Insulation and moisture

[Nickolas40]

Hi, I have a bit of a problem. I've been insulating my shop a little bit at a time. I'm almost ready to install the vapor barrier but there is a slight problem. There has been a cold snap during the past few days and I used the gas heater to heat the shop while I was working on different projects in the shop. I decided to look behind some of the insulation and I found moisture on the other side of the insulation and on the surface of the wooden walls too. I'm worried that the moisture will cause mold problems if left un-rectified. Is it possible to dry out the insulation and walls or is the insulation ruined? If I leave it for a week or two without using the heat will it dry out on its own? I hope there is a solution besides starting from scratch again and spending twice the money. Thanks for looking.

 

[vartz04]

You could stick a dehumidifier in there for a while

 

[Toolfool]

Spun fiberglass insulation ? Not good. It's designed to trap air in millions of tiny pockets, or in your case, probably water. You could try the dehumidifier, but my rule has always been : once wet, toss it.

 

[Tracs]

When I was building my garage I was insulating in March when it was warm and once I put the fiberglass insulation in the stud cavities and the vapor barrier over it, there was some moisture starting to collect between the poly and insulation. The local building inspector who used to own his own construction company told me no big deal and it will eventually dry out.

I was skeptical but have not had any problems and it has been almost a year now.

 

[4cyclic]

Use fans to circulate air inside and open doors to let cold dry air in. It will help dry it out. If insulation is not wet, you should be ok, it should dry out.

 

[derkperk]

Use fans to circulate air inside and open doors to let cold dry air in. It will help dry it out. If insulation is not wet, you should be ok, it should dry out.

X2. Just let it air out before you put up the poly.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

 

[RM209]

When I was building my garage I was insulating in March when it was warm and once I put the fiberglass insulation in the stud cavities and the vapor barrier over it, there was some moisture starting to collect between the poly and insulation. The local building inspector who used to own his own construction company told me no big deal and it will eventually dry out.

I was skeptical but have not had any problems and it has been almost a year now.

Yup, it will dry out; it's spun glass.

RM209

 

[NUTTSGT]

Did you use unfaced fiberglass or did you use kraft faced and put the paper to the backside ?

 

[tomroblee]

Is your gas heater vented or unvented? If it's unvented, it will dump a LOT of water into the air, and the moisture will condense on the coldest surfaces--your outside walls.

In warmer weather you could dry out the building with a dehumidifier or more ventilation. However, a dehumidifier isn't going to work in cold air, and additional ventilation is less effective if the moisture just freezes.