If you plan to do welding in your garage, safety needs to be your number one concern. Welding generates a lot of sparks and fumes, and in addition to removing combustibles and stocking your garage with a few fire extinguishers, you may want to make a safety modifications to your garage door. Whether you are designing a new garage and shopping for new garage doors or trying to modify your existing space, here are some features to keep in mind:
1. Lots of light from windows
The light in some garages can make it hard to see what you are welding. In addition to hanging lights over your workspace, you may also want to boost the levels of natural light in your garage. Garage doors with lots of windows can help. Having ample amounts of lights also helps to boost your safety because it makes it easier to see what you are doing, reducing the chances of mistakes.
2. Garage door windows that open
Ventilation is also key for your safety whilst welding, and to ensure that you have ample amounts of fresh air coming into your space and that dangerous fumes can exit the space, you may want to consider a garage door with windows that open. While the windows on traditional garage doors don't open, you can find fiberglass or steel frame garage doors with windows that open.
Typically, these windows swing out from the top and have a locking mechanism at the bottom, and they can have screens if you have a lot of insects in your area. If you are not in the market for a new garage door, talk with a garage door expert about adding openable windows to one of the panels in your existing garage door.
3. Garage door screens
If you aren't interested in buying a new garage door with opening and closing windows, you may just want to keep your garage door open while you work. This is particularly important if you are doing really smokey welding such as stick arc welding. Unfortunately, however, working with the door open minimises your privacy, and it allows leaves or other combustible debris to blow into your work area.
To prevent this, consider investing in a garage door screen. These screens are easy to install on your own, and they fill the open space that's created when your garage door is open. Ideally, you want a screen that is weighted at the bottom so that it doesn't flap open in the wind, and in case a spark hits the screen, you also want it to be made of metal mesh heat-resistant material.
4. Fire-resistant garage door materials or welding curtains
If you opt to work with the garage door closed, you need to ensure that the garage door is not likely to catch on fire easily. Fiberglass and metal doors work best in this situation, and you may want to stay away from wood garage doors. However, if you already have traditional wooden carriage doors, you may want to invest in a welding curtain. With the curtain, you have a few different options.
If you are working with the garage door closed, you can hang the welding curtain over it to protect it from heat and sparks. Alternatively, if you have the door open, consider creating a frame around the door using PVC pipe suspended from the ceiling. Then, hang the welding curtain from the frame so that it protects the wooden garage door from sparks. Alternatively, you can just position a number of welding screens around you to create a safe workspace that sparks cannot escape from.
Welding can be a fun and useful hobby, but you need to take the proper safety precautions if you are welding in your garage. Want to make sure your garage doors are safe? Contact an installation and repair company like Best Doors.
