Keeping a Pole Barn dry enough for tools

[GerardC]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Why now just buy a few cheap Dehumidifiers and run them ?)</font>

That's my thought. They work wonders and you can even hook up a garden hose so you don't have to drain the pan manually.

 

[GuglioLS]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Are you referring to the foam that comes in large sheets? )</font>

Yes - In some areas where you can use it. I once re-skinned my RV and could not believe they used 2 " of fiberglass in the walls it was full of dirt and mold. I replaced it with 2" solid foam sheets from Home Depot. Don't try to cut it with a saw makes a huge mess. Take a saber / jig saw blade and grind off the teeth to make a knife edge. This will cut the sheets very nicely. I made the sheets very tight fit everyone had to be pressed into place and made a nice tight seal. Then installed 6 mil plastic over the top of that to make a dust & moisture proof vapor barrier. Then used canned foam in the nooks & crannies. Your project is much larger though and might require some industrial spray in foam.
BTW - Have you checked the concrete floor to see how much moisture is seeping through the slab?

 

[tomrscott]

GuglioLS,

re: "... checked the slab yet..."

No, but I will been pretty busy with a lathe project the last couple of days.

It's raining cats and dogs out there right now. Probably a good time to check it, but I don't really feel like going out in it to get to the shop.

 

[SPIKER]

hi tomscott:

yes check the concrete the perfered method is taking a 12" square of good plastic (like that of a zip lock food back the 1 gallon size is perfict. then tape the edges down to the floor sealing it all the way around using tape. do not put anything hevy on it you want it to have an air space under the plastic. set it that way for 24 hrs and if it clouds up and gets damp then you will have problems with the condcrete weeping moisture up into the shop.

full on spray on foam will do a LOT to help but is $$$. the 2" thick foam boards with foil facing work great and you can buy foil tape to seal up the seams. this works great to build faulse celigns (seen some photos here last year) the shinny foil inside will reflect the heat and light making it much brighter inside! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif the cost is not as bad as the spray on foam and can be done in sections at a time by you're self & wife/dad helpers. screw it up suing flat washers & adheasive glue. if you don't think any insulation is under the OSB siding/boards then that would be a great application for that spray on foam ... commercially...

first priorty fix the leaks for sure if you thinking about re-roofing then by all means do it right... around here it is popular to re-roof using panels laid over the existing roof. so no tare out is needed. Ohio is vay bad for temp swings and high humidity in summer and none in winter. condensation is big issue as we get lots and lots of rain and have lots of mold issues too... wet damp for months on end then goes hot and moist where you can't buy a drop of rain but will have 80% humidity! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif talk about hard to breath... as a rule of thumb if you have more HOT days with humidity then it is best to have the vapor barrier on the outside of building( tyvek type house wrap) if you have more cold and dry days then the vapor barrier should be on the inside of the heated space (foam or fiberglass with paper vapor barrier)...

as for the humidifiers yes work great IF <H1> IF IF </h1>you seal it up (low air exchange) otherwise you are simply taking moisture out of air that raises up and goes outside drawing in more moist air for you to treat...


Mark M

 

[jeffinsgf]

Tom, I just had two buildings foamed this year, and I am a true believer now. One was a brand new 40 x 76 SteelMaster arch building with an 18 foot peak. I have about 600 square feet of that closed off and finished as offices. The rest is kept comfortable and dry with a very small propane radiant heater and two ceiling fans.

The other was an existing 24 x 30 pole barn which is going to be my shop. I had an inch of foam shot on the whole thing. It eliminated all drafts, sealed up all gaps, stopped all the leaks and now I can keep it at 50 degrees constantly with a small forced air electric heater that seems to run about 10 minutes of every hour when it is 30-ish outside.

I think the biggest issue with rust on tools is temperature swings. I haven't had any rust issues this winter in my shop building, just by keeping it 50 all the time.

 

[tomrscott]

Can you give us some idea of the cost of that?

 

[jeffinsgf]

The arch building, which has an enormous amount of surface area, was about 5000. The 24 x30 barn was about a thousand. If I remember right, it was about 1.80 per square foot per inch.