floor so they don't just blow around? 2x4's?