How Can I Keep My Shop Dry?

Michael J. Spangler

Michael J. Spangler

Joined
Oct 8, 2003
Messages
2,181
hey everyone,

i have some issue with moisture in my shop.... it's a concrete block building with a poured floor. The doors are less than satisfactory and it had an opening for a loft.

my question is, if i seal off the door as nice and tight as i can and make a nice door to help seal up the fit for the loft, how do i go about keeping the moisture down?

you can all see where i live, and my shop is about 1 mile from the water, so it gets pretty humid here.

let me know what you all think and what you all do. I would like to have some nicer equipment in there but i don't want to spend the cash if it's all going to be rusted up in no time.

thanks in advance everyone!
 
In my shops, air conditioners keep things dry during the summer, and electric heat keeps things dry during the winter. I run a large dehumidifier when necessary, though the new shop doesn't need it much. This prevents tooling and machinery rusting. The walls and ceiling of my main shop area and studio are insulated, that helps too. Temperature swings cause condensation, believe it.

A lot of folks paint their concrete floors with special epoxy paint. Keeps down odor and moisture and simplifies clean up and makes things look nice.

If water is getting in anywhere, you're spinning your wheels. My first shop was in a barn of sorts with half of it a dirt floor... I had a lathe, mill and CNC mill in there. The roof leaked. Oh God, what was I thinking...
 
Poured floors can seep water or sweat some call it.

If the ground is wet and the slab is seeping you may need to install guters and good eves that drain the water away from the slab.

If it's built on an area that has a lot of ground water, you may need to install drainage to route that water away also?

Either way, sealing the shop air tight with damp floor is just going to make it worst.
 
Definately put some moisture seal on the block walls and a coat on the floor. It helpa LOT. Then get a dehumidafier. If you don't seal it the thing will never get the dampness out if it is that bad.
 
There are two steps to making a building dryer.

Step one is to eliminate as many sources of moisture as possible.
New concrete will give off water vapor for several months. Concrete on cold ground will have condensation. Sealing and painting the concrete to provide a moisture barrier is advisable.
Leaks- seal/repair and roof issues, door weather trims and window flashing.
Eliminate as many water sources as possible. Try not to have any more open water in the shop than necessary. Empty dunk buckets when done for the day. Don't dry firewood in the shop.

Step two is Ventilation. This is the number one way to dry things up. Regardless of what you think, the air outside is almost always dryer than it is inside ( unless you are drying the air with AC or a dehumidifier).Install a powered roof fan and open the door when working (It will help a lot with dust,too.). Having a small fan running all the time will help a lot,too.One of the biggest sources of water vapor is the forge burner. Another big source is YOU.All good reasons for ventilation when working.
Stacy
 
If you know it is a moisture problem, skip my post.
I have found that even with really good ventilation, and are soldering, the liquid flux even well ventilated can cause steel surfaces to rust quickly.

If you aren't silver soldering, with liquid flux, my thought is just a thought.
 
Hey mike, how much hay are you storing in the loft?, also if I recall, your shop is basically at plane with the surrounding landscaping with pockets where water can collect. Being close to the shore you are going to get salt dust in the air, that will collect in the condensation you get when your metal objects stay cold while the humidity goes up. If you can seal up and tyvek your barn somewhat around the shop area, and try to maintain an even temperature that will go a long ways, keep your tools at least 10 degrees above the dewpoint of the surrounding air (either with heat or dehumidification or both) and that will help keep the moisture from condensing and collecting salt.

Get yourself a thermometer/humidity meter combo and see how close to 100% RH your shop typically is

-Page
 
Stacy hit the right key .
vents-fan these are #1 in my book.
vern
 
When you see mold on a house or building it is that it has no, or not enough vents or air movement.this will catch up with you if not enough.
vern
 
Knocking over two gallons of pherric chloride in the shop won't help!:eek:
M:D
 
In my shops its air conditioned that works for me. And in the winter I heat it as the other knife maker does. I also have insulated doors on the shop. :thumbup:
 
I have a 30'X40' steel building w/cement floor and the roof is about 16'-20' high. It has 2 12' roll up doors on the front and 1 12' roll up door on the back. It is just the steel frame with the steel siding and steel roof. Living close to the coast in Texas with the 90+% humidity I can't keep anything from rusting. I was going to enclose, insulate and A/C and heat that area so it could house my KMG, drill press, mill and saws. The problem is the area outside the enclosure where I keep my power hammer, treadle hammer, hydraulic press, forklift and all my forging equipment. How do you fight humidity in a large open area like that that is next to impossible ti keep dry. It would cost a fortune to A/C, heat and/or dehumidify that much open area. Roll up doors are not known for sealing very well.
 
How do you keep things from rusting in a humid place like Texas?
V_E_N_T_I_L_T_I_O_N
Stacy
 
No moisture or rust in my shop and it does get very hummid here in the summer.

My shop (36'x48') is closed up tight and well insulated, has a 10' ceiling. AC in summer, wood heat in winter, doors open in Spring/Fall when the weather is nice. I have a wall dividing the shop in half with a AC window unit in each section. I don't run the AC in the forging section when forging but it runs the rest of the time (Summer). I like to be comfortable and I spend most of my time in the shop. The elec bill for house and shop runs around $150 per month in summer and around $100 or less in winter.
 
trust someone who knows. if you have a water problem then you need ventilation and air movement.
in the winter time electric heat wont do it, i use wood heat, and/or gas heat.
i did a job for the ymca in the pool area that had no vent, and was causing
efflorescence all over the walls.i put 4 power vents in the brick walls and took care of it
vern
 
My problems are not from water sepage or standing water. In fact, you never see moisture on the equipment. It is strictly from humidity that stays in the range of the mid 90%. Stacy stated above that ventilation would keep things from rusting. Well, I have to admit that there is not a lot of ventilation in the shop but I never considered that ventilating 90% humid air with more 90% humid air would help stop rust. If that is all it takes I have no problem going out and buying a couple large fans and letting them run 24/7. I just want to figure some inexpensive or reasonably inexpensive way to stop the rust without spending hundreds or thousands on a trial and error process. These responses have given me a lot to think about and I am interested in what others have done. Keep the responses coming.
 
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