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Heater or dehumidifier for my garage?


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  • RMweb Gold

At the risk of being branded a smart arse, (a chance I'll take anyway), there seem to be some misconceptions about the issues involved here.

Short of heeding Mr Bacons advice, there is no perfect answer to the problem.

All problems in life and the building trade have two nodes, cause and effect, and to somewhat oversimplify, in this case the cause is moist air and the effect is water being present when this air hits a cooler surface, (condensation). Heaters/de-humidifiers/forced air extraction can only assist with solving the effect, and as fast as they have sorted that problem out then along comes another wave of the problem, which even by sealing up every nook and cranny will still continue, as bricks, wood and most building materials are porous, which they have to be or we would all suffocate in our homes, this is called adventicious ventilation and is allowed for in the building construction industry.. The only way to prevent condensation is to remove the cause of the it, and that is to install a system which changes and dehumidifies the air coming into the building.

Now, for the sake of a relatively small problem in a small area, the size of hammer you use to crack your particular nut is your decision, but look at all the options with regard to cost and practicality and understand what you are trying to achieve then your choice will become a tad easier.

 

Mike.

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Looking at another thread you have a new shed coming,unless the garage will be used for something else which requires damp protection I would try and protect the items that are at risk, perhaps their own sealed unit and use those silica gel units designed for caravans

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Again a big thanks to eveyone who has posted replies - I will weigh up all the issues and make a decision shortly, but for the moment there are a million other issues to deal with in my new house - a house that wasn't quite as perfect as the estate agent had made out !

 

For information, here are a couple of photos.

 

Here is the damp at the joint between wall and base...

 

post-4476-0-73904900-1545828046_thumb.jpg

 

I have had the gaps between the roof and walls filled but there are still very small gaps as you might be able to see here so the garage is not 100% sealed but maybe 99.5% sealed.

 

post-4476-0-19892000-1545828182_thumb.jpg

 

 

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  • RMweb Gold

I think you're fighting a lost cause with this building, in the picture above there is a line on the underside of the cement board roof (corrugated) at first glance it looks like the roof panels have become porous which they do over time, if they have they are now life expired and would need replacing. In my experience of these buildings when the roof panels start to fail the steel strengthening in the wall panels is also starting to corrode leading to the wall panels failing.

 

If this is only to be used for short term storage you could pile everything up in the middle and create a PVC bubble using 1000 gauge pvc sheet. 

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Looking at another thread you have a new shed coming,unless the garage will be used for something else which requires damp protection I would try and protect the items that are at risk, perhaps their own sealed unit and use those silica gel units designed for caravans

 

The new shed is for the next layout. The idea with the garage was to store the existing exhibition layout for the long term.

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If you just want to store the layout you could just wrap it up in some sheet polythene (preferably in a room with very low humidity) and seal all the joins and edges with packing/duck tape before taking out to the shed. I store all sorts of stuff in my damp garage like this and none of it seems to deteriorate. When bringing it back indoors i just let it warm up to room temperature for a few hours before unwrapping.

Edited by tender
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The new shed is for the next layout. The idea with the garage was to store the existing exhibition layout for the long term.

 

Well you have a job on your hands then, having said this you have a good start with the new front to the garage.

 

Starting with the floor by using the plastic damp proof membrane ,then an insulated layer, followed by a floor. Next build insulated walls and ceiling taking advice on the best way of doing this from someone in the building industry. I insulated my garage myself, at a reasonable cost using simple wood working principals, once insulated look for those manual dehumidators used in caravans

 

Good luck  

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Well you have a job on your hands then, having said this you have a good start with the new front to the garage.

 

Starting with the floor by using the plastic damp proof membrane ,then an insulated layer, followed by a floor. Next build insulated walls and ceiling taking advice on the best way of doing this from someone in the building industry. I insulated my garage myself, at a reasonable cost using simple wood working principals, once insulated look for those manual dehumidators used in caravans

 

Good luck  

 

Hello John

 

Many thanks for this.  Dehumidifier bought and in action. Builder will install damp proof membrane etc when my layout is at the CMRA show on Jan 12/13.

 

Just out of interest will you be at Stevenage by any chance?

 

Paul

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Ok - dehumidifier working!

 

It has settings 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% - which is the most appropriate?

 

The unit cuts out when it achieves the target figure and so I can set it and then it will cut out (and save money!) when it delivers the ideal figure. But which figure?

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Hello John

 

Many thanks for this.  Dehumidifier bought and in action. Builder will install damp proof membrane etc when my layout is at the CMRA show on Jan 12/13.

 

Just out of interest will you be at Stevenage by any chance?

 

Paul

 

Not too certain if I will be helping Phil on the C&L stand. If not proton the Saturday

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Just come in from work - dehumidifier has been on all day - humidity in garage is 66% - humidity outside in back yard is 66% !

 

What sort of dehumidifier is it? Desiccating or compressor?  I have been running my desiccating humidifier for a couple of weeks now and the humidity varies between 47 and 51  percent with a daily water output of about 400ml. I don't know if this is normal but that 3-4mm crack at the top of the wall insulation on one wall worried me All the wall insulation is combined moisture barrier/insulation/ plasterboard on battens. I filled that crack yesterday, a fun job involving various tools taped to a broomstick handle because the layout was in the way. I await the daily water output reading with interest!

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I refer the honourable gentleman to post number 2.... :thankyou:

 

Agree,

Also, could I put an honourable mention in for post #14?

 

Mike.

 

Gentlemen, your advice is appreciated and will be acted upon. However the layout is in the shed now, all 12 boards, and they take up most of the space and moreover the scenic boards are too heavy for me to move by myself . So no medium term solutions can begin until the layout is removed. That will happen Jan 11-13 when it's at Stevenage, what I have been experimenting with is a short term solution until my builder can action your recommendations in 10 days.

 

Thank you both for your input.

 

Paul

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Paul

 

Sadly there is no easy answer, just look at homes under the hammer and how where it can dampness and water will penetrate any weaknesses it finds. The exception is where you want water (ponds, swimming pools etc) where it does everything to escape.

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I really, genuinely am not trying to be difficult or stupid, but ………………………..

 

I have just gone into the back yard and the humidity meter shows 59% …. it also shows 59% in the garage …………. but in the ground floor of my house it shows 64% and in the unoccupied bedroom/landing area on the first floor it shows 69%

 

So I wouldn't even think of dampness issues if I stored the layout in my living room but that seems to be more humid than outside in the yard - I am totally confused. Yes, my wife and I have been sitting in the living room  this evening but upstairs it's even more humid.

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