Wet garage floor
Discussion
Hi, I had a garage built summer time last year.
Once built I painted the inside walls white with masonry paint, and the floor with 2 pack floor paint.
Once all the snow melted at the end of Jan the floor was wet all over, looked like morning dew. It was still there when I went away right at the end of Jan and I just returned home to find its still there.
Its a block built garage with concrete floor, and 6 air bricks around it.
Any ideas why this would happen, my first thought was that the builder didnt use any dpc under the floor but why wouldnt they use it?
Once built I painted the inside walls white with masonry paint, and the floor with 2 pack floor paint.
Once all the snow melted at the end of Jan the floor was wet all over, looked like morning dew. It was still there when I went away right at the end of Jan and I just returned home to find its still there.
Its a block built garage with concrete floor, and 6 air bricks around it.
Any ideas why this would happen, my first thought was that the builder didnt use any dpc under the floor but why wouldnt they use it?
Have the air bricks been put into purely to ventilate the garage?
If so I really can not see why they have been put in and these could possibly be the cause of the problem. This is just a thought and I could be wrong, but the garage will heat up during the day and retain a some of the heat over night, then when the outside air temperature drops on a night it will result in a cold airflow circulating around the floor area at the height of the air bricks which may be the cause of the dew/condensation forming on the floor, you probably wont have noticed it prior to painting as concrete is quite absorbent so before it was painted any moisture will have been soaked up by the concrete.
I would try blocking all the air bricks leave the door open for a day or so to dry out then (leaving the air bricks blocked)close the door and see if the problem persists.
If so I really can not see why they have been put in and these could possibly be the cause of the problem. This is just a thought and I could be wrong, but the garage will heat up during the day and retain a some of the heat over night, then when the outside air temperature drops on a night it will result in a cold airflow circulating around the floor area at the height of the air bricks which may be the cause of the dew/condensation forming on the floor, you probably wont have noticed it prior to painting as concrete is quite absorbent so before it was painted any moisture will have been soaked up by the concrete.
I would try blocking all the air bricks leave the door open for a day or so to dry out then (leaving the air bricks blocked)close the door and see if the problem persists.
I think blackcab is right, you need to regulate the temperature by adding some insulation. That should help prevent the floor (and other items in there) getting too cold during the very cold weather. When the weather warms up quickly warm moist air will find its way into your garage and hit the cold things - floor included. The cold things just don't warm up at the same rate meaning a high temperature differential which is what causes the condensation.
If you hadn't painted the floor then some of that condensation probably would have been absorbed by the concrete and you wouldn't have noticed it.
Ventilation will only help get the moist air out I don't think that in itself it will prevent condensation.
That's what I think anyway.
Mike
If you hadn't painted the floor then some of that condensation probably would have been absorbed by the concrete and you wouldn't have noticed it.
Ventilation will only help get the moist air out I don't think that in itself it will prevent condensation.
That's what I think anyway.
Mike
incidently I also have a painted epoxy floor covering - I can cope with the condensation but it gets slippy and sirty easily, my roof space is insulated as are the walls so insulation makes no difference, my only suggestion is to add a rubber matting to the floor to reduce the dew point -
to test this theory you could see what happens if you dont use the garage for a day or two
also do you have a tumbe dryer in the garage ? this makes ours really damp if you use it without leaving door open
to test this theory you could see what happens if you dont use the garage for a day or two
also do you have a tumbe dryer in the garage ? this makes ours really damp if you use it without leaving door open
Dont block the airbricks without adding further ventilation, otherwise you could convert the condensation in to mould that will eat any timbers you have
our roof has a 110m PUR board over a metal standing seam deck, + 2 layers of felt membrane with 50mm PUR board to the walls, the floor is 150mm concrete with no insulation in it - it has only done this since I painted it with Epoxy paint so my instinct tells me to add some form of insulation to the floor using the rubber matts ( stable matting is cheap enough ) this should prevent the floor temp from dropping as much as it does and therefore may help to combat the condensation.
Good luck with it if you find a cure will you let me know
our roof has a 110m PUR board over a metal standing seam deck, + 2 layers of felt membrane with 50mm PUR board to the walls, the floor is 150mm concrete with no insulation in it - it has only done this since I painted it with Epoxy paint so my instinct tells me to add some form of insulation to the floor using the rubber matts ( stable matting is cheap enough ) this should prevent the floor temp from dropping as much as it does and therefore may help to combat the condensation.
Good luck with it if you find a cure will you let me know
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff