Question: Moving sewing room to basement

[dnmgiordano]

Hi,

We are moving to a house with a basement that isn't finished, its just
cement, but at least its alot more room!

I am going to set up my sewing area down there along with a play area,
anyways, my question is does anybody know of any precautions I should take
with my equipment?

I live in a very dry area, although we have had some rain, there is never a
natural flood, so I shouldnt have to worry about that.

Thanks for any suggestions

Michelle G

[Hanna's Mom]

>I am going to set up my sewing area down there along with a play area,
>anyways, my question is does anybody know of any precautions I should take
>with my equipment?

Should not be a problem . Just make sure it stays dry. Check your
machines and oil and lube as needed. As for the concrete floor, they
tend to be a bit dusty. If possible put down some sort of flooring to
keep the dust to a minimum. Also a mat or fatigue rug near the
ironing board and cutting table will help with leg fatigue and the
promotion of varicose veins. Concrete is very tough on the legs if
your going to be standing for an extended period of time. Otherwise
just enjoy your wealth of space.

[Roger Sollie]

"dnmgiordano" <dnmgi...@nospam.ca> wrote in message
news:1iQzc.728041$Pk3.337496@pd7tw1no...

Good lighting!!!

Kirsten Sollie

[Viviane]

Make sure you have plenty of powerpoints (along with child covers if your
children are young) and good lighting.

"dnmgiordano" <dnmgi...@nospam.ca> wrote in message
news:1iQzc.728041$Pk3.337496@pd7tw1no...

[mamahays]

"dnmgiordano" <dnmgi...@nospam.ca> wrote in message
news:1iQzc.728041$Pk3.337496@pd7tw1no...

I'm in the basement too. Guess where everyone congregates when we have
severe weather? Yep. In my sewing room huddled around the TV to watch the
weather guy. lol

I don't have a window in my sewing room. (we have been finishing the
basement bit by bit so I do have an actual room. Mine is the most finished
of all. The only thing I lack right now is a door because we bought a right
hung door and needed a left hung door. *sigh*) Good lighting is a MUST. I
use the GE Reveal bulbs. I have them in all my light fixtures. I have can
lights in the ceiling above where I have my machines. Those are Reveal
bulbs too, they are made like flood lights. Then there is a center ceiling
fixture. And I have a small flood light that hangs on the shelf above my
ironing board. Do remember that you will need good light at the ironing
board too!

Even a dry basement will have more humidity than you think. Be sure that
you don't use cardboard for storage. I have my fabric in plastic see
through tubs that seal. I have my patterns in metal pattern cabinets that I
got when Wal-Mart remodeled. :) File cabinets work well too. Just don't
put any of your stash in cardboard boxes.

I had concrete floor for a long time. Now I have vinyl tile over a concrete
floor. ;) I didn't want rugs or carpeting in my sewing room. I work
barefoot most of the time. It only takes dropping a pin and getting it
caught at a 45* angle in the carpet, with the point up, once to learn that's
not a good time for bare feet. The only drawback is that foot pedals tend
to wander on concrete or tile floor. So I got some rubber shelf liner and
cut "rugs" for my foot pedals. That works wonderfully well. They don't
wander at all now.

You might want to see about a small fan and a small space heater (not
kerosene, electric. 1. kerosene heaters can be dangerous in the house. 2.
kerosene smells and your fabric will absorb that smell.) Usually unfinished
basements don't have heating/cooling ducts. I missed a lot of sewing time
because it was either too hot or too cold down here. Not any more though.
:)

That's about all I can think of..... OH!! Never ever drop your iron on a
concrete floor. The iron will not do very well after that.

And that's really all I can think of. ;) Enjoy your new space!!!

Sharon

--
---
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of time and just annoys the
pig."

[me]

dnmgiordano wrote:

I would sure be cautious about how much moisture might build up. That
would depend on a lot of things. We have a house that is a reverse
floor plan.........living area, master bedroom, office, and kitchen are
on the top floor. Two bedrooms, garage, and the laundry are on the
bottom in a sort of basement where the cement goes about half way up the
walls in the back and taper to a normal foundation in the front. Clear
as mud? Vinyl windows, 2X6 construction, and good insulation actually
trap the body moisture so running a dehumidifier is a must. YMMV. The
nice thing about it is that it helps warm the place up as well.....or it
may just seem that way because the air is drier.

>
>

[dnmgiordano]

I just wanted to thank everybody for their suggestions.
I already store all my sewing and craft supplies in plastic bins so it looks
like I am doing something right. I will have to make some covers for my
machines though. I had totally forgotten about child covers for the
plugins, so far we havent had a problem with our children, but it is alot
safer since the plugins down there wont be covered with furniture!
My grandmother has been saving her old carpet for a few years now hoping
someone could use it, so she is glad we are moving! I don't think moisture
will be a big problem, I live in Saskatchewan, Canada, and sure we have
winter most of the year, but its dry. When summer comes it gets so hot (up
to 40 celcius or more sometimes), but again its a dry heat. I always wonder
why our igloo's don't melt in the summer????????? (j/k)
I think dust will be a major problem. Hopefully I can keep it down with a
false ceiling made from ropes and some sort of cheap fabric, but I will not
get into the details of how I plan to make that.!
Someone mentioned cutting tables........I need one, and gosh darnit I am
going to get one!
One more issue I would like to address - Pins Dropping on the floor.
Response: Trust me I know..............ouch ouch ouch ouch!

Thanks very much
Michelle G.

[muse9]

Wow, it looks like a lot of us are sewing in the basement! I am just
finishing up a basement sewing room and I love it. Our basement is
unfinished but we have one room walled off and my husband recently added a
ceiling to that room. There is still a concrete floor but I painted that
and it makes a world of difference plus cuts down on the dust. Also I have
to say that is the easiest paint job I've ever done - just roll it on with
an extension handle on the roller.

For light I painted the ceiling a bright white that reflects light well and
painted the walls a cheery yellow that also reflects light. I have a
regular ceiling fixture so I added task lighting where I needed it such as a
good adjustable lamp at the sewing machine. I also added an inexpensive
floor lamp with three adjustable lights that I use for the cutting/ironing
area. I got an old beat up kitchen table and covered the top with batting
and muslin stretched tight and stapled under the edges. I'm now making a
skirt to go around the table so I can hide/store things under it. My
husband added wheels to it making it a better height for cutting and easy to
move around when necessary. I use this table for both ironing and cutting
(adding or removing my cutting mat as needed) For the floor I did get a few
inexpensive, washable throw rugs just to make it a little warmer. On rare
occasions we have had some water in our basement and I learned the hard way
to have small washable rugs - just in case! I have not gone through a
winter yet in this room but I know I will need to add some heat source as it
gets very cold. This is one thing I am not sure about because I tend to be
a little nervous about the possible fire hazards of portable electic
heaters. All in all I am doing this room on a very tight budget and it is
coming out much nicer than I expected in spite of the budget!

Good luck with your sewing room and thanks for asking this question as I am
learning also from all the great answers you've gotten.

Bonnie

--

"dnmgiordano" <dnmgi...@nospam.ca> wrote in message
news:1iQzc.728041$Pk3.337496@pd7tw1no...

[Karen M.]

Mirrors inside the window wells to reflect outside light in and
bounce it around. And a poster that looks like an outdoor scene.
HTH
--Karen M.

[AJ Bennett]

I, too, am in the basement. However, mine is finished. I actually have
two windows in my sewing room and one in my cutting room. I must agree
that lighting in key. I have two pole lamps in my sewing room. One is
by my serger and the other is between one of my sewing machines and the
ironing board. These work great as I can adjust the lamps to make sure
they are shining where I need them. I also use Reveal bulbs.

AJ

[AJ Bennett]

My cutting table is a door on a pair of saw horses. I love it as it is
wide and just the right height for me.

AJ

[Mike Behrent]

Humidity in a basement can be a problem even in a dry area. The temperature
differences coupled with the humidity given off by the body can easily
create a problem. A dehumidifier is cheap insurance. Better safe than sorry.

--
it's easier to run away with your kilt up than with your pants down.
Mike in Wisconsin

"dnmgiordano" <dnmgi...@nospam.ca> wrote in message

news:jbZzc.730681$Pk3.683577@pd7tw1no...

[Emily]

A friend of mine has a door on top of two 2-drawer file cabinets for her
cutting table, which is perfect for her height and she has instant storage
space.
Emily

[CindyP]

Bonnie,

Your sewing room sounds alot like mine, except I have no finished ceilings,
so i really have to keep after the dust. All of my machines have covers and
the sewing tables are dusted every few days. I always cover my projects too.

We occasionally get a little trickle of water on one side of the basement
during heavy rains. I'm vigilant to keep that cleaned up and run a fan when
that happens. I have 4 windows, which are opened and help with keeping
things smelling fresh and keeping it dry. We're getting ready to put a
dehumidifier down there.

Let me tell you though, this weekend we had a torrential downpour. We
received 3 inches of water in an hour on already saturated ground. Even
though we live on a mountain, the water running off the top was too much for
the drain leading to our basement. We stood outside in the pouring rain for
at least an hour, bailing water with buckets to keep the water from entering
the basement. The runoff was running like a river down the steps to our
basement door. Talking about panic.

Fortunately all went well, and though we were soaked to the bone, the
basement was saved, with very little water getting inside. I'm convinced
that if we didn't do that, there'd be 2 feet of water in that room.

I say all this to warn everyone....just because you've never had water or
very little water in your basements, be prepared. It can happen, and happen
quickly. We've had worse downpours and worse floods, but this one seemed to
do more damage. I count myself very fortunate. Alot of people had worse
damage and loss.

And we have rain forcast all this week with flood watches in effect :(

Cindy in soggy, wet WV

[Kaelin]

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 16:21:54 GMT, "Mike Behrent" <beh...@new.rr.com>
wrote:

>Humidity in a basement can be a problem even in a dry area. The temperature
>differences coupled with the humidity given off by the body can easily
>create a problem. A dehumidifier is cheap insurance. Better safe than sorry.

Porbably not in Saskatchewan where my gran kept water on the stove 365
days of the year. Our floor boards had huge gaps in them. Now in
Ontario body moisture might be a huge problem with their humidity but
Sask, you would probably want that type for comfort.

[Mike Behrent]

The thing is you may not have had that kind of problem but with sewing
machines and paper patterns and fabrics it doesn't take much to do damage,
even getting a musty smell in things. Like I said, cheap insurance just in
case.

--
it's easier to run away with your kilt up than with your pants down.
Mike in Wisconsin

"Kaelin" <Iglide.com> wrote in message
news:di21d01kdj0iu5ddj...@4ax.com...

[Joanna]

When I had my sewing in the basement I loved it. So much easier to pick
up those threads that find their way to the floor. The only precautions
I took was I never place anything directly on the floor. Or should I say
I never left anything on the floor. I did a lot of my cutting and some
pinning on the floor and it was great cuz it was such a big area.
Joanna
--
Remove Quilt to reply

[muse9]

CindyP wrote:

> Your sewing room sounds alot like mine, except I have no finished
ceilings,
> so i really have to keep after the dust. All of my machines have covers
and
> the sewing tables are dusted every few days. I always cover my projects
too.

We just finished the ceiling last month when I decided to turn the room into
a sewing room. That was the biggest pain of the whole project because we
used wall-board in order to keep the costs down. My husband and son put the
wallboard up (it is very heavy) and I did the rest of the finishing. It
sounds simple enough to roll a texture coating on and then paint but somehow
it turned into a long drawn-out pain. It looks good now however if I had it
to do over again I would pay a little more and install drop ceiling panels.
Before we added the ceiling we had sheets tacked up on most of the floor
boards on the ceiling (except near the light). It looked a little strange
but it did cut down on the dust.

> We occasionally get a little trickle of water on one side of the basement
> during heavy rains. I'm vigilant to keep that cleaned up and run a fan
when
> that happens. I have 4 windows, which are opened and help with keeping
> things smelling fresh and keeping it dry. We're getting ready to put a
> dehumidifier down there.

That is my fear because we have had several inches of water in our basement
on a couple of occasions. It doesn't happen often but can cause real
problems when it does. We learned the hard way to keep items we store in
the basement in plastic containers on concrete blocks off the floor. In my
sewing room I do not have an area rug because when we had one before and it
flooded it made things much harder to clean up. I've made sure that nothing
valuable is directly on the floor in my sewing room and I have several of
the plastic roll around storage units. If the weather is bad or there are
flood warnings I even pick up the foot pedals to my machines and make sure
everything is unplugged.

> Let me tell you though, this weekend we had a torrential downpour. We
> received 3 inches of water in an hour on already saturated ground. Even
> though we live on a mountain, the water running off the top was too much
for
> the drain leading to our basement. We stood outside in the pouring rain
for
> at least an hour, bailing water with buckets to keep the water from
entering
> the basement. The runoff was running like a river down the steps to our
> basement door. Talking about panic.

What a headache! I'm glad to hear you were able to keep the water out of
your basement. We live in the Midwest and we had flood warnings all weekend
also. We are most likely to have trouble when it has rained heavy for
several days and the ground is so saturated that it has no where else to go.
We have been told that it might help to have a truck load of dirt brought in
and spread around the foundation of the house because the house settles and
that increases the chances of basement flooding.

> Fortunately all went well, and though we were soaked to the bone, the
> basement was saved, with very little water getting inside. I'm convinced
> that if we didn't do that, there'd be 2 feet of water in that room.
>
> I say all this to warn everyone....just because you've never had water or
> very little water in your basements, be prepared. It can happen, and
happen
> quickly. We've had worse downpours and worse floods, but this one seemed
to
> do more damage. I count myself very fortunate. Alot of people had worse
> damage and loss.

I will echo your warnings here. I keep an eye on the weather and stay ready
to move things in my sewing room if necessary. I am thinking about getting
a dehumidifier because it is amazing how much moisture can be in a basement
just in the air and that can cause mold problems.

> And we have rain forcast all this week with flood watches in effect :(

Good luck Cindy - I will be praying that you have no more flooding!

Bonnie

[sewingb...@webtv.net]

Re: Question: Moving sewing room to basement

I left most of the following 2 posts re: basement flooding, as they
present 2 good arguments for installing an automatic sump pump.
The house we lived in had a sub-basement which my Dad used as his
auxiliary tool shop. It, too, was prone to flooding. He dug what was
basically a dry well in one corner, and, in it, installed an automatic
pump with drains/pipes to carry the water outside, away from the
foundation. When ground water rose to a certain level within the well,
the pump kicked on. Worked like a champ, no problems, no tools rusting.
Cea
---
mu...@removespamcomcast.net (muse9)
<CindyP wrote:
<snip>

[muse9]

A sump pump is something we have certainly thought about and need to check
into. I'm not sure how you go about installing one in an all-concrete
basement - but then I really don't know anything about such things. So far
we have only rarely had a couple of inches of water and then when the whole
area was flooding badly. Still it is something to keep in mind.

Bonnie

--
<sewingb...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:20-40D0...@storefull-3117.bay.webtv.net...

[SewStorm]

>I don't have a window in my sewing room. (we have been finishing the
>basement bit by bit so I do have an actual room. Mine is the most finished
>of all.

Time to move then, right, Sharon? LOL

>That's about all I can think of..... OH!! Never ever drop your iron on a
>concrete floor. The iron will not do very well after that.

Excellent advice. I'll have to remember this!

Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

[SewStorm]

>I, too, am in the basement. However, mine is finished. I actually have
>two windows in my sewing room and one in my cutting room. I must agree
>that lighting in key.

And a very light color of paint to reflect and amplify the light. When we
refinished our basement to accommodate my sewing school, I had the walls and
ceiling drywalled and then painted them a very pale off-white (Sherwin Williams
Dover White). And I had can lights set in the ceiling, with the bulbs
protruding. There are a couple high windows, but since there are trees
surrounding the house not a lot of outside light comes in; certainly not enough
to sew by. But the can lights are excellent. Another thing that works really
well as a fill-in is to aim a pole light-type fixture at the ceiling; the
reflection can actually brighten the room considerably.

Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

[djhargrove]

You might consider a rubber mat on the floor under your sewing table, if you
are at all concerned about moisture. I assume your machine is electric. If
it had a component breakdown and it shorted, you could get a shock from the
machine. This would be more likely in an older all metal machine. The mat
would insulate you from ground. While it may not be likely, it is a
possibility and could be unpleasent.

Good luck with the new space. More room is always nice. Don

"dnmgiordano" <dnmgi...@nospam.ca> wrote in message

news:1iQzc.728041$Pk3.337496@pd7tw1no...

[Maraviclin]

"dnmgiordano" <dnmgi...@nospam.ca> wrote in message
news:1iQzc.728041$Pk3.337496@pd7tw1no...

>I, too am a basement sewist. The only thing I can add to all the other
replies I have read is, never store your fabric directly on the floor. I
had laid a bolt of denim on the floor (it is carpeted, unfortunately. Pins
do tend to land with the pointy end up and very well hidden) and after a
couple of weeks, it reeked. My basement is fairly dry, but from spring on,
when there is no heat, the musty smell got to the fabric before I detected
it. A quick wash took care of it though.

Linda

[.]

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 11:36:50 GMT, "mamahays" <mama...@insightbb.com>
wrote:

>I don't have a window in my sewing room. (we have been finishing the
>basement bit by bit so I do have an actual room. Mine is the most finished
>of all. The only thing I lack right now is a door because we bought a right
>hung door and needed a left hung door. *sigh*)

Have you checked to see if the hinges can be removed and "reversed" so
that you end up with a "left hung" door?

[MP Toolman]

Linda, do you run a dehumidifier during the summer? We have commercial grade
carpeting over a commercial grade pad that is impervious to water and moisture
and we have never had our basement smell musty. From April through October we
run a dehumdifier and everything smells as sweet as can be. I love the
carpeting in the basement and haven't found too many pins in my stocking feet.
I try to go over the sewing area with one of those magnets with a broom stick
like handle for a workshop----found up at Home Depot or Lowe's, it works great
for picking up pins and needles. Julie in PA

[Sheila Heinrich]

" I always wonder why our igloo's don't melt in the summer????????? (j/k)"

He he!
Laughs Sheila in Calgary, formerly from the Rosetown, Sk. area.

For the ceiling dust, can you staple vapour barrier plastic to the ceiling/floor joists above? The plastic is cheap at the lumber yard, and any plastic that's left can be used for pattern making. Honest! Use it to trace off the pattern size you want from multi-size patterns.

For the cutting table, a banquet table works great. You can fold it up if you don't need it, or adjust the height by putting it on blocks, or haul it upstairs for those big suppers when the kitchen tale isn't big enough. A [foldup] cardboard cutting surface from Fabricland is cheap and protects your fabric in case you're using a recycled table that might snag the fabric.

I've had a bad pin in the foot experience too, so recommend some lino in your sewing area. Maybe the carpet can go in the play area.

Enjoy your sewing room when you're done.

Sheila

[Maureen Wozniak]

If dampness is a problem you might try a good dehumidifier, Sharon.
That's what I'll have in my basement sewing room. The bonus is that it
will use less electricity than an air conditioner, so I'll be able to
work down there hopefully without one this summer until I can get a
window unit for the basement on sale.

Maureen

The bonus with the dehumidifier is that the plants love the water that
comes out of it. It's sort of distilled. I wouldn't use it in my iron
or give it to the pets, put our plants thrive on it.

[dnmgiordano]

I am glad somebody "got it" (igloo melting) I must be the only person in
canada with a 3 storey igloo!
"Sheila Heinrich" <shei...@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:UV2Bc.813139$oR5.783785@pd7tw3no...

[MP Toolman]

For ceiling dust in our basement I picked up several rolls of the garden weed
barrier fabric. It was the perfect thing for our basement and went up really
easy. We've tried the plastic on the ceiling for Halloween parties and it was
a pain to put up--too slippery. We liked the garden fabric so well we put it
up in the whole basement, not just my sewing room. Pins in the carpeting is
not a problem if I remember to sweep the floor with the magnetic wand I picked
up at Lowe's. It's a heavy duty magnet on about a 3' handle used in workshops
to pick up screws and such--works great in a sewing room as well. Julie

[Karen M.]

Forgot to mention--

a battery-operated doorbell pushbutton for the front door, and a
plug-in chime for the basement. Otherwise UPS et all will knock, ring,
and holler, and you'll miss your deliveries/pick-up.
These items are available at any decent hardware store.

--Karen M.

[MP Toolman]

Irene, yes we just stapled it to the joists--soooo quick & easy! Did I mention
inexpensive as well?! As to the wireless doorbell---another great idea for
that is; we live in a 2 story house and calling my teenage daughter downstairs
when needed was a pain with her stereo going. We installed a wireless
doorbell up in the hallway outside of her door. I have the ding-donger
downstairs with me and it has worked out great to call her down! Julie

[AJ Bennett]

You mean UPS, etc. actually stick around? Mine is usually back in the
truck by the time I can get 40 feet from the family room to the door.
Although I will say that the chime in the basement is not a bad idea.

AJ

[M Soranno]

I stapled flat sheets to the joists in my basement.
I used sheets with a white background and a random floral pattern. The
white background helped to keep the area bright. It was amazing how much
cleaner my area stayed once the sheets were up.
Mary

[Pat]

Instead of a doorbell chime, Don and I got an intercom from Radio Shack that
you just plug into the wall.........one upstairs and one down.........it is
great!!

"AJ Bennett" <grey...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
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