Pole barn condensation?

[slowTA]

Last spring I had a 32 x 50 pole barn built with insulation and liner panels, insulated floor with PEX but no boiler installed yet.

That fall/winter I found small puddles on the floor and base trim in front of the posts along one wall. I pulled some panels back from the wall and the insulation, posts, girts, etc seemed to be dry. It eventually stopped doing that later in the winter and was fine until yesterday when it started again. We had temps drop pretty quickly and an early snow dusting in North Jersey.

Here are a few pics, any ideas what I can do to stop this in the future? It only happens along this one wall (surprisingly it's the wall that faces down hill from the garage).

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

Install a ceiling fan OR any fan to get air circulating

 

[slowTA]

I have 4 ceiling fans on a smart switch. I can put them on low speed for a few hours a day.

 

[karoc]

So the condensation is running down the panels to the trim piece, not getting the insulation wet? Guessing its the panels that is on sunny side or is it all the walls? I have read so much about condensation on underside of roof panels to panels for the walls, it just gets confusing. Lots of post about this subject if you search but its nice to get fresh new advice from others that has prevent this problem. Which most will say use spray foam,which is good answer if person has funds but what was done before spray foam.
So next question is did you go with plastic vinyl wrap insulation,or what type insulation was used and is it between two metal pieces that come in contact with each other? I am asking cause this is also my concerns when I start my build. I be following along

 

[yeldogt]

With the rain and moisture in the air recently -- anytime you get a colder night anything that drops under the dew point will condense on it. It's like a car or the ground in the morning after no rain. the metal panels are under the dew point .... this will occur from bottom to top.

It happens all the time in an uninsulated garage -- but all the air leaking will dry it out eventually. You have trapped air inside .. the sun takes care of the outside.

You may have had some water from the new slab last year as well -- heating the inside will solve the problem ... it will raise the surfaces above the dew point -- warm air can hold more moisture.


Moving air only works when the air is not uniformly holding or not holding water .... moving air under the dew point does not solve the problem.

 

[PWC Repair]

Betting the sun hits that wall first.

 

[slowTA]

I've only found the puddles along that wall, not saying it doesn't happen on the others as I have more stuff piled up along them.

That wall faces the south west and has a little more shade than the others.

The other long wall has 2 windows and a man door, so there is more light coming in that can warm the other side and floor.

So circulating air could help for now until it gets colder and then it can happen on all the walls!

 

[ericm]

If the building is well sealed a dehumidifier will help.

 

[yeldogt]

I've only found the puddles along that wall, not saying it doesn't happen on the others as I have more stuff piled up along them.

That wall faces the south west and has a little more shade than the others.

The other long wall has 2 windows and a man door, so there is more light coming in that can warm the other side and floor.

So circulating air could help for now until it gets colder and then it can happen on all the walls!

My guess is that wall is least heated during the day and gets cold enough now at night .... when we get into winter with lower temps and less humidity ..it may go away. sunny day with snow will brings some back

 

[PWC Repair]

This time of year we just have big temp swings. One day last week I had a few drips off my lights in the shop.

 

[glentre]

Don't leave your garage doors open during the spring and fall when the night time temps drop and the outside humidity is high. This is the time you get condensation on your outside car and grass (dew). When you have no garage heating and open the doors in the morning with the inside garage temps low from the night before, you get condensation on the cold wall surfaces because the temperature of these surfaces is lower than the dew point of the air entering the garage. Lucky it's only the metal walls and not all of your tools, concrete floor and equipment. It's a problem many of us are faced with and we learn to live with it by being careful about opening the doors during these times. Ceiling fans can help by circulating the warmer higher garage air down toward the floor at these times but whether you get condensation or not depends on the dew point inside the garage. ( the temp of the air at which it can no longer absorb any more moisture and it condenses out on colder surfaces.)

Glen

 

[Showkey]

Moving the air with any fans does NOT a change the dew point, humidity levels inside or outside, internal temperature of the building or substantially change the temperature of the metal parts of the building or the quick temperature swing. All which play a part in condensation issue.

Metal building have their own little internal weather system. Control the internal humidity and temperature swing is the key as others have already mentioned. If the inside humidity is 65-85% your going to have huge condensation issue with the temperature swing.

 

[ericm]

It's the dew point of the exposed interior metal that's important. The outside of the building will get cold due to convection and conduction with the colder outside air and radiation to the night sky (why cars get dew on them on clear nights). Since it's metal that conducts heat well, the interior side will be the same temperature. Which can bring it below the dew point of the air inside, resulting in condensation.

If the inside air could not get to the metal surface (i.e. the interior was spray foamed) then it would not matter. No humid air means no condensation. If your insulation is allowing air circulation under it you're going to get condensation. And lose some of the insulating value, but that's another problem.

As pointed out by others circulating the air is not going to help much. Changing the air temperature won't help much either as it's the cold metal that's the problem. It would only help as much as your raised temp warms the metal. Lowering the humidity will help.

The other possibility is that you have a leak of some kind in the roof or wall and condensation on the outside is leaking in.