Discussion
I've noticed that my garage is feeling a little damp right now. A double prefab job and I've recently put some documents in there. Any recommendations for the best way of keeping it warm and dry without costing an arm and a leg?
The car(s) have always been good but with one getting to ten years old I'm thinking caution first.
The car(s) have always been good but with one getting to ten years old I'm thinking caution first.
Speaking from experience, people often confuse keeping a garage dry and free from moisture, means sealing them up.
This is the worst thing you can do - you need fresh air circulating all the time to stop sitting damp, condensation and corrosion.
The only exception to this is if a garage is built as an integral part of the house and has the same level of insulation and can be heated - i.e. I bought a new-build coach house type property a few years back, which had all the living space upstairs, with the hallway, a storeroom and the garage downstairs. Because the garage was basically the downstairs of the house, it was almost as good as just another room in the house. So I plumbed radiators into it from the hallway feed and it was as warm and dry as anywhere else in the place - magic for working on my bikes
Anyway, as I said, whenever I have bought a house with an ordinary garage attached, it's usually been a little damp as you describe.
So, the remedy was to drill out half a dozen bricks - 2 at the front, 2 at the side, 2 at the back - and replace them with 'air' bricks (the ones with holes in).
Voila - dryness, without the expense of buying and running a de-humidifier.
This is the worst thing you can do - you need fresh air circulating all the time to stop sitting damp, condensation and corrosion.
The only exception to this is if a garage is built as an integral part of the house and has the same level of insulation and can be heated - i.e. I bought a new-build coach house type property a few years back, which had all the living space upstairs, with the hallway, a storeroom and the garage downstairs. Because the garage was basically the downstairs of the house, it was almost as good as just another room in the house. So I plumbed radiators into it from the hallway feed and it was as warm and dry as anywhere else in the place - magic for working on my bikes
Anyway, as I said, whenever I have bought a house with an ordinary garage attached, it's usually been a little damp as you describe.
So, the remedy was to drill out half a dozen bricks - 2 at the front, 2 at the side, 2 at the back - and replace them with 'air' bricks (the ones with holes in).
Voila - dryness, without the expense of buying and running a de-humidifier.
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
Speaking from experience, people often confuse keeping a garage dry and free from moisture, means sealing them up.
This is the worst thing you can do - you need fresh air circulating all the time to stop sitting damp, condensation and corrosion.
I agree with this man. Mine was actually getting mould on the ceiling and, after various attempts with a dehumidifier, I followed the advice above (gleaned from another forum).This is the worst thing you can do - you need fresh air circulating all the time to stop sitting damp, condensation and corrosion.
Two vents in each wall (side only as I have a separate room at the back) and no more problems.
It's still cold but bone dry now.
In my experience it depends on the cause of the damp.
If the garage is suffering from rising damp or leaks, ventilation will make a huge difference and a dehumidifier would probably be next to useless. If the damp is coming out of the air (for example if you park damp cars in the garage) a dehumidifier will work and will ultimately keep the air-born humidity lower than ventilation alone could.
I have my garage sealed tightly and it's kept bone-dry by a dehumidifier, but then the floor is raised a good two feet above the surrounding land so it's well above the water table and it's got full damp-proof coursing anyway.
If the garage is suffering from rising damp or leaks, ventilation will make a huge difference and a dehumidifier would probably be next to useless. If the damp is coming out of the air (for example if you park damp cars in the garage) a dehumidifier will work and will ultimately keep the air-born humidity lower than ventilation alone could.
I have my garage sealed tightly and it's kept bone-dry by a dehumidifier, but then the floor is raised a good two feet above the surrounding land so it's well above the water table and it's got full damp-proof coursing anyway.
Edited by kambites on Monday 11th November 19:45
Two garages 376 miles apart, one gets damp due to 6 months of damp (persistent rain) air outside, the other due to porous bricks.
Ventilation is great on the first but it only allows the damp air outside in. The second isn't so well ventilated and the damp, painted on the inside, bricks are going mouldy.
Ventilation is great on the first but it only allows the damp air outside in. The second isn't so well ventilated and the damp, painted on the inside, bricks are going mouldy.
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