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Humidity in the South
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Author:  truckjohn [ Wed Dec 16, 2015 4:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
One thing you may try is getting a "home energy audit". Power companies offer them. The sorts of things that will run up the humidity will also run up the power bill such as trying to climate control the universe.

Can you post some pix of your shop to let us look and see. There are a lot of folks here who have run through the same things.

Thanks
John
Author:  Mark Fogleman [ Thu Dec 17, 2015 8:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
Something not mentioned is improving drainage around the slab outside. Concrete is an awesome humidifying medium and can attract and evaporate water very efficiently. If you have clogged gutters that overflow when it rains, the rain soaks the ground next to the foundation and gets sucked up by the concrete. To test for excess humidity in the slab, duct tape a piece of clear plastic (zip lock bag) to the floor overnight and look for condensation the next morning.

Also...just because it's 75%RH outside, it doesn't mean it's the same inside...especially in the winter when you are heating. Like was said earlier, RH is a function of saturation and temp.
Author:  fingerstyle1978 [ Thu Dec 17, 2015 10:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
truckjohn wrote:
One thing you may try is getting a "home energy audit". Power companies offer them. The sorts of things that will run up the humidity will also run up the power bill such as trying to climate control the universe.

Can you post some pix of your shop to let us look and see. There are a lot of folks here who have run through the same things.

Thanks
John


ImageImageImage

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Author:  fingerstyle1978 [ Thu Dec 17, 2015 10:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
truckjohn wrote:
One thing you may try is getting a "home energy audit". Power companies offer them. The sorts of things that will run up the humidity will also run up the power bill such as trying to climate control the universe.

Can you post some pix of your shop to let us look and see. There are a lot of folks here who have run through the same things.

Thanks
John

ImageImage

Pardon the mess and the dismantled chainsaw, it's getting a serious cleaning/tuneup and I haven't cleaned the shop in a about 4 days.

The white block has been sealed. I had water coming in through the walls when I moved in. The other areas aren't leaking in but obviously in hindsight need some locktite as well. I'm wondering how much of a problem the garage door is. Again there is no HVAC in here, just a 50pt dehumidifier.

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Author:  SteveSmith [ Fri Dec 18, 2015 11:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
It's going to be hard to seal that garage door if you want to keep it operational - 3 shops ago I had two garage doors and the only way I could seal it was to cover them with plastic. That's ok if you don't want to open them any more so probably not practical. I would consider framing in a small area with a raised floor (so air can circulate underneath), maybe 8 x 10 or so, sheet it with plastic and stick your dehumidifier in there.
Author:  Barry Daniels [ Fri Dec 18, 2015 3:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
I installed garage door side seals 20 years ago and they made it possible to easily control RH in my Houston shop. I actually went a bit overboard and put the strips inside and on the outside giving me a double seal, but that was probably not necessary.

http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Weatherstripping-Pieces-Overhead-Installation/dp/B00V8R3VCI/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1450471344&sr=8-14&keywords=garage+door+seal+side
Author:  Mark Fogleman [ Fri Dec 18, 2015 4:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
It looks like the cement block knee wall to the left of the garage door is and/or has been wet from its appearance. It probably is contributing to excess humidity in your garage and needs to be dealt with before you can expect to have a handle on humidity there. I would check drainage outside of that area.
Author:  jfmckenna [ Sat Dec 19, 2015 8:45 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
Im in Virginia too and the weather has been all kinds of wacky around here as of late. I would think a garage door would be a problem. If it were me and that was a permanent shop I'd consider closing off that door s a wall. The concrete and block is probably the real culprit here. I just got done building a new shop and I went with spray foam for the floor (wood flooring over dirt) nd the ceiling with pink batts and vapor barrier on the walls. So far I'm ble to get away with using a regular house hold dehumidifier and one that has got to be 20 years old and still kickin' too.
Author:  fingerstyle1978 [ Sat Dec 19, 2015 5:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
jfmckenna wrote:
Im in Virginia too and the weather has been all kinds of wacky around here as of late. I would think a garage door would be a problem. If it were me and that was a permanent shop I'd consider closing off that door s a wall. The concrete and block is probably the real culprit here. I just got done building a new shop and I went with spray foam for the floor (wood flooring over dirt) nd the ceiling with pink batts and vapor barrier on the walls. So far I'm ble to get away with using a regular house hold dehumidifier and one that has got to be 20 years old and still kickin' too.


Yeah I'm sitting at 45% right now in Central VA but when it rains it spikes. I'm looking into getting a better seal on the floor, walls and the garage door. I think I can get it pretty stable in there once everything is sealed since there is no HVAC or anything in there. It would be nice to not have to run the dehumidifier non-stop.

I won't be getting rid of the garage door though. It's handy when I have tools/logs/lumber to get into the shop. Weather stripping and maybe a tarp with some duct tape will do the trick.
Author:  Barry Daniels [ Sun Dec 20, 2015 11:45 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
Joey, did you see the garage seal strips in my post above? They work well.
Author:  fingerstyle1978 [ Sun Dec 20, 2015 12:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
Barry Daniels wrote:
Joey, did you see the garage seal strips in my post above? They work well.


Yeah, a little pricey but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Author:  fingerstyle1978 [ Wed Nov 22, 2017 12:06 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
Turns out the left side of the shop garage door (looking at it from the inside) has a poorly made lip of the pad that diverts water back toward the door and water pooled up there soaking into the slab and it used to come in. I leaned corn hole boards up against the exterior and lined the rest of it with square garbage cans to keep the water from getting in. Humidity now sits between 50-60 on very humid days like today. I never did seal the floor but I did do the cinder block walls with drylock. This weekend I plan to do the floors on Sunday as it's supposed to be rainy anyway. Hopefully that solves the issue for good and the dang dehumidifier stops running 24/7. It's frustrating when you can't work on a weekend due to weather. Although more rare these days it still happens- drives me nuts.
Author:  truckjohn [ Wed Nov 22, 2017 8:47 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
Glad to hear you have made some progress.

One traditional solution that we use in the humid, coastal deep south is to heat.

Wait till it's cold and you can basically leave a heater on... This naturally dries things out a whole bunch. Often enough that you won't need to dehumidify except when it rains...
Author:  doncaparker [ Wed Nov 22, 2017 8:58 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
Hope all the work pays off, Joey. Here in West Virginia, my dehumidifier only stopped running about 2 weeks ago. Time to get ready to turn on the humidifier now. The air is finally drying out.

I can just hear the sound of beanbags hitting your garage door, thanks to your obvious invitation to the world that folks join you for a quick game of cornhole.
Author:  jfmckenna [ Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
Yeah me too in the western part of VA. My shop is controlled well but I have not had to run anything and it's at 40% RH now. Pretty dry around here now.
Author:  SteveSmith [ Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
Your options obviously depend on where you live, how humid it is, and how cold it gets in the winter. Here in east Tennessee my dehumidifier is always connected but only runs about 7 or 8 months a year. In the wintertime I keep the humidity at about 40%-45% by not heating the shop too much, usually keep it about 55F. I will warm it up a bit while I'm working in there and, if in there all day, will pour some water on the concrete floor to keep the humidity up. That way I can get by without having to get a humidifier :)
Author:  Mark Fogleman [ Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
Any gutter downspouts need to be extended away from the foundation far enough that the outlet is on a downslope away from your house. Hard clay soil will not allow heavy rain to penetrate and surface water flows to the lowest point so your cornhole board fix may not be enough. We discovered problems similar to yours but with a heavy mold problem ~10 years ago in our crawlspace which was a mother to deal with. I still have to run a dehumidifier in the house during the summer in addition to the AC to maintain 45-50%RH at 76f. I am amazed at the amount of water it condenses but my tomatoes appreciate it and we're more comfortable. It makes about $10/month difference in our electric bill during the summer...much cheaper than excavating around the foundation, waterproofing the foundation and installing an underground drainage system. Should we decide to stay here we might do the excavation/drainage route.
Author:  fingerstyle1978 [ Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
truckjohn wrote:
Glad to hear you have made some progress.

One traditional solution that we use in the humid, coastal deep south is to heat.

Wait till it's cold and you can basically leave a heater on... This naturally dries things out a whole bunch. Often enough that you won't need to dehumidify except when it rains...


ufortunately (or fortunately) my heater these days is a double burner propane tank.....torch??? I don't even know what to call it, but I can only run it for about 10 minutes and still feel safe walking into the shop. It raises the temp abkut 15-20 degrees though over that time.

It's been a year of upgrades for me, in fact I barely recognizem my shop from 2015 in the previous pictures. No upgrade will be more welcome than a heat pump/AC though. I pretty much can only work 6 months a year right now, otherwise it gets way too hot in the summer.
Author:  Mark Fogleman [ Wed Nov 22, 2017 12:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
Water vapor is a byproduct of burning propane.
Author:  fingerstyle1978 [ Wed Nov 22, 2017 8:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Humidity in the South
Mark Fogleman wrote:
Water vapor is a byproduct of burning propane.


True as that mey be I haven't even filled the tank yet or turned it on this year outside of about the 5 minutes that it took for the tank to run out. Looking forward to sealing the floor this Sunday and hoprfully solving the problem in a more permanent manner.
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