Good evening all..... After few years of trying to battle condensation in my garage ive finally pulled my finger out now it houses my sexy red mistress. The air inside would become trapped & rise up then condensate on the roof into hundreds of wet droplets then it would rain down on anything in there causing rust & mold etc. So after extensive research and speaking to builders i came to the conclusion of fitting : Vent on the bottom of the front Extractor fan at the top of the rear This would create airflow without giving it chance to condensate and airflow would be constantly changing. The fan will pull out 73m3 of air per hour, obviously pulling in fresh air through the bottom vent. Kind of like a huge Carcoon etc Hopefully this will keep her rust free Shes also bad a acf50 bath
Same what type of roof you got is it a flat roof, pitch has it got tiles/slates or is it a tin roof or corrugated metal. Is it brick built single skin or a cavity construction or a timber garage. Do you have insulation if so is it full fill fibre glass or celotex boarding
The roof is metal hence the condensation issue. I know i could have insulated it and heated garage but a constant air flow was the best option. Also the fan is silent version & low power so only costs £20 to run for a whole year 24/7. I feel a lot happier just knowing that all that moist air will no longer be trapped in there.
My wife is always complaining about my moist air..... its never trapped though, which is the main problem I think.
Solar powered 12v fan for airflow isn't a bad call either... you can get the panels quite inexpensively, the fan just needs to move the air and you can put a 12v bike / car battery in the mix for nocturnal continuity. Same principle as a PC case.
Condensation forms when dew point is reached, basically the roof is colder than the air, hence the condensation. This fan and air moving arrangement is NOT going to stop that from happening. In fact it will be a lot worse once conditions are right. You need to insulate the ceiling and walls, so that they retain any solar heat and fit a small heater infra red to keep them warmer than the air. To hep reduce condensation fit a good quality dehumidifier or better still Air Con (that last bit is a joke).
Not being a smart-arse here, more genuinely interested. The moving-the-air-thing has been told to me by a few folk now with sub-par storage arrangements. All the condensation stuff makes sense, but is it really pointless to do the air-moving? I think "car port theory" is what's at work here, but if I think about it does a car port find itself less susceptible to condensation and that's why this closed garage is a worse bet from a protection / humidity point of view? Are the infra red / dehumidifier options expensive to run?
The issue with a basement car port is the concrete is typically either the same temperature as the air or warmer. If they get colder than the air and cold enough to reach dew point then you will get condesation. Air moving or not makes no difference to dew point... more air means more dew. If you've been to San Francisco in the park in the morning you see all the trees dripping with water. The trees are cold from the over night exposure to the North Pacific air, then warm air from the land hits them.... hence dew. If you spend around £200 on a decent variable dehumidifier and seal the room then it will be in standby most of the time. When running around 400 watts.
I have garage with a asbestos roof and the condensation in winter was terrible. When it was freezing the condensation would freeze on the underside of the asbestos then drip off as it melted. Not good. And of course asbestos is hellish stuff to get rid of and otherwise best left alone. A year ago, using mainly 2nd hand materials. I fitted 2 x 2 battens over the top of the asbestos with 50mm insulation board between them then aluminium roofing panels over the lot. The result has been like night and day. The garage now remains dry with no wetness over winter. I'm sure the bikes will love me for it
I need to do mine this autumn at some point, just bite the bullet and have a go. It's no where near as bad as my old garage, but leaving materials (bike kit) in there showed just how much condenstation there is as to the level of mould
Wouldn't it be cheaper to kick the wife out of the house and just bring the bikes into the downstairs of the house?
I've made the terrible mistake of following the guidelines (fiberglass roof) and made my utility room roof dead level, consequently it always has a puddle in the middle... The wind blows over the top and cools the roof, so I get a cold spot in the middle of the ceiling below that gets condensation. The upside is that algae love to grow in it making a super slippy surface that prevents would be burglars making there way to my yard or me doing any maintenance.
