greenbank
Active member
In my pole-building shop, I have two sides; one I finished last year, dry-walled and insulated, and lightly heated, the other is insulated with the R3 fabric stuff which they use in pole buildings to keep it from raining inside but otherwise as it was built.
The finished side stays about about 65% relative humidity year-round, nothing special done to keep it like that. I know that's higher than some of you guys like but it's fine in our soggy climate. Nothing rusts, the air feels dry and paper doesn't get soggy, etc.
The unfinished side gets to close to 90% in our humid winters, which is way too much. No condensation on things, but paper and cloth feels damp, etc.
Now. The unfinished side is "open" to the atmosphere because there are bird-block vents up at the peak of the gable which go directly outside, plus the ridge has a couple of bird-block vents that lead outside, too. Trying to dehumidify this or heat it would be the definition of insanity, I tried a dehumidifier last winter--it was like trying to dehumidify your backyard.
The slab is dry, I've done all the moisture tests, and nothing, or very little, is coming through the slab. I have a ceiling fan up in the gable which runs all the time to keep air circulating. The building itself is fairly leaky, but I can work on that.
My question is this: since the building is insulated, however lightly, can I just seal the unfinished side? I'd be willing to run a dehumidifier over there if I felt it wasn't a lost cause. I also open the big doors on days when it's nice outside, unless it's also below freezing.
A couple of friends have said "you have to keep the building vented" and I'm all "well, when it's 90% humidity outside, it's going to be 90% inside as well because that wet air just comes in, but when it's 60% outside it's still 90% inside because the humid air doesn't go back out, so how am I ahead?"
Opinions and advice, please. I don't have the money to finish this other side, not anytime soon, for sure.
The finished side stays about about 65% relative humidity year-round, nothing special done to keep it like that. I know that's higher than some of you guys like but it's fine in our soggy climate. Nothing rusts, the air feels dry and paper doesn't get soggy, etc.
The unfinished side gets to close to 90% in our humid winters, which is way too much. No condensation on things, but paper and cloth feels damp, etc.
Now. The unfinished side is "open" to the atmosphere because there are bird-block vents up at the peak of the gable which go directly outside, plus the ridge has a couple of bird-block vents that lead outside, too. Trying to dehumidify this or heat it would be the definition of insanity, I tried a dehumidifier last winter--it was like trying to dehumidify your backyard.
The slab is dry, I've done all the moisture tests, and nothing, or very little, is coming through the slab. I have a ceiling fan up in the gable which runs all the time to keep air circulating. The building itself is fairly leaky, but I can work on that.
My question is this: since the building is insulated, however lightly, can I just seal the unfinished side? I'd be willing to run a dehumidifier over there if I felt it wasn't a lost cause. I also open the big doors on days when it's nice outside, unless it's also below freezing.
A couple of friends have said "you have to keep the building vented" and I'm all "well, when it's 90% humidity outside, it's going to be 90% inside as well because that wet air just comes in, but when it's 60% outside it's still 90% inside because the humid air doesn't go back out, so how am I ahead?"
Opinions and advice, please. I don't have the money to finish this other side, not anytime soon, for sure.