Floor Sweating

[gmhill33]

My floor seems to be sweating in front of the garage door. Can I still epox my floor?

Thanks,
Gary

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[Jackfre]

I would get some fans running in there for a while. Don't put any surface covering down until you are certain that the floor is going to be ready to accept it. Just like all painting projects, 90% of the effort is prep. Is this humidity or leakage?

 

[gmhill33]

I would get some fans running in there for a while. Don't put any surface covering down until you are certain that the floor is going to be ready to accept it. Just like all painting projects, 90% of the effort is prep. Is this humidity or leakage?

Humidity. It didn't happen until I left the door open. I shut the door a little bit ago and turned the ceiling fans on so hopefully that will help it dry. If I epoxy the floor I will wait until the weather is warm for a while so that I'm sure that it won't sweat.

Gary

 

[Fastback]

It may just be the temps, the old side of my garage does that really bad in the springtime when I open the door. Was it a warmish humid day out when that pic was taken?

 

[gmhill33]

Yes, the temps went up and the floor started sweating. I just had it poured back in June and we put plastic under it so I hope that I can epoxy it without any problems.

Gary

 

[kywildcat]

My floor is about 45 days old and was a good pour. I had the doors open all day yesterday and the temps here in Ky got to about 65. When I started sweeping all the sawdust up late in the day, I noticed that the whole floor looked almost black and had a wet look to it. I left fans on all night, and the temp is back down in the 40s today, and it is back to its normal greyish color. Is all that normal??

 

[gmhill33]

My floor is about 45 days old and was a good pour. I had the doors open all day yesterday and the temps here in Ky got to about 65. When I started sweeping all the sawdust up late in the day, I noticed that the whole floor looked almost black and had a wet look to it. I left fans on all night, and the temp is back down in the 40s today, and it is back to its normal greyish color. Is all that normal??

That is the same situation that I had. Where abouts in kentucky do you live?

Gary

 

[kywildcat]

That is the same situation that I had. Where abouts in kentucky do you live?

Gary

Mayfield......in Western KY

 

[gmhill33]

Mayfield......in Western KY

I don't know where that is. I live about 36 miles east of cincinnati.

Gary

 

[Grumpy365]

You always hear about the "DewPoint" on the weather forecast on your evening news and A LOT of people don’t understand it, but it is relevant here.

Dew Point is the temperature in which water condenses on a smooth surface. It measures the TRUE HUMIDITY (the actual moisture in the air) as opposed to the RELATIVE humidity, which is the amount of moisture in the air relative to the temperature.

If you think how cold does my beer have to be before it will sweat, that temp is te dewpoint. (the most accurate way to measure dewpoint is a chilled mirror system, that cools down a mirror and looks for the point it starts to condensate)

Hot air can hold more moisture particles than cool air. So if it is 90 degrees and 50 % RH outside it has the same amount of moisture in the air as 68 degrees and 100% RH (both = 68 Degree Dew Point)

So if the floor in your garage floor is cooler than the dewpoint of the air in the space it will sweat.

I have way more problems with my garage sweating in the summer than I do in the winter, The air is warmer and has more capacity to hold moisture and you see higher dewpoint and my garage floor is nice and cool (comparatively)

 

[gmhill33]

You always hear about the "DewPoint" on the weather forecast on your evening news and A LOT of people don’t understand it, but it is relevant here.

Dew Point is the temperature in which water condenses on a smooth surface. It measures the TRUE HUMIDITY (the actual moisture in the air) as opposed to the RELATIVE humidity, which is the amount of moisture in the air relative to the temperature.

If you think how cold does my beer have to be before it will sweat, that temp is te dewpoint. (the most accurate way to measure dewpoint is a chilled mirror system, that cools down a mirror and looks for the point it starts to condensate)

Hot air can hold more moisture particles than cool air. So if it is 90 degrees and 50 % RH outside it has the same amount of moisture in the air as 68 degrees and 100% RH (both = 68 Degree Dew Point)

So if the floor in your garage floor is cooler than the dewpoint of the air in the space it will sweat.

I have way more problems with my garage sweating in the summer than I do in the winter, The air is warmer and has more capacity to hold moisture and you see higher dewpoint and my garage floor is nice and cool (comparatively)

Thanks for the explanation. Do you epoxy on your floor.

Thanks,
Gary

 

[Hammerdown]

I've used an epoxy system that is not affected by mositure in the concrete an the primer coat is put down while the floor is wet and damp!
PM me if you want any more details, I don't want tto hijack the thread or start a war of who's is the best or what have you, which has recently flooded the board.

 

[Grumpy365]

I don't want tto hijack the thread or start a war of who's is the best or what have you, which has recently flooded the board.

Hey, I just explained why floors sweat, I have no comment on how dry flooring needs to be to apply coating.

That being said, if you have a product, post it up so we can all learn something. (no need to be scared, all these people are imaginary anyway)

 

[Hammerdown]

That being said, if you have a product, post it up so we can all learn something. (no need to be scared, all these people are imaginary anyway)

I'm not scared, it just seems if you post a product that has worked for you and you like it, it turns from a simple recommendation into a flame thread. This guy loves it and that guy hates it. If I defend how it works or how well it works for me I seem like a paid spokesperson, and all the other vendors chime in and bash it!
I just try to help people with what I learned and experienced. But I am close to this companys retial location and have worked with it a number of times, I even get a contractor discount!

 

[Flooring For Garage]

This might give you some insights too:

http://www.flooringforgarage.com/garage-floor-epoxy-flooring-option/

Oops - just realized that this thread is quite old... Sorry!