Sweaty Ceiling......

nina09

i have a storage space 3 feet high above the bathroom and bellow the roof (roof made of concrete). the storage space has foam insulation on the ceiling and metal showing between, the sides are cement and brick and the floor cement. There are also 4 pipes (hot and cold) pipes running through it. This space has 2 openings, one over the shower (The bathroom has a fan for humidity) and the other in the kitchen.
I plastered the room and then primered and then painted.
Problem is;
On a cold day, after hot showers and lots of cooking, there was water drops coming from the ceiling where the metal is. The drops appeared in straight lines where the metal is (heavier water at the opening) and along the cement on the sides. the water is due to condensation. Due to the water, the space becomes unusable, and I need this space to store stuff.

Would the following plan work?
1) Close the opening to the bathroom, but put in an exhaust fan pushing air into the bathroom
2) Put in fan for circulation of air from the kitchen pushing air into the storage area.
3) Cover pipes with insulation
4) Add additional foam insulation (5cm thick) on the ceiling and to the concrete on the sides. the brick on the sides showed no condensation therefore nothing to do there

My question is the following, would an additional layer of foam insulation on the ceiling and the concrete sides, increased circulation, and covering the pipes reduce dampness and therefore prevent the water from condensating on the metal and the concrete which is being caused from the coldness of the ceiling.

It is too expensive to do work on the roof, so a solution from the ceiling needs to be determined.

any thoughts as to this mater and the proposed solution would be of great help.

mem

If the bath and kitchen are venting into the storage space then you need to change them to exhaust to the outside. If the humidity levels are high enough up there, no amount of insulation will prevent condensation. As the humidity level rises, so does the dew point.

nina09

Hello Mem from Ohio, do you realize u have summed up the problem and have given no answer?
Please excuse my frustration as replies like yours benefit noone. Did u read the question and the proposed changes? Are you familiar with this type of roof. There certainly must be so many houses with roofs as my own in ohio that you are unfamilier with only wood constuction for a house (that is sarcasm).
I certainly hope that there is some help out there with an idea of how to mitigate if not eliminate this problem.

mem

Hello nina from ????? Did you even read my response?

"If the bath and kitchen are venting into the storage space then you need to change them to exhaust to the outside."

Simple really! Merely circulating the humidity will just spread your problem, at least this problem, to the rest of the house.

And seriously, I should think one begging for free advice would be a tad more gracious to those that offer. (that was not sarcasm)