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I just moved into a house in south New Jersey and it feels very damp??
I know that the house was vacant for about four months & there was a plumbing leak in side the house.I have been living in the house for about
three months now and it still feels damp.I installed some closet shelves
and the sheetrock still felt damp.I just relocated from Santa Fe NM were
the climate is alot dryer,so I don’t know if this is normal or not???
thanks
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Replies
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Doug,
Do you have a basement? A crawlspace? Or are you on a slab? I suspect that someone will want/need to know....
Rich Beckman
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I have a crawlspace with concrete floor.
Also central AC
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NJ is ALOT more humid than NM, so right off the bat, everything will feel more damp.
What is the relative humidity inside the house now?
Is that with the AC running?
What is the RH in the crawlspace right now?
Is that with the AC running?
Is the crawlspace vented?
How old is the house?
Was this at it's inception a seasonal cottage?
Is it a crawlspace constructed of continuous block walls or of piers with walls infilled inbetween the piers?
Is the crawlspace wet?
Is there a dehumidifier in the crawlspace?
-Rob
*This has been an odd summer in South Jersey. I've never seen so much rain, so often. Seems like we're getting a storm every night for two months now. I'm sitting here because right now it's raining so hard I don't want to make the 40' dash back to the shop. (That'll teach me to come in for a bagel.)My tomatoes and peppers are all rotting before they're even ripe. Usually have to run the sprinkler on the garden three or four times a week. I haven't turned it on in a month.I saw a farmer harvesting tomatoes the other day with two tractors in tandem. One to pull the harvester and another to pull that tractor. Even had a third tractor pushing the truck being loaded through the field. I don't know if you have a problem or not but right now, everything in South Jersey is wet.
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Rob,
I know that it will feel damper here on the east coast then in New Mexico.I was raised in New England,but I think that it is more than that.I don"t know what the RH is in the house,how would I find out???The dampness is with the AC on or off it makes no difference.
The crawlspace is a continuos block foundation with a slab floor and than about 4ft.+/- to the bottom of the joist.The crawl space is vented and feels dry.The house is about 15 yrs old it has a stucco front and alluminum siding around the sides and rear of the house.I am not near any water or major wetlands.Their is a dehumidifier in the basement I have the setting set at dry and just changed the filter and had it serviced when I moved in.I also cleaned the gutters and fixed any down spout prolems so that all water runs away from the house.Their are a lot of trees close to the house an was thinking that the sun never realy gets a chance to dry out the house after it rains.
Ryan,
I know it has been raining a lot and it does not look like it will let up untill friday.The house still feels damp even after a few days of sunshine we do get.
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If you want to check your humidity, you can get a small humidity guage at Radio Shack for probably $40.00.
How much water is your dehumidifier pulling out of the air in a week?
Where in South Jersey are you if you don't mind my asking.
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My mistake it is NOT a dehumidifier BUT a Humidifier.
*Ryan, Voorhees
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Turn off the Humidifier and then check the humidity again. ;-)
About Humidity gages:
When you buy a humidity gage at the hardware store or at Radio Shack be aware that the simple ones are not very accurate (very expensive ones are used for testing purposes, etc.). I have four of the typical cheap ones (~ $10 each) and the digital one reads 20% differently than the 3 mechanical ones, so type may not be an indicator of quality (I think that the digital one happens to be bad). Search the archives for more information (lots of info there).
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Herein an mail response to your Question from NH On-line form. It was
submitted by
Paul L. Meter ([email protected]) on Monday, August 14, 2000 at 12:23:38
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question: What do you recommend that I do next to lower the moisture content of
the floor joists in my crawl space? I have installed insulation between the
joists. I have installed a moisture barrier on the ground and it covers 100% of
the area under the house. I have installed thermostatically controlled vents
around the foundation. The moisture content in one area of the crawl space (one
joist) reads 99%. The average is around 19% in most places. Termini suggests
installing a vent fan ($950!). I keep the AC thermostat at 72-73 degrees in the
summer. Do you think taking the insulation out would be a good idea? I know
living on the coast in NC is a humid area. Our house was remodeled when we
bought it 17 years ago. It probably did not have central AC before (built in the 50's) and there was
probably not a moisture problem. I believe the difference in hemp between the
inside of the house and the crawl space is the problem. What can I do? How about sealing all the vents and installing a dehumidifier in the crawl space... would be cheaper than a $950 fan and I could install that myself!
P.. Meter
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The rain this year is the problem...Nothing else.
damp everything near the swollen stream, rainin almost daily since May,
aj
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Thanks for the info.
I am starting to belive that it is just a wet
summer and everything is just a little wetter than usual.
I also think with the trees the house just isn't getting enough sun
to dry out.
thanks again
Doug Simpson
DJS Drafting
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I just moved into a house in south New Jersey and it feels very damp??
I know that the house was vacant for about four months & there was a plumbing leak in side the house.I have been living in the house for about
three months now and it still feels damp.I installed some closet shelves
and the sheetrock still felt damp.I just relocated from Santa Fe NM were
the climate is alot dryer,so I don't know if this is normal or not???
thanks