so this wacky ohio weather has me worried about the moisture levels in my garage. this is the attached garage, attached to my house. well, i keep a couple cars in there, and yesterday, I could tell the floor was damp, today there is visible condensation on the floor. this has me really worrying because my shop floor never gets close to the moisture levels in the garage. it has been a very moist winter. not much freezing weather yet. but this has happened alot in the past as well. who has ideas, tips or thoughts on how to keep my garage less damp. i like the thought of getting a floor coating, since the sealer that is on there gets kinda slick when wet. how much do these floor coat systems do for keeping the moisture out? Id bet this is the most times "mosit" has been used on a post on the hamb.....
i had that problem in my old shop, i just got used to things being rusty . maybe try that Vortex floor coating. it's the same stuff they do for spray in bed liners. not sure what it costs but if i had a garage i was'nt allways torchin and weldin in i'd like to try it. i did have a dehumidifier in my old shop for a while. it helps.
Just enough constant heat(50 degrees or so) to keep it above the dew point makes a big difference in my shop.
I'll have to keep that in mind regarding the heat. During the winter I keep my garage barely above freezing & I'm able to work out there pretty comfortably just by kicking it up shortly before going out. The only thing that I've found that rusted was the table of my scroll saw. Thought I had it waxed well enough but no. This Spring I may kick the heat up a few more degrees as the ground thaws. I'm not at home right now so can't check the can, but I used a sealant on my floor instead of a paint. Works well and doesn't chip when you drop something on it. Haven't noticed any sweating, but water will pool on it just about forever. I just squeegee it out the door. Sweeps easily too.
At work, we covered the shop floor with Hot Trax floor paint. You can buy it for about $23 a gallon at Lowes. Light grey color really brightened the shop and is really low maintenance. There is a clear topcoat available to but being 'traditional' that's not needed. Right?
I found Drylock masonary paint to work very nicely. I used the teracotta (sp?) red to help hide the stains from the occasional drips out of the Mercury. Garage floors, patios, carports and everything in general stays pretty wet most of the year here in the South East! Some people in the area use dehumidifiers in their garages along with a sealed/painted floor to help keep their cars and stuff dryer. I know of a couple of serious restorers who have actually air conditioned their garages!
a small air vent on each end to allow air flow stopped the problem in our staorge building[12x21 with no heat] it is a metal building not insulated and before the vents it would sweat/condensation droplets all over it.....
I use a dehumidifier (mounted up high and piped out to the garden, but it's only on in the summer). I also have a large piece of dryer felt that sucks up moisture and is more comfy to lie on than bare concrete. Dryer felt is used under big printing presses amongst other things. Check with a large printer if there's one in your area, I got mine for nuthin' (8' x 12' or so, about 1/2" thick... weighs a ton). Just keeping the air moving across the floor with a small fan or heater should help.
now,some of you guys are gonna pop a fuckin vein on this,but my house was built in the 50's and puttin plastic down before cement musta been gay,so consequencly my floor sweats like a fat man eating.so what i did was lay down plastic on the entire floor then covered it with padding and carpet left over from some of my construction jobs.now i know your gonna say"what about welding and grinding?"well, i've had it like this for about 5or6 years now and have done both with no problems, although i am very carefull when im doin it.i've changed the carpet about 4 times since doing this and thats really the only hassle i have{moving all my stuff}it actually keeps the garage warmer and makes it more comfey for on the ground work.plus condensation is non existent now.if you ever have access to some old carpet give it a try could help out your problem!...quickrod
I had that problem to..heres what i did sealed the floor with a mixture of boiled linseed oil and paint thinner or varsol 50/50 mix.....installed two vents ( I used furnace register vents) one in each end of shop ...and a ceiling fan.....problem gone....fatchuk
Same problem, Samne area. Mine would even "sweat" in the summer moisture. I cleaned out my whole garage and got a big shopbroom size squeegee. Then I just started pourin Thompson's Waterseal down a little at a time till I had it spread thick and even. I let it dry for like Two days since it was kinda thick in a coupla spots. That's kept the floor dry for the last 8 years. Now, I'm starting to get a little darkness on the floor again this year. Guess it's gonna be a GOOD spring cleaning This Year!
Any floor paint( throw in some sand) & a fan, keep the air moving & it'll stay dry. you don't even have to vent outside in the winter, a cheapo ceiling fan on med speed will do the trick. One thing about dehumidifiers are they aren't cheap to run, you will notice a differance on your electric bill. JimV
Whatever you do make sure the floor is dry if you use a oil base enamel or an epoxy coating,,,Hot Trax is a good coating(acrylic,,,water clean-up),,,some of the driveway and patio coatings will lift during the summer when the tires are hot and left to cool overnight. Personaly ,I think Thompson's water seal(a product made by the Flood Co.) is the biggest joke in the paint industry,,,,,a product that I have sold when people are shopping price...If you wizz in a 5 gallon bucket and mix with apply it on the shop floor you will get a better sealer. Flood makes some great stuff,,,TWS ain't one of them. You need air movement and a dehumidifer and most of your problems will be gone.(moisture that is!) HRP
well some good news, in the 60* day here i had both doors open, and a fan workin, and it took almost all of the moisture off. the floor looks drier now. I am going to seriously look into the textured floor coatings for application in the spring. I think the clothes drier outlet near the person door might have a slight affect on things. That door also faces west, and the seal is kinda trashed. time to get a new door i think. thanks fellas.
forgot to add, I think that all of this moisture was due to condensation from the air. I moved some boxes, and under the cardboard, it was dry. it makes sense, since the last two days were about 20 degrees warmer than it has been.
i used tile and ran a heat duct out in the garage and even when it's cold out(30's)...the garage still stay's 50...and that's with no ceiling insulation...not much moisture...and the electric bill wasn't that bad...getting ready to insulate the ceiling so maybe it'll be better
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