Humidity in the shop

[Tim's68]

First, I hope everyone had a great Christmas.
The humidity in my shop is beyond bad, EVERYTHING the this time of the year gets soaked my tools, the floor, everything. What can I do to fix this problem? I live in southeast Texas and this time of the year it can be 30 degrees today then turn around and be 80 tomorrow.
The shop walls and ceiling are insulated.
Any thoughts???

[flashed]

Get some air circulating ,ceiling fans on high would probably help .

[dwcsr]

I don't have that issue here in Houston. I do have ridge vents so the air can circulateand I don't get any condensation on tools at all. If you don't have a vent in the ceiling you need to make one so any heat will carry out the water.

[Tim's68]

Thanks for the sugestions. I already have ceiling fans installed I guess I need to install a couple of ridge vents. Any clue on the cost?
dwcsr, do you leave your vents open all the time?

[flashed]

Depending on what kind of roof you have ,you can install the ridge vents yourself and they are allways open.

[ETsC10]

Originally Posted by Tim's68

First, I hope everyone had a great Christmas.
The humidity in my shop is beyond bad, EVERYTHING the this time of the year gets soaked my tools, the floor, everything. What can I do to fix this problem? I live in southeast Texas and this time of the year it can be 30 degrees today then turn around and be 80 tomorrow.
The shop walls and ceiling are insulated.
Any thoughts???

Air circulation using ridge vents is not a single system. In general, the ridge vent is where the inside air exits and the eaves or soffits are where the incoming air enters.
With an insulated roof, make sure the path that the air flows (usually between the rafters) isn't blocked. If need be, install insulation baffles (cardboard things) or the wire rods (insulation supports) used to hold insulation away from the underside of the roof. In my area, a 4' ridge vent (for composite roofing) is about $10.

A good primer on gable vents and airflow:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?...ic_ventilation

Warning about using gable vents & ridge vents together:
http://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/forum/...se-gable-vents

[Tim's68]

I guess I should give a bit more detail on my shop. My shop is built from steel I-beams and has a metal roof and sides so I dont have soffit to have openings. I dont have a "ceiling" my roof is my ceiling.
The only option I would have is to install metal ridge vents. I will try to figure out how to post pictures .......... everyone likes pictures, including myself.
Agin thanks for eveyones help.

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by Tim's68

Thanks for the sugestions. I already have ceiling fans installed I guess I need to install a couple of ridge vents. Any clue on the cost?
dwcsr, do you leave your vents open all the time?

they are open a crack always but in the summer wide open. You have the same type of building I have. I have 2 vents about 6 feet long with a pull chain and I can full open full close or in between

[Bigdav160]

The shop walls and ceiling are insulated.
Any thoughts???

I have no insulation and do not have the same problem as you. Conscience?

I know in other parts of the country insulation is a must. Here, close to the Gulf, I think ventilation is more important.

Edit, some of my cast iron stationary tools I treat for rust prevention.

[dieseldawg142]

Originally Posted by Bigdav160

I have no insulation and do not have the same problem as you. Conscience?

I know in other parts of the country insulation is a must. Here, close to the Gulf, I think ventilation is more important.

Edit, some of my cast iron stationary tools I treat for rust prevention.

if you have no insulation, you will usually get enough air movement through all the cracks & joins in the wall to prevent this, & your not hot boxing your shop by keeping the heat in. you are venting good!

Tim's 68, if your building is the way you say it is built, unfortunately the best fix's are expensive. as ETCs10 states, you need better ventilation, short of building an attic into your shop and insulating & venting, there are some cheaper ways to help or eliminate this. as your roof is also your ceiling, i would install some goose neck vents along your ridge (cheapest & easiest vents to install).with the way your building is, these vent all the time, dont need to open or close. then i would install some wall vents down low on the walls to get your airflow through the building. once you get good air circulation through the building, you shouldn't have this problem
http://www.menzies-metal.com/catalog...vent-p-24.html
these vents are around $25 a pop. dont know what the regs are for your area, but where i live it's one vent for every 600 sq ft of building space. takes about 10-15 mins to install one of these on a metal roof.

[dwcsr]

I was at a guys house today while it was raining he opened his garage door a crack and within minutes the entire car was wet all the tools were wet. This may be what your talking about, First time I've seen that happen the inside was cooler than outside and the water vapor condensed on the colder items. This may be whats happening to your shop. ventilation will fix it

[Tim's68]

Thanks for everyones thoughts, I guess Ill be installing a couple of ridge vents here real quick. You know, when I purchased the building they told me that the vents are a waste of money and wouldnt need themsure would have been easier to install when they were putting up the building.
Oh well!

Tim.

[dieseldawg142]

guys that tell you venting is a waste of money are the ones that keep me in bizness!
ALL buildings need to be vented.
dwcsr-you are right, water vapor is everywhere all the time. when the air is cold the vapor becomes heavy & condensates, turns to water (dew point).metal cools much faster than building materials, so it always gets wet first. easiest way to get rid of it is vent the building. condensation problems are more prevalent in the winter because building are usually buttoned up tight against the cold & they can't breathe.
one thing that amazes me is how little underlay i see going on under metal roofs in the southern half of the country. all metal roofs should have a vapor barrier put down before the metal goes on.
metal roofs are by far the worst for condensating

[storm9c1]

I run portable dehumidifiers in every garage I own (and I have several on my property). It's the only way I've been able to regulate the humidity properly. I install a hose to the floor drain or through the wall into a downspout.

I also keep desiccant packs in my tool boxes. The desiccant packs are free -- many electronics come with them stashed inside the new box. Instead of throwing it in the garbage, throw it a the tool drawer (just keep it from getting bashed around as they will break open).

Temperature and weather changes -- especially big swings of temperature on high-humidity days -- are the culprit.

[_Ogre]

up here in michigan we have that problem in the spring when the air warms up.
i've learned to keep my doors closed during this time, even if i have to run the heat a little when it's 50f out and 40f in.
makes sense to open the doors and window to let the heat in, but you also let in the humidity.
when warm humid air hits your colder floor and tool box then condensation happens.

really bad when it gets all over your cast iron table saw, planer, drill press, etc...

[ETsC10]

Originally Posted by storm9c1

I run portable dehumidifiers in every garage I own (and I have several on my property). It's the only way I've been able to regulate the humidity properly. I install a hose to the floor drain or through the wall into a downspout.

I also keep desiccant packs in my tool boxes. The desiccant packs are free -- many electronics come with them stashed inside the new box. Instead of throwing it in the garbage, throw it a the tool drawer (just keep it from getting bashed around as they will break open).

Temperature and weather changes -- especially big swings of temperature on high-humidity days -- are the culprit.

I use desiccant in many things including cars being stored out of doors.
Fresh Step Crystals cat litter is 100% silica gel; same thing as the desiccant packs. I think the Tidy Cat crystals are too.
I pour it into an old sock & tie it off. For toolbox drawers, an envelope works fine.