Damp Garage

[billm]

I have an external detached concrete sectioned garage with asbestos(like) corrugated roofing sheets and a metal up & over door and concrete floor. It is used to store my classic car in. There are no leaks from the roof so its a dry garage when it rains. However when we get a wet night, the car can be soaking in the morning, like a heavy dew on it, as are all my tools etc on the shelves. I'm assuming this is due to damp air getting in and cooling overnight ?

Having a classic car get damp is not ideal especially as its a roadster so all the clocks and gauges, seats, carpets etc get damp too as well as the exterior.

Is this caused by 1) not enough air flow through the garage or 2) too much air coming into the garage through the various gaps around the door and between the roofing sheets and the top of the concrete walls.

Any suggestions how I can improve it ?

thanks

 

[jeds]

Depends how far you want to go. First thing is to increase your natural ventilation. That's the cheapest option and may be enough to eliminate it alltogether. Otherwise you could consider a circulation fan. There are low watt trickle fans made specifically for that purpose but you are obviously looking at more cost to install and run. Or maybe a dehumidifier. The ordinary types would be useless as they rely on a sealed system to work effectively, but there are absorbtion types made for this type of situation that would probably do the job. wouldn't be cheap though.

 

[billm]

Sounds like increased ventilation is the first route. We're not talking Ferrari's here so the solution cost needs to be reasonable.

The problem is all the sides are concrete section and corrugated roof, so fitting something like an inbuilt fan is night on impossible through the 2" walls.

There is a fixed window on one side but its not the side from where the wind predominantly blows. On inspection the rear apex is just a wooden panel I wonder if an old passive Venta Axia fan in there might improve the circulation and it is nearer to the direction of the prevailing wind.