Reducing Moisture in a single brick garage

[JazzMAN808]

Hi All,

I have a double detached garage which has a tile roof and the wall consists of single brick. The garage was built 5 years ago as part of a new build house and is mainly used for storage and a treadmill I have in there.

Over the winter season we noticed a lot of our items were either covered in mould or for example card board boxes would become "mushy" or lose their rigidity. I put in two dehumidifiers to help with the issue and it has but not really a long term solution especially as I would have to empty the dehumidifiers every day circa 1l capacity each. There is no signs of damp on the walls.


What are the recommendations to reduce moisture in the garage to prevent mould? Have no plan to turn it into a habitable space, just using the garage for storage mainly.

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks

Jazz

 

[HERTS P&D]

Leave the door open, it needs ventilation.

Andy

 

[JazzMAN808]

So cant do that when its raining, unlike the glorious weather today in the UK but after a quick search saw some recommendations for soffit vents?

 

[HERTS P&D]

My post was partly a joke but you would need to increase the ventilation.

Andy

 

[Johnny Allround]

Hi Jazz, simply increase airflow through your garage by replacing a brick on two sides of your garage with vent bricks as replacements. We’re there are any damp issues most are caused by a lack of airflow within a building. Regards John

 

[JazzMAN808]

Hi Johnny, Andy

Thanks for the responses, at the moment the side garage door is left open.

@Johnny Allround - the garage has two double garage doors with a small gap underneath obviously for opening and shutting so some air is ventilated through but obviously not enough. I'll have a look at what I can do re. putting in vented bricks.

No signs of damp anywhere inside the garage, we do have wooden storage units running across one side which I haven't checked but the mdf backing board is still strong and not gone mushy if there was signs of damp.

 

[Johnny Allround]

Hi Jazz, simply by increasing airflow will reduce moisture buildup and inevitably damp. So you’re on the right track, vent bricks are about £8.00 and do the job when you can’t keep the door open. Good luck John.

 

[John D v2.0]

Even the outside of your car on the drive gets wet on cold nights and that's about your most ventilated space on the property, the problem is fluctuating temperatures around the dew point so the only way around it is to keep the temperature and dew point apart ie dehumidifier and or heating.
Ventilation would only really help if there was source of humidity within the garage and even then you'd need heat as well.
The side of your car close to the house gets less damp because it's more sheltered.

 

[^woody^]

You're on a hiding to nothing. High seasonal humidity, constantly damp walls and floor evaporating moisture, cold surfaces promoting condensation, limited air flow, no heat.

Use plastic storage boxes with lids.

 

[noseall]

Good luck John.

He'll need more than luck and few airbricks.

As Woody said above, the whole building is unsuitable for sensitive storage and would need a whole herd of improvements. more ventilation is about fifth on the list.