Garage floor getting damp??

[NewShockerGuy]

I am getting ready to istall my legacy expoxy floor.

I am doing somet things around the garage to prep. It's been raining ALL day yesterday and today.. I walk into my garage and the floor is damp, Thinking it might just be the humidity I put my hand on the slap and it is in fact damp/wet. Almost the entire garage floor is like this. I didn't notice this before since we didnt' get that much rain via the winter but now I am noticing it...

I am in the position now on "what do I do" Do I call a foundation expert? (is there such a thing) Do I call a water drainage person?

I am thinking that since the concrete is damp that means water is under the house/garage? I will try and take pictures here in about 30 mins as I will move my car out..etc.

I don't want to install the epoxy and then have it mess up due to the moisture in the future if after the epoxy is dried and cured but then it rains next month and moisture goes under the epoxy or if that even matters once it cures? I know you don't put the epoxy on the floor if the concrete is damp or below 60 degrees..etc.


Thanks,
-Nigel

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Nigel:

Your floor may be wet as slab temps lag behind air temps.
Air temp rises too fast and you get water.

Wait a few weeks and see what happens.

 

[kywildcat]

I just coated my floor a few weeks ago, and Scotty is right. Its the humid air hitting the cold slab. Mine is catching up now, it is a little less wet everyday. I'd say by the end of next week it wont be a problem.

 

[NewShockerGuy]

Ok that's good then... I was freaking out thinking we are having a foundation or water problem under the house since I've never seen the garage floor slab EVER get wet..lol

This weather needs to get warm and STAY warm! lol

-Nigel

 

[pauls340]

NewShockerGuy, I have two garages, one old attached and one two years old and de-tached. The old one has never been sealed, the new one has. The old one is wet 6 months a year the old one got a coat of Vapor Lock 10/10 applied when it was 4 hours old. Nothing, and I mean nothing that I pickup off the newer floor is even remotely damp...no rust rings, no mold or mildew. The old garage destroys everything. It's a fact, you will get 100% relative humidity under your slab due to capillary action...even in the desert. Vapor Lock 10/10 will penetrate and find any water moisture and turn it into additional calcium silicate hydrate gel. Your strength and psi will also increase. Try it.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Paul:
ShockerGuy has an issue with the dew-point (delta between slab temp and air temp is too great). If you have aggressive moisture beneath a slab it will build until the concrete itself pops off. I have seen it many times. There is no miracle in a can.

Vapor Lock sounds an awful lot like a densifier. Densifiers do not stop vapor transmission. They stop the minerals and salts (efflorescence) from moving through the slab otherwise carried through and deposited on the surface by the moistrue. They also help stop topside moisture absorption and add strength to the surface. They do a great job but there is a limit to what they do.

 

[pauls340]

Scott, you're also correct. Our densifier is Vapor Lock 0/0

 

[A_Pmech]

As has been stated, your slab is below the dewpoint of the air in the room. Just like a cold soda can, it is condensing water vapor from the air.

To eliminate this problem, use a dehumidifier. I have tens of thousands of pounds of machine tools in my garage, in addition to the entire garage being made from masonry, both of which act as a large thermal mass which warms very slowly. I run a dehumidifier from very early spring though late fall to keep the humidity at a constant level and prevent condensation on the floor, walls, machines and tools.