Keeping humidity out of the garage

[RustyRatRod]

Yep, a slab, and it's painted, but humidity can bubble the paint right off. I have one of the 50,000 cookie-cutter houses that were built all over this town. Weird thing is, the garage is built of 2x6's even though 2x4's were code. All that extra strength, but the builders cheated on a frickin' vapor barrier. :angryfire:

So, does anyone else have an A/C'd garage?

They do rent jackhammers.....

 

[bigredbird]

Great idea, Rusty - my wife's already pissed that the Plymouth kicked her Focus out of the garage - now I tell her that we're taking the floor back to dirt, too? :eusa_think:

 

[snakeyes]

how much height do you have, have checked to see if you can add heat grids over your floor, or your other options ,have a friend that uses floor fans all year:eusa_think:

 

[Sonny Black]

THICK ml plastic sheeting or liner on floor while storing cars...
works well for me.
help keep moisture out.

 

[440roadrunner]

The humidifier is what is making the heat. .................. If you use an ac window unit it will use the same amount of energy if you can use it to regulate just the humidity in the garage..

I agree Don't go big on the AC for dehumidification. An undersized AC works best for dehumidification.

You are beating your head on the wall until you get the building sealed and vapor barrier

 

[bigredbird]

Sonny, wouldn't the sheeting just trap the moisture between the concrete and the plastic, making the sheeting into a giant slip-n-slide?

 

[Budnicks]

I wish I had an air-conditioner in my garage, I added 12" of blown in insulation in the attic & R-30 foil backed fiberglass insl. in the 2"x6" walls, then all drywalled/with 5/8" X-type fire resistant sheet rock over that {I also considered doubling up the sheet rock/drywall 2 layers of 5/8", for added insulation & fire protection, I still am going to add a 2"-3" high density foam to the exterior walls over the T-111 wood sheeting on the southern side then Vinyl covered wood ship-lap siding over that, it will help for sure & then I don't have to paint that part of the house fore many years either...LOL...}, my garage has south west exposure so it gets the bulk of the sun in the summer, on a 100* day it's maybe 80* with the doors shut, if I crack the front roll up door & side entrance door , turn on the window fan to circulate the air, it stays cool enough to work with out sweating a showers worth of water out of my body in the summer...LOL... The air-conditioner & a ceiling fan should help to control most all of the humidity, I would think so anyway... Thank God we don't have high humidity here in North Eastern Central Calif. foothills of the Sierra's, between the freezing cold & snow in the winter & the stifling heat in the summer, that's bad enough....

 

[Sonny Black]

Sonny, wouldn't the sheeting just trap the moisture between the concrte and the plastic, making the sheeting into a giant slip-n-slide?

Red, for storage purpose....I have not had that problem....I tape it to floor...
(hope this helps)
also in spring use box fan..

I do have another "trick"...but...

 

[mark42202]

5 ton pkg heat pump on my 40x60 shop. Keeps temp at 74 easily even during the 100+ days, and dehumidifies while it runs. Total cost involved (with me doing all the work myself) $4100.

 

[snakeyes]

what:eusa_think: is your cost to run that during the cold months and hot months

 

[willitay]

Drain Tile?

The moisture might be coming from under the slab. If your slab traps even two or three gals of water and it makes its way under the slab and becomes trapped it can cause a moisture problem. You might need some kind of drain tile.

 

[bigredbird]

^ willitay, I think you've just found the solution - trying to fix up the current garage won't be cost effective, so I need to build another garage onto the one that's sweating! I've been telling my wife we need to add on for a few years now, but didn't have enough proof that we "needed" an extension. Now I've got it! Thanks! :happy7:

 

[willitay]

Your welcome, I am glad I could help.:VB toast:

 

[mark42202]

what:eusa_think: is your cost to run that during the cold months and hot months

Sorry I am late getting back to this thread! I just installed it early this summer, so no idea on heating costs yet. But so far this summer the electric bill has went up roughly $15/ month for cooling (it went up $19 the month that we had 6 100*+ days and several in the high 90's).