Damp concrete floors in a barn

[7chargers]

Just moved from a very nice newer shop with concrete floors to a home with a smaller barn to store my charger. My issue and question is : on humid days the concrete floor of the barn is moist and wet under my car. I dont want the car to form rust from this. I understand this would happen time to time but what might be a solution to keep the floor dry even on those hot summer days/nights?

[A383Wing]

sounds like you got a water table under there....find out why

[Ghoste]

Anywhere with a lot of humidity you can have a big problem with concrete sweating.  The only solutions I've ever heard of were good airflow and or a good dehumidifier.

[chaos52]

Same problem here. went out one day and everything within 3 feet of the floor was dripping. Certainly doesn't help with rust.

I would try keeping good airflow like ghoste said.

[Hard Charger]

increase your air circulation and decrease any moisture in the area such as a bad roof, leaky door,window, cracks in the sidewall as in shiplap joints etc.

[ACUDANUT]

Anywhere with a lot of humidity you can have a big problem with concrete sweating.  The only solutions I've ever heard of were good airflow and or a good dehumidifier.

Yep big problem here and in a lot of other places. Ghoste nailed it. It does not mean your sitting on top of a pond, leaking roof and or windows. Buy a dehumidifier.

[7chargers]

All good suggestions however its a old barn with a concrete floor so it does have the old barn doors that are not air tight. We have very sandy soil so water shouldnt be a issue. I'm sure air flow is a big factor I just never felt comfortable leaving a running fan in a garage 24 hours with out supervision just in case.

[J.Bond]

My barn, and main shop do the same thing,  both buildings are on grade, what you see, is the the differance between the air temp and the grade temp. Last week when we had our little heat wave up here in Ontario. We saw temps around 26 to 31 C. Barn semi open , shop closed up tight. Barn floor wet , shop floor dry. Shop temperature, 18. C outdoor temperature, 28. C . If you heated the barn to 18 to 22 C over the winter, you would have dry floors, or keep the barn doors sealed during the spring warm up, and it wont be as bad. I do not heat the barn, and the shop gets minimal heat durring the winter months. For the first part of the summer season, I try to keep the shop doors closed as much as possible, using the slab temperature to keep the building cool.

[Dino]

Cover the concrete in sand or sawdust, whichever is easier/cheaper to get and put the car on blocks.  With the leaky barn doors you'll be fine.

[Bob T]

Maybe a big sheet of heavy duty polythene / plastic under the car and a few feet around it to create a moisture barrier at least  , might be a cheaper immediate solution

[polywideblock]

a whole heard of "closet camels" under the car to soak up the damp    ,but seriously get a dehumidifier it will pay for its self in no time e.g. no body rot

[fy469rtse]

Concrete it self acts like a big sponge, so if your on a grade you could divert any build of ground water around it by installing at the highest point of area , think like a retaining wall that you don't want to rot out so you install water barrier and Aggy pipe , storm water pipe with slots filled in around it with gravel so excess ground soak has some where else to go , then divert that run off away from slab, also like boys have said good ventilation will help , if its a humidity problem , do you get condensation dripping from ceiling also, what roof in on your barn, good insulation under roof will act as a point to trap this condensation until it evaporates

[stripedelete]

I just never felt comfortable leaving a running fan in a garage 24 hours with out supervision just in case.

I feel the same way.  I'm considering this route.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/solar-powered-fan


Or, can you put a some type a of breaker near the motor of a regular fan that would cut it out if it started to burn up?

[A383Wing]

wow..pretty proud of their solar power attic fans, huh?

[Paul G]

Ventilation and dehumidification are the best choices. Trying to put anything over the slab will create mold problems. You don't want that. The moisture comes from warm moist air contacting the cool slab of concrete, at least that is the first place you are seeing it. Anything that is cooler than the warmer air is going to get moist, that includes the car. Keeping the moist outside air, outside, and running a dehumidifier 24/7 is your safest bet. Your Charger will thank you for it. Seal up that building and get a dehumidifier.

I would not be too worried about having an electrical device running in there as long as your wiring is up to snuff. Just keep the dehumidifier away from any combustibles as much as possible, just in case. 

[stripedelete]

I would not be too worried about having an electrical device running in there as long as your wiring is up to snuff.

What if your running a fan and the bearing/bushing goes?   Couldn't that be problematic if left unattended?  ( Had one start screaming last week, but, I didn't push it to see what the final moments looked like.)



     

[Paul G]

You cant really monitor every electrical appliance in your home on a 24/7 basis. Fridge runs, furnace runs, A/C, sump pump, etc., all run whether we are at home or out for the weekend or gone for a week. Appliances are designed to run automatically. They have built in protections like overload devices, fusible links, etc. that should shut off power in the event of a failure. I would be more concerned about old inadequate building wire and outlet receptacles than a brand new appliance such as a dehumidifier. 

As for the fan with a bad bearing, the motor will eventually seize if not caught in time, which you did, it will draw more current and the overload device should open the circuit. You walk in and the fan died. Toss it in the bin and get another one. Worst case is the motor starts to smoke until the circuit breaker in the panel trips off. Hence why we should keep them away from combustibles, just in case. And have adequate building wiring.

Oh, and have a good collector insurance policy. Just don't let moisture destroy our prize possessions, rust is not covered by insurance.

[stripedelete]

Isn't it a case of one way or the other?   A true barn with a concrete floor and a good roof is a great environment for storage due to the mass ventilation keeping the inside equal to the outside.  It isn't until we start sealing it up to keep out unwanted visitors, on 2 and 4 legs, that the problems start.  Of course a completely sealed, controlled,  environment is the other optimal condition.  

In the case of a wood boat (my other masochistic hobby) the barn is preferred because it puts the bacteria/rot to sleep for several months.  
     

[stripedelete]

As for the fan with a bad bearing, the motor will eventually seize if not caught in time, which you did, it will draw more current and the overload device should open the circuit. You walk in and the fan died. Toss it in the bin and get another one. Worst case is the motor starts to smoke until the circuit breaker in the panel trips off. Hence why we should keep them away from combustibles, just in case. And have adequate building wiring.

There's the answer to my original question!  Thanks. 

[Bob T]

There's also those car cocoons that have a fan and filtration system on them, could be worth a look compared to trying to seal all gaps in a barn & make completely weather proof

http://www.carcapsule.com/

[polywideblock]

There's also those car cocoons that have a fan and filtration system on them, could be worth a look compared to trying to seal all gaps in a barn & make completely weather proof

http://www.carcapsule.com/

                                 at the storage facility where the charger is kept there are  about half a dozen of these ,look to be well made  and there is no condensation even in this shitty weather we've been getting lately. might look into one for myself they  are not that expensive (I was thinking 1000's of dollars)