I moved into a house that had the former garage turned into a general living area. The garage is a concrete floor and the foundation of the exterior wall(s) are brick. During wet weather, I believe that water is leaching into/ onto the garage floor. The room floor is approx 2 feet above the original garage floor and is comprised of 1″ plywood. The current room always feels/ smells damp. Is there some way that I can cover the room floor with a barrier to help eliminat this? I am looking into alternatives that do not require me tearing up the whole floor and sealing the exterior foundation walls. Thanks for the help (in advance).
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You could get a dehumidifier for the room dampness, but that would only take care of the room dampness. If there is access to the original garage floor without tearing up the living subfloor, I would have a look-see during the wet season and just see how damp it is.
Is your roof drainage away from the house in proper working order?
Determine if the wetness is coming from the surface above and then into the crawl space or if it is indeed leaching up through the concrete because of hydro-pressure. If it's the latter, a thick vapor barrier carefully laid onto the surface of the concrete and properly sealed might be the answer. Also there should be cross vents out the sides of the house that vent the 2' space. and possibly even fans mounted in one to keep the moisture and air flowing out.
Check for mold.
sealing the floor would merely hold the damp down under it and grow mold.
A dehumidifier installed down there would be better bu those use electricity and make heat.
sealing the walls on the outside would be better, but be sure firs that is the source of the moisture. Look around asking what else is a possible source?
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First thing to do is to make sure there's no liquid water seeping in. Next get some good ventillation in the area under the floor.
>>First thing to do is to make sure there's no liquid water seeping in. Next get some good ventillation in the area under the floor.Depends (maybe) on where he is.The slab will always be ground temp - do you really want to introuce hot humid air into a space with such a nice large condensing "plate?"
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Danlowyns
There is a right way to do this, (you alluded to it)and there are bandaide appraoches which will cover up the problem..
You could try these simple things first: 1. make sure gutter water drains far away from the building. 2. regrade the outside ground to slope away. 3. cut a hole in the crawl space wall and install a small fan and run it all the time. Cut a hole at opposite side that will supply enough air for the fan. As a trial, you could even run the fan on gfci protected extension cord and not install a permanent electrical outlet. Just protect it really well from rain and critters. If you go to hvac store you can find small fan inside a round duct. It is used to help air movement in a duct.
Next step up would be force ventilating the attic, if you have one. You could also cover the brick wall with vinyl siding. Vinyl would breathe, cheap and will not soak up moisture. Hope this helps.
As noted- first thing: good downspout extensions -- 6'- 10' feet away from the slab. And make sure the grading is away for the same distance.
A typical downspout will carry about 200-250 gallons of water per inch of rain. (About 7 - 8 30 gal trashcans worth)
Keep that water well away from the slab and garage.
Remember Mary Dyer, a Christian Martyr (Thank you, Puritans)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Dyer
May your whole life become a response to the truth that you've always been loved, you are loved and you always will be loved" Rob Bell, Nooma, "Bullhorn"