Newbie with new shop!

[Aauman88]

Ok I just got my shop installed two months ago. It's Carolina carport 24x40x9 with vertical roof. I had the entire interior spray foam insulated and then went around the walls with 3/4 osb tongue and groove stood up. It's on concrete slab that does have moisture barrier. Two roll up doors, one walk thru and one window. I put shelves across one wall and they came with mdf inserts. I planned to get rid of mdf in future but after two months there was mold/mildew growing on the bottom row of shelves! No signs of it anywhere else. Removed bottom shelves and two weeks later it has moved up to the second shelf. Is the glue in mdf prone to mold? I have no ventilation yet but temps stay pretty comfy with spray foam. Need advise on how to exhaust or ventilate
Thanks for any help

 

[Milton Shaw]

Need location to make recommendations, it sounds like you have a lot of moisture to get rid off. Did the concrete have enough time to cure and dry out before the shop was built above it. Do you plan to a/c and heat the shop.

 

[Aauman88]

Middle Georgia. Concrete was done two months before building put in. Another month before insulation sprayed

 

[Aauman88]

I see no other signs of high humidity but I have not checked the dew point. Did I not wait long enough for slab to dry/cure? Will ventilating it help or will I have to run dehumidifier?

 

[pattenp]

It's been a really wet summer and I've had mildew problems in my garage more than in the past. If you don't A/C the building I think you'll need to use a dehumidifier.

 

[Aauman88]

Ok still dealing with my moisture problem and looking for a few recommendations. Have removed all mdf from shop due to the mold growth and just found the mold on 60% of the surfaces inside the mustang I keep stored in shop!! Removed car and worked in shop most of day yesterday with doors open. Put fan in window blowing out and two circulating fans in shop a week ago. The humidity was 60-65% all day while I was working. Checked this morning and 78-80% after being closed up over night but still had all fans going.
What do I need to do? Run dehumidifier until concrete finishes curing? Install hvac? If its going to be ongoing problem I will put hvac in but don't need to for temperature reasons. It stays around 75 on hot days and fans make it feel comfortable

 

[James-W]

If it were me I would go with air-conditioning. But you said temperature isn't an issue so a dehumidifier should be able to take care of the problem. But I doubt just one dehumidifier would be adequate for a space of that size, unless it was an awfully large one. You will most likely need to run at least two, and probably 3 units, at least until you get most of the humidity out of the air. Once the humidity is way down you can probably get by with just one fairly large unit.

By the way, I like the foam insulation. None of my business, but would you mind saying how thick it is what it cost you?

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I will put hvac in but don't need to for temperature reasons. It stays around 75 on hot days and fans make it feel comfortable

If you have lived in middle Georgia long, you know that this is an unusual summer, one of the coolest I've ever seen. Wait till you get a week of 100°F plus days and then you will be wanting A/C as everything will become heat soaked.

Charles

 

[Charles (in GA)]

By the way, I like the foam insulation. None of my business, but would you mind saying how thick it is what it cost you?

Well, they use 2 inch square galvanized tubing for the frame work, so I'm gonna guess that it is 1¾ to 2 inches thick from looking at it.

Charles

 

[Zeke]

No vents? I see a little daylight above and around the big door, but I think you need to let some air flow wet and cool summer or not. Maybe get some that you close up on the end walls. Put a fan in one.

 

[Aauman88]

Thanks for the replies. Over both roll up doors there is a six inch gap when doors are down. Has to have room for coil to get bigger as it rolls up.
The wall posts are 2 1/2" and is stripped with 2x's with the insulation trimmed only where plywood went up. So it is roughly 4" thick on bottom 8' and gets a little thicker in places above that. Cost of foam was $1800.
I have no issue put hvac in but will I still need fresh air vents or exhaust fans? If so what is my best placement? Air intakes at bottom on shaded side of building with exhaust on opposite side wall at top of building?

Thanks again

 

[Steve in Mi]

A couple of comments I hope will be helpful.

high humidity

You may find some very inexpensive relief using rock salt dehumidifying. A search of rock salt dehumidification will turn up some posts I've posted in the past on the subject.

opening above door opening

I'm not sure I understand your particular installation but I do know that 'continuous brooms' or 'brush sweeps' are sometimes used to bridge gaps that can not be totally enclosed/eliminated to provide a thermo and/or wind break between adjacent spaces. In the case of overhead doors they are used on both the sides and top of the door opening. 6" is certainly a sizeable gap.