Argh! Humid Workshop!

[The_Mad_Woodworker]

Here is my dilemma. I am usings an old workshop, small, tin roof, about 50 years old. Here's the good news. All of the boards are tongue and groove, all of the posts are rough 8-10 in. diameter aromatic ceder, and 99% of the wood is all in good shape (no checking, rotting or warping). Here's the bad news. Only the outside (vertical) boards are up (so no inside wall or finishing of any kind), one wall has lots of small (1/8 to 1/32) crack and holes in it, the point where the wall meets the roof is has wide gaps (though i have now thoroughly sealed them with that pink fiberglass insulation *itchy*) and the floor, tough tongue and grove, is all there is between me and 8-10 in of air to the ground.

I set these questions to you with one thing for you to keep in mind, I can not afford to build a new shed.

A) is this shed a lost cause?

B) how would YOU attempt to keep the humidity lower?

C) What order should I prioritize these problems?

D) any tips


Notes: I fully intend to put insulation and tonge and groove boards in as soon as I can, and One day build a brand new shop (5+ years). I will of course continue to work to fill or cover any gaps I can.

 

[ehpoole]

When it comes to controlling humidity, nothing beats a dehumidifier. You'll end up with a much more comfortable shop and you won't have to worry about rusting tools and cast iron tops. When it comes to choosing a dehumidifier the larger the unit the more efficient it will be, so focus on the 50-70 pint/day units -- the cheaper 25 pint/day units are only moderately cheaper but much less efficient at removing moisture and will ultimately cost you more in electricity than the larger units. Look for a dehumidifier with a digital hygrometer so that you can easily and accurately set your desired relative humidity. I keep my shop at about 40%RH, but anything in the 40-50% range will result in a more comfortable shop with less rust. It will also help stabilize your stored wood, resulting in less unwantedd movement during assembly and preps the wood for typical indoor humdities (assuming an air conditioned home).

However, the better you can seal the shop against outdoor humidity intrusion the better. The humidifier will have an easier time pulling the moisture out of the air if it is not being constantly replenished from massive air leaks. Improved sealing will also pay off in the form of reduced energy consumption since the unit will have that much less work to do.

As far as the flooring concern goes, if the tongue and grooves are tight I doubt it will be all that much worse than the concrete floors many of us have. If it proves to be a problem you could always add a layer of felt on top of the existing floor and lay down new floor boards on top of the felt.

Good luck!

 

[Jeff]

Shaun,

It sounds that you've got a good basic structure to work with, but it needs some fine tuning and enhancements to address your problem. What are the dimensions of your shop? How are the interior walls framed; 2 x 4s on 16-24" centers, etc.? What's above your head up to the tin roofing? Some pics would be helpful here.

Sounds like you're on a budget so here's a few thoughts that you might consider. Expanded Polystyrene sheeting (I recommend the white stuff) can be purchased in custom lengths, widths, and thicknesses (1-2" thick sounds about right). It won't support mold, mildew, or condensation and it has a high R-value. It can be used in walls, ceilings, or floors. Contact "Universal Foam Products" for a consultation and free quote on materials after you do the math. Probably ceiling and walls as a first priority IMHO.

http://univfoam.com/products/styrofoam

Garage shop renovation article is pretty informative.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/30907/total-garage-shop-makeover

Good luck.

 

[The_Mad_Woodworker]

My shop is very small, smaller still when so much stuff is stored in it, but I plan to move a lot of the non-woodworking stuff out of there as soon as I find/make places for them elsewhere. So my dimensions are as follows. 11 ft. 3in. by 10 ft. The roof is a single slope front to back. so the front wall (facing the south west) is 7 ft. 6 in. to bottom of joists, and on the back wall it is 6ft. 7in. between me and the tin roof is 2X6(1.5 x 5.5) joist spaced between 19 and 22 inches, and some nails put there long ago to hang various things. the walls are strangely done. They consist of 2 x 4 's aligned horizontally between the posts ( just on the outside perimeter of them actually). there are 3, one at floor level, one at waist, and one around head height. lastly around the tops of the walls run 2 x 6 's. I have some good news. I saved some 1 in. tongue and grove pine boards (removed from walls) from renovating a kitchen. unfortunatly there was not enough to cover all the walls, but I did get one in (the largest one, which also happens to get the most sun). I would love to do the rest of my walls with the tongue and groove boards, it really looks great and if has a nice feel (unless there is a reason I should not, which I would rather no about now then find out later). I'll post some pics when I get a digital camera, and hopefully by then I'll have the res of the unnecessary stuff moved out.

 

[BWSmith]

The every best of luck,am playing tag with humidity here........its a losing battle.Sealing it up and running a dehumidifyer is certainly one way to do it.BW

 

[Jeff]

Shaun,

Maybe we can help you out with some advice, critique, etc. You're struggling with a real small shop, but that's not a show stopper. Here's a couple of ideas which are close to dimensionally correct based on your 2 posts in the thread. Not exact, but close. Vertical siding is ok too, but you want to add the insulation/styrofoam stuff before you "close" it up with the tongue & groove walls on the interior. A word of warning on my part: The building itself has still gotta breathe so resist the temptation to make it really airtight.

Your building is a traditional design using vertically mounted siding. The front to back shed type sloping roof vs an a-frame is pretty common around here too.

Glad to help if I can. The drawings can be revised as needed to guide you.

 

[The_Mad_Woodworker]

Yep! That's about it. So there are two things I forgot to mention. First is that the front side was resided by my uncle some year's ago with plywood boards(not my favorite,but it works) so when I get around to replacing that (sooner than later) I'll throw in insulation and such. I will of course make sure to get the insulation in the other wall's before I board them up, and I agree, a certain amount of breathing is good for the building.

The other thing is that the whole structure continues to the right (facing the front). That portion is walled on three sides (shop side, back, and right). The wall's in this area are in much worse shape (not including the shop side, due to it being used as a firewood shed, throwing knife board, and carpenter bees) so I plan to put a floor in at least part of it (its a dirt floor now) and putting a lot of those unnecessary items (that don't mind hot/cold/ humidity) in there to free up room in my work shop.

O and lastly, I have a window in my shop (left side, middle, resting on middle 2x4, about 20x25) which is great for providing some natural light, and a place to put an old air conditioner. I am testing an idea. If I let the shop "cook" during the day, the air in there can hold more moisture, and thus wick it out of whatever is in there (minus the amount that sneaks in through the cracks). Then during the morning/late afternoon/night I turn on the air conditioner which turns that warm moist air to cold dry air. An old "Taylor" hydrometer/barometer/thermometer device says I have it down to 50% humidity (it uses the old wood and metal strip technology, which has was accurate when I checked it against the weather service) Stay tuned for pictures, I'm borrowing my friends camera.