Closing Off an "Open" Garage

[bulletpruf]

Fellas -

The garage in my new rental house is located on the basement level.



Has 4 windows. Two of them have glass, the other two are open -- just have wrought iron bars and some screen.

Here's pic of it before it was painted, and before any tools showed up.


I don't like humid air in the garage, of course, because it leads to rust. And it's windy here, so all sorts of dirt/dust gets blown in through the windows. So I took some clear plexiglass, cut to size, and installed it over one of the open windows. I have one more to do.



Here's my concern - am I potentially going to make the humidity worse by giving it no place to go? Should I install a fan in the windows that I'm closing? I suppose I can always put a dehumidifier in the garage, too, but they do take a lot of room.

FYI - Latitude here is about the same as New York City, I think, but we're very close to the Mediterranean (I can see it from the roof), so winters are quite mild. Humidity isn't ridiculous, but it's certainly not arid. Summers aren't bad at all. I do know an A/C unit will take care of the humidity, but I don't necessarily need A/C or heat to be comfortable.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[nadogail]

have you considered a Dehumidifier?

 

[christopher7390]

dehumidifier does wonders, I live in a basement and boy does it make a difference.

 

[bulletpruf]

have you considered a Dehumidifier?

Yes. I think I'll close the other window off and see what happens. If the humidity is high, I'll get a dehumidifier.

Thanks

Scott

 

[rsanter]

You have a couple of options you could try.

Yes the dehumidifier will solve the problem.

The other thing is that if you had a couple of fans that kept the air moving within the sealed space then even if it gets humid the moisture will stay more suspended in the air and that will reduce ( not eliminate) the rust issue. Kind of depends on how humid.
This is often done in warehouses where steel stock is kept and humidity is high enough to cause rusting but not high enough that a dehumidifier is needed.

What about filters on the bars instead of windows? Close off the space but still let it breath?

Bob

 

[CNGsaves]

Welcome to GJ . . . Wow, from Italy, your "normal" daily view out the garage is what most of use would have to spend big bucks on vacation to go see !!

With all that concrete, I'd guess that once it's closed up it will be much better in there as thick concrete walls serve as insulation buffer from temperature swings.

I would start out with couple fans. Hang one of those 24" ceiling mount fans in far corner and pretty much have it running all the time. For other fan, recommend a pedestal oscillating fan that you can move around depending on where you're working in the garage.

I'd wait on the de-humidifier for "Phase 2" if closing it up and fans don't give you the improvement that you're wanting. Good luck.

 

[bulletpruf]

You have a couple of options you could try.

Yes the dehumidifier will solve the problem.

The other thing is that if you had a couple of fans that kept the air moving within the sealed space then even if it gets humid the moisture will stay more suspended in the air and that will reduce ( not eliminate) the rust issue. Kind of depends on how humid.
This is often done in warehouses where steel stock is kept and humidity is high enough to cause rusting but not high enough that a dehumidifier is needed.

What about filters on the bars instead of windows? Close off the space but still let it breath?

Bob

Bob -

Appreciate the input. Yeah, I think I do need to let the space breathe. Will give the filter idea some thought.

Scott

 

[bulletpruf]

Welcome to GJ . . . Wow, from Italy, your "normal" daily view out the garage is what most of use would have to spend big bucks on vacation to go see !!

With all that concrete, I'd guess that once it's closed up it will be much better in there as thick concrete walls serve as insulation buffer from temperature swings.

I would start out with couple fans. Hang one of those 24" ceiling mount fans in far corner and pretty much have it running all the time. For other fan, recommend a pedestal oscillating fan that you can move around depending on where you're working in the garage.

I'd wait on the de-humidifier for "Phase 2" if closing it up and fans don't give you the improvement that you're wanting. Good luck.

I've got a few spare pedestal oscillating fans that I can try for now. Thanks for the input.

Can't see much from the garage, but the rooftop is a great space -- we're going to put some outdoor furniture up there. Have a great view of the Mediterranean (few miles away) and Mount Vesuvius (10 miles away?).

Scott

 

[softailgarage]

Can't see much from the garage, but the rooftop is a great space -- we're going to put some outdoor furniture up there. Have a great view of the Mediterranean (few miles away) and Mount Vesuvius (10 miles away?).

Scott