Garage Floor Sweating

I think that I’m going to cut down the height of the pole of my pedestal fan. It now adjusts from about 4’, up to about 6’. I believe if I get it close to floor level, it may take care of most of the problem. Probably add another fan on opposite side of garage, also.

John
 
Air flow will reduce the sweating. Try cracking 2 windows on opposite ends and leave it a couple of days. If it works you will have to do perminate air in and air out. I have a 26x26 garage that is air tight and it would sweat everything but I cured it by putting to opening up high...
 
Nashcat said:
I think that I’m going to cut down the height of the pole of my pedestal fan. It now adjusts from about 4’, up to about 6’. I believe if I get it close to floor level, it may take care of most of the problem. Probably add another fan on opposite side of garage, also.
Click to expand...

A floor-based fan on one side of the garage and an elevated fan on the other side would in theory set up a nice air current circulation.
 
Every summer I have an issue with humidity in my garage. The only solution for me was a dehumidifier. Good luck.
 
Doesn't seem like you're going this route but the mention of putting down the hard rubber floor tiles would probably increase the chance of mold growing under them if the floor gets as wet as it sounds.
My .02

Skip
 
if water is pooling on the floor it might be more than condensation. Do consider garage concrete floor paint that will water proof the floor and keep it from percolating up.
It will also make it easier to clean up oil spills...
 
spiderman302 said:
if water is pooling on the floor it might be more than condensation. Do consider garage concrete floor paint that will water proof the floor and keep it from percolating up.
It will also make it easier to clean up oil spills...
Click to expand...

The concrete has been sealed, so I’m pretty sure it’s not coming from below. When the floor’s wet, I can move anything, such as a 5 gallon bucket, and the floor is dry underneath, where it hasn’t had contact with the moist air.

I’ll have a chance to try out my additional fans, soon. We’re expecting a couple of nights in the teens, followed by mid 50‘s
and rain. I’m sure the dew point will be higher than the floor temp.
 
Nashcat said:
The concrete has been sealed, so I’m pretty sure it’s not coming from below. When the floor’s wet, I can move anything, such as a 5 gallon bucket, and the floor is dry underneath, where it hasn’t had contact with the moist air.
Click to expand...
That certainly proves you correct; if it was through the floor, it would be wetter under the object.
 
Used to be equip manager for a flood remediation co. Keep it simple and cheap - good fan and crack a window to let the humidity out - end of story unless you're really set on spending the $ on dehumidifier - dehum will definitely help but you might not need to go there
 
Nashcat said:
When the floor’s wet, I can move anything, such as a 5 gallon bucket, and the floor is dry underneath, where it hasn’t had contact with the moist air.
Click to expand...
Probably no/insufficient thermal insulation underneath the concrete...
Either go with ventilation, or a dehumidifier, not both...
Meaning: keep the place sealed while the dehumidifier is running, preventing exchange with moist, outside air...
And see to get a dehumidifier with a drain pipe/hose connector (you can route outside or into the sewer), over a "turns off when tank is full" versions...
Also check for the useable temperature range of the kit, the standard ones tend to ice up when operated below +10°C, whilst specific models have defrost heaters & control included...
 
Perimeter insulation on the outside might help to keep the concrete warmer (assumes the walls are insulated). Four foot of 2" think foam vertically against the outside of the foundation would probably keep the floor above 50F. But might be a lot of work to install now. And condensation still might form if the dew point of the air/moisture is high enough. It would just reduce the frequency of the condensation. It would make the garage floor warmer if you are in the garage working often. A fan might still be needed occasionally.
 
Well, I’ve cut down the stands on my two 18” pedestal fans so the the bottom of the blade guard is only 4” off the floor. I’m thinking, one on each side of the garage, occilating. Hopefully the fans will move enough air to reduce the sweating. I’ll get to check it out on Thursday, when it warms up to 45 with rain.

After 3 nights in the teens, the floor temperature was 35F. I raised the overhead door, so the afternoon sun could shine in and after 3 hours, it raised the surface temp to 50. In the back of the garage, where the sun couldn’t reach, floor temp is still 35. If the dew point gets above 35 on Thursday, I’ll have the conditions for sweating.

John
 
  • Like
Reactions: Obo
I put on old box style fan up in the rafters that points down (a cheap overhead fan) and run it 24/7. I had a dehumidifier as well, but it bit the dust. I now find the constant air movement is enough. No floor sweating issues, but if water and snow is dragged into the garage it is gone the next day. The fan is also great in the summer heat and keeps the heat moving around in the winter (when it is on).
 
I use de-humidifier in the spring time to keep humidity off of my tools & Goldwing's naked aluminum wheels , floor hasn't been too bad because I put tarps down before they poured my floors ; a barrier against ground moisture coming up from the sand .
 
Last edited:
spiderman302 said:
if water is pooling on the floor it might be more than condensation. Do consider garage concrete floor paint that will water proof the floor and keep it from percolating up.
It will also make it easier to clean up oil spills...
Click to expand...
We painted our new garage floor with a 2 part real epoxy paint (not the one part paint that says epoxy on it). This involved etching the floor with muriatic acid and the whole painting process was stinky and messy; cleanup was a matter of throwing the old clothes, gloves and brushes (rollers, too) away. This was a detached, two car garage (brand new at the time) and we got condensation on the floor like the OP whenever the atmospheric conditions were conducive to it. The paint lasted about 10 years and started coming up where the cars' wheels sat and along the tooled joints when moisture came up from below.

My neighbor, who got me into Guzzi's, installed a high tech polymer floor tile in his garage that was supposedly used in airplane hangars and industrial floors at about the same time. He, too got condensation on occasion (for a while my bike was stored in his garage) and some tiles popped loose after around 10 years.

My take on this is that a. nothing is forever (except the usual death and taxes (and maybe corruption)) and b. whatever surface treatment you put on concrete that is on moist ground will eventually detach - probably sooner than later.
 
Unheated garage in Minnesota - so cold winters will see the floor becoming near freezing or just below and the ambient garage temperature in the teens to 20s.

So then when a warm breeze blows in from the south with dewpoints in the 30s or 40s everything gets wet until the dewpoint drops again or it warms up.

Not just the floor sweating:

CB500_rear_seat.JPG

CB500_shock-chain.JPG
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom