Smoking Room Possibility- Help Me With Considerations

[tarak]

I am trying to talk my wife into letting me use a small, unused storage room in our basement as a smoking room. Its an extremely hard sell- she's a former pulmonary nurse and we have 2 children ages 2 years and 7 months. Heck I'm even debating it in my own mind. So help me sort out some things.
Here's the PROS of the room:
1. Location - basement room near garage- its as far away from our kid's rooms and main living area (upstairs kitchen and living room) as possible

2. Floors is concrete- no carpet to absorb odors.

3. No HVAC- they didn't pull any HVAC into the room so there's no intake or interaction with the duct systems of the house

4. Its only for storage- not giving up space we are using for crucial needs

5. Exhaust Vent- its location by the garage and an external wall would make it fairly easy to install a high quality exhaust fan
Here's the CONS:

1. No window- its a windowless room so no way to vent out smoke or let fresh air in

2. No HVAC! No system to bring in fresh air. Also see #1

3. Small- it a pretty small room- perhaps 12 x 8. I'll be hotboxing it and leading myself down the path of COPD quickly

4. Temp- because of the lack of hvac, it will get a little chilly in the winter. Perfect in summer

5. Hermit-like isolation- down in the corner of the basement, with no window, pretty much puts me hiding under a rock.
My chief concern is, with no window to open- would it create a horrible smelling, dank little room, and would the smoke me so think in there that it would not be enjoyable? Or would a high CFM exhaust take care of it?
I can post some pictures later to give it some context.

 

[zack24]

....I'm glad you do this for enjoyment...
I think you're on the right track with the high CFM exhaust fan. You'll need an intake vent in the door to supply the fresh air- that will pull air in from the basement or garage, and the smoke would exit through the exhaust fan...and you unless you're below grade, you can always put in a window without spending a fortune...

 

[framitz]

As an advocate of smoking in home I think the cons have it! It would be dark dank and depressing. Wait smoke on porch or I garage with door open to the world, Good luck. Shell

 

[tarak]

I just so happen to be below grade.

 

[seacaptain]

I dunno. For me, the cons would outweigh the pros. If I were to ever have an indoor smoking room, a window would be a must have feature.

 

[voorhees]

It's as if you are being punished. :lol:
Seriously, I could not do the cave like room you speak of. A window is a must, along with TV and ventilation.

 

[elbert]

I'll never have children, but suppose one of your kiddos develops breathing problems down the road for some reason, or no reason at all; are you going to want that niggling little voice in the back of your head, should that day come?
Clean house, clean conscience.

 

[warren]

For your consideration: What are you going to smell like after a session in the wee, unventilated room? Even with a pipe for companionship I doubt you will find, after a period of use, that it will be a place you look forward to visiting.
Of course you could hang some pork and beef stripes down there and see how your blends smoke the meat. Ummmmm, smokey latakia flavored pork.

 

[phil67]

No window - no smoking. That, and aside from the fact that it just sounds too damn dank and your clothes will smell like shit and whatever is stored in there that might possibly be of future concern.

 

[tarak]

Well the feedback thus far is seeming pretty united. Sounds like I need to move on to plan B. Or C. Or D.

 

[yaddy306]

Tarak, a 12x8 basement room unhooked from hvac, with an exhaust fan, is exactly what I have, and it's the cat's ass as far as I'm concerned. It's done up with a recliner, nice wallpaper, bookshelf, and vinyl tiles on the concrete floor.
Nobody smells smoke in the house, as the exhaust fan creates a negative pressure that draws fresh air in from the rest of the house. Much preferable to smoking outside in -40, although when weather permits I smoke on the porch.

Go for it!

 

[tarak]

And cat's ass is.....good?

 

[woodsroad]

You can make this a very nice space. A window would be wonderful, but high CFM venting will do the trick. Just move the blower away from the room to keep the noise level down. Think about doing a faux window with a very high output daylight fluorescent fixture recessed in the wall. Make it uber-cozy. It's a small space, so go crzy with mock oriental rugs, wood trim, give it the kind of look of the Club that Condorlover belongs to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXczSof201U

 

[yaddy306]

And cat's ass is.....good?

Yup
High CFM and low sones is the key.

 

[radio807]

My indoor smoking space is my office. I have a double window where I install a removable window fan when smoking, and I keep the other window closed. I keep the door to my office ajar to provide air intake so that air is pulled across the room toward the fan, and then out. My chair is near the window and in the path of the airflow, so the smoke goes right out he window. I keep the fan running for about 15 minutes after I finish my smoke to clear out any remaining smoke and replace the room air with fresh air from the rest of the house. My wife, who is allergic to smoke, can stand right outside my door and not smell anything. With the right arrangement you might be able to work out a similar solution. Keep in mind though, whatever you store in there will eventually pick up a slight smoke smell, even with the best ventilation.

 

[newbroom]

you can always put in a window without spending a fortune...

New South Windows, "we don't stand behind our windows, we stand ON them!"

Ya, cost is relative. Adding a window could involve permits and inspections, or even structural reinforcement.

Highly desirable, yes.

Do you have an attic?

 

[retrogasm]

A proper exhaust fan with an intake supplying your fresh air would ensure that air and particles only ever travel in one direction between your room and the rest of the house. The connecting door is probably already slightly leaky and if that's not enough put your intake through the door, at ground level. You're creating a negative pressure in relation to the rest of the house which means your family wont be in contact with whatever fumes you let off in your smoking room.
I don't see any cons.

 

[tarak]

Resale/lingering odors is a consideration. We don't plan to be in this house very long.

 

[anchovyd]

12 x 8 is not a bad size, you could easily turn that space into something awesome. Don't worry about the lack of a window, all you need to do is put in a good quiet high flow exhaust fan to suck the conditioned air from the house into your smoke room and blow the smoke air into the great outdoors. You need ventilation. Hotboxing it would be a miseable experience.

 

[ejames]

I think you're on the right track with the high CFM exhaust fan. You'll need an intake vent in the door to supply the fresh air- that will pull air in from the basement or garage, and the smoke would exit through the exhaust fan..

I agree,that should work. You could even run that exhaust vent out through a garage wall and with a vent in the door or wall as Zack suggested there room should get plenty of ventilation and stay cool. Install some good lighting and a TV if wanted. They make them wireless now you know,but it's not hard to run a cable to it if needed. I ran an Cat. 5 cable from my upstairs computer room down to my basement shop so I could use an old computer down there,although I have since went to a tablet with wifi. Some books shelves,appropriate decorations on the wall and maybe a work area set up to maintain/clean your pipes. Don't need no stinking window!!