[kevin07]

So i bought a house with 2 detached garages.

The bigger of the 2 is going to be my wood shop. It has a vented propane heater that will only be ran when im out there.

the thing im worried about is the humidity being to high and ruining the moisture content of my dry wood. The slab get wet when theres a really hard rain. there is actually standing water in some spot.

It is a block building and the back of the shop has about 3 ft of the wall under grade.

I drylocked the wall where its below grade. It still has water issues. Im not sure if the slab has a vapor barrier under it or not.

The humidity level is around 80 at all times. I do have a dehumidifyer but it can only be ran when the temp is above 60 and it is not that warm unless i have the heater running. any ideas how to dry the place out?

 

[joecaption]

Got a picture.
About usless trying to water proof this from the inside.
Needs to be done on the outside.
Does it have gutters?

 

[kevin07]

has gutters but they are clogged up now ill try to get some pictures soon there is no standing water now. olny when it rains hard and runs dont the mountian.

 

[joecaption]

Without the pictures all we can do is make some guesses.

 

[kevin07]

I should be able to get pics tomorrow evening. From where the puddle where it looked like the water came from cracks in the slab and where the slab and walls meet.

 

[danpik]

Sounds like at minimun you need to get some perimiter drains around the foundation. Clogged up gutters are not doing you any favors either

 

[PoleCat]

If you manage to defeat the ground water intrussion you will still need to be aware of airbourne moisture. From fall to spring cold snaps followed by a warm moist spell (very common here) can literally soak down the entire contents of your garage.

 

[kevin07]

sorry no pic yet, i keep forgetting when im over there. I took notice the garage does not have any gable vents or a ridge vent. No sure iff adding them would cut down the humidity in the shop or not. I did notice it was down to %65 today at 36 degrees. And no there are no pipes in there to freeze up.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

Correct what you know is wrong first. Solve the drainage problem first and clean the gutters but the gutters aren't the real problem, they are just a band aid and look like hell with maple saplings growing as if it were a nursery. It would be a rare occasion when a lack of venting caused water puddles on the floor.

 

[ToolSeeker]

I don't know if this will help or not someone will tell us. What if you put say 2x4 PT on the floor then pt plywood on top creating an air space. You would need to install some vents to get some air movement into this space so it will dry out weather permitting.

 

[kevin07]

I dont think the the treated wood idea will do anything for my water issue besides hide it. Im looking to fix the problem. Here are a few pics of the outside.

 

[kevin07]

I forgot to mention the far side does not have gutters.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

You'll definitely need gutters on the back side. You'll also probably need some sort of drain around the uphill side of that structure to get surface water to drain around the foundation rather than through it.

I'd probably put the gutter up, and then maybe try to form a light swale around the structure. That *might* be all that is needed. If water is still a problem you'll need to dig a trench and put in a proper drain tile.