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sefton
Member
| Joined: | Friday April 27th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 141 |
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Posted: Friday November 30th, 2007 03:24 pm |
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I have recently had a timber garage built to house my mini.
The garage is timber with a corigated fiber roof. It has been built on a concrete base (which stands on a plastic membrain).
Over the last few months I have found and eliminated all leaks, put 4 vents in the sides & recently insulated the roof (due to bad condensation all over the car in the recent cold nights).
But still The metal components under the bonnet are wet & some of the lower body work of the car is wet due to condensation.
It seems some damp rises through the floor (& obviously a lot of water from the condensation from the roof before I insulated it)
IS THERE ANY OTHER THINGS (apart from adding some more vents) TO STOP THE CONDENSATION?
OR WILL I NEVER STOP IT UNLESS IT'S HEATED OR A DEHUMIDIFYER IS USED (which is impossible as the garage has no power).
any advice would be very much appreciated!!!
Craig.
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chequeredflag
Member
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Posted: Friday November 30th, 2007 03:39 pm |
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Craig,
Had similair problems with my new garage a while back. Unfortunately the only cure I found was a dehumidifier.
Nick
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sefton
Member
| Joined: | Friday April 27th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 141 |
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Posted: Friday November 30th, 2007 04:10 pm |
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hmmm, heard about the gel crystals that suposably consume 150 x there weight in water.
suppose it wont be as bad the other 3 seasons of the year...
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taffy1967
Member
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Posted: Friday November 30th, 2007 04:46 pm |
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My garage has brick walls and I don't seem to have this problem, although I do leave the garden side door open during the day so air can circulate in there.
The inner roof has a flexible felt covering to stop condensation forming or dropping down and that seems to work very well.
Try to get as much air in there if you can, because that should help.
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sefton
Member
| Joined: | Friday April 27th, 2007 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 141 |
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Posted: Friday November 30th, 2007 04:50 pm |
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| got three more vents I'm going to put in this weekend
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woody
Member
| Joined: | Thursday November 29th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 15 |
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Posted: Friday November 30th, 2007 05:38 pm |
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| Hi Craig, although my garage is brick, i have a dehumidifier in and it is bone dry. The best way they work is to seal the area as much as poss allowing it to take moisture out of the room. I would sack the vents and go for a dehumidifier.
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Glen Ponder
MCR Member
| Joined: | Sunday November 13th, 2005 |
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| Posts: | 745 |
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Posted: Friday November 30th, 2007 05:55 pm |
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Craig there's not alot you can do about condensation without proper heating to stablise the temperature, and humidifiers only work properly if the garage is completely sealed up which actually isn't always a great idea .
To risk stating the blatantly obvious ...when you get a really cold night, or a series of 'em the car will cool down to the lower ambient temperature . Once the temperature picks up during the day your car's gonna be hit by condensation as soon as the warmer air hits it obviously, soon as you open the garage door it look like the inside of a fridge. The only way I've found to reduce this is to have a (cold) fan running inside the garage to keep the air moving , this stops moisture 'dropping out' of the warmer (still) air hitting a cold car. (don't use little heaters, fan heaters, it's a waste of electric and makes matters worse !)
If you're not using the car stick it up on axle stands ,keep the bonnet open and this'll help too. You can always go mad in Halfords with the WD , waxoyle and smootherite if it'll help you sleep at night ! 
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Gray
MCR Member
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Posted: Friday November 30th, 2007 06:28 pm |
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| Slightly more expensive but you could use one of these!! http://www.hamiltonclassic.co.uk/ProductInformation/CairOPort.htm
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DaveShreeve
Administrator
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Posted: Friday November 30th, 2007 08:23 pm |
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sefton wrote: OR WILL I NEVER STOP IT UNLESS IT'S HEATED OR A DEHUMIDIFYER IS USED (which is impossible as the garage has no power).
Guys, we seem to be missing this part of the original post.
Is the concrete slab new? It takes a long time for slabs to completely dry out, especially if it's also collecting the condensate from the roof. Ventilation is the way, doors wide open on warm, dry, weekends is a good start. This time of year possibly isn't the best time to start. If it gets really bad 12volt fans and a battery may be a way forward.
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woody
Member
| Joined: | Thursday November 29th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 15 |
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Posted: Friday November 30th, 2007 08:57 pm |
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| I can take on board what Glen said but on cold days the dehumidifier dose not kick in then as soon as the temp rises it dose. If you have drafts moisture will get in, all i can say is i have had a mini panel stood for two years that is bare metal and no rust. I also have a little low energy heater to take to chill out of the air. The dehumidifier kicks when it warns the air up.
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sefton
Member
| Joined: | Friday April 27th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 141 |
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Posted: Friday November 30th, 2007 09:04 pm |
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cheers for the advice guys!
the garage is actually just across the road from my house so there's no power at all!
the slab is around three months old, hopefully the roof insulation will stop the dripping condensation.
Opened the bonnet aswell today!
I read that standing the car on a few layers of plastic followed by a sheet of plywood is a good idea?!
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Gray
MCR Member
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Posted: Friday November 30th, 2007 10:15 pm |
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| This is a product that I have received at work in containers we ship, it is amazing the amount of moisture that they pull out of the atmosphere, but they too would be an expensive on going alternative. http://www.superdryers.com/products.htm The internal tents fans run from a 12v transformer so a car battery coud be substituted hooked up to a solar charger.
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rcm397
Member
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Posted: Saturday December 1st, 2007 08:23 am |
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sefton wrote: ....the slab is around three months old, hopefully the roof insulation will stop the dripping condensation.
I suspect the age of the concrete floor slab is the main cause of your problem.
As far as the BRE are concerned, a concrete slab can take up to 12 months to fully dry out. You've got a damp proof membrane beneath the floor slab so the only way for the residual moisture to dry out is upwards into the room - in this case your garage.
This moisture will then condensate on any cool (steel!) surface...such as your car. The most vulnerable areas are the underside of the car and beneath the bonnet which is precisely where you've got the problem.
If at all possible, I'd move the car to another area until the floor slab has fully dried out. When the car does go back in, make sure there is plenty of air movement through the garage and, if possible, improve the thermal insulation to the walls and roof. Condensation is most likley where there is little ventilation and the air temperature is cool.
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hanlminiman
MCR Member
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Posted: Saturday December 1st, 2007 05:20 pm |
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| Thanks for starting this topic Sefton. I'm just about to construct a timber garage and have taken note of all the observations.
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sefton
Member
| Joined: | Friday April 27th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 141 |
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Posted: Saturday December 1st, 2007 05:42 pm |
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I've added three more vernts today and also enlarged the exsisting ones.
I can now feel a slight breeze near the vents (should help as theres a little more air circulation).
I'll keep you posted.
how long would a sac of super dry last?
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Gray
MCR Member
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Posted: Saturday December 1st, 2007 06:37 pm |
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| We have used the drypoles and they tend to be used to hang in containers so passage time from the far east is about 3 weeks so I think that would be the limit.
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DaveShreeve
Administrator
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Posted: Saturday December 1st, 2007 08:32 pm |
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Gray wrote: We have used the drypoles and they tend to be used to hang in containers so passage time from the far east is about 3 weeks so I think that would be the limit.
Probably less, Superdry products are designed for use in sealed containers. On a fully ventilated garage they'll be trying to dry the volume of air they're designed for possibly every couple of hours!
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onespeed
Member
| Joined: | Thursday November 15th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 3 |
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Posted: Monday December 3rd, 2007 06:38 am |
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| are the walls insulated? what have you insulated the roof with?
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sefton
Member
| Joined: | Friday April 27th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 141 |
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Posted: Monday December 3rd, 2007 07:20 am |
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Nope the walls are just 6-7mm timber cladding. I have insulated the roof with space foam boards (they just wedge directly between the roofs frame work).
...Well the weekend gave us snow, real bad winds and lashings of rain. The garage let a little water through the underneath of the front doors, BUT the was no condensation! all the waxes, WD40 bottles etc were dry and so was the mini! I removed one of the space boards and there was a little condensation there (but not much).
I think I have done as much as I can for a garage without power.
Craig.
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Glen Ponder
MCR Member
| Joined: | Sunday November 13th, 2005 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 745 |
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Posted: Monday December 3rd, 2007 08:28 am |
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sefton wrote: ...Well the weekend gave us real bad winds ...BUT there was no condensation!
Watson........I think we're on to something ! 
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