How to Build a Ventilated Paint Booth

Stand three sheets of drywall on end. This will make a three-sided booth. Use duct tape to tape the sheets together where they meet. Cut a piece to fit on top of the sheets for a ceiling to your booth, and cut an identical piece to make a floor. Duct tape these in place, making sure to seal all places where the drywall meets.

Cut a hole in the center back panel of your booth. Use a keyhole saw to cut this hole. Make it the exact size of your air-conditioner filter. Use the filter as a template to trace around with a marker so you will know where to cut. Squeeze the filter into the hole. It may crumple a bit but that won’t make it ineffective. Make sure all the edges fit tightly.

Make a cardboard funnel that is the size of your filter at one end and the size of your dryer ventilation hose at the other. You can tape the edges to keep the cardboard from unfolding. Go around the back of your booth and tape the large end of your cardboard funnel to the edges of the opening you cut for the filter. Tape the smaller end to the end of your dryer ventilation hose.

Make another cardboard funnel identical to the first one. Tape the small end to the open end of the dryer ventilation hose and tape the larger end to your box fan. The result should be a sealed tunnel from your booth to the fan, with a cardboard funnel at each end of the dryer ventilation hose. Seal all leaks with tape.

Turn on the fan. Go into your booth and spray some paint in the air. Observe how the fan draws the fumes out. The closed tunnel will have enough suction to draw out all harmful fumes if it is sealed properly.