workshop set-up

[annie at allthingspiano.com]

Ooooh, Fenton, that's a GREAT suggestion:  adding ventilation *under* the
floor!  Thank you so very much.  Collection boxes might be the answer.

I have been watching the floor very carefully as the thaw has progressed
around here, and I haven't seen a bit of moisture yet, even though the
yard has been flooded.

That leads me to suspect that, as in your shop, lack of proper ventilation
has been the primary culprit.  The sofits are vented all the way around,
but the peaked roof is not vented (yet).  You put in only sidewall vents,
right?  Given our amazing summer humidity, I'll probably go for roof vents
and maybe even an exhaust fan.  I have a hoghouse fan that could nearly
levitate the building. <g>

BTW, radiant floor heat often uses sand for thermal mass around the hot
water line, with a wooden floor laid over the sleepers -- no concrete to
crack or draw more moisture.

Thanks to everyone for the good advice and ideas.

Annie

> Annie, I have a shop that had this problem. The walls and windows would
> collect moisture, it came up through the slab floor. One problem I had was
> moisture not being able to get out of the building because of a vaulted
> ceiling. The roofing felt is water proof so the moisture just couldn't get
> out. I dropped in a ceiling and vented the attic on both sides of the
> shop.
> Any moisture that comes up through the floor goes through the sheet rock
> in
> the ceiling and is vented out. For the floor I first epoxy coated it then
> laid 2x4s on their sides with a plywood floor on top. The 2x4s all have
> breaks in them so air is not trapped, there are collection boxes all
> around
> the shop that vent under the floor and out through the walls, this allows
> air to flow under the floor and vent out the moisture. You could take it
> one
> step further and put in little fans to increase air flow under the floor
> and
> in the attic, but I haven't had to. This procedure completely cured an
> absolutely horrible humidity problem in one of my shops.
> Fenton
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dean May" <deanmay at pianorebuilders.com>
> To: "'Pianotech List'" <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 6:19 AM
> Subject: RE: workshop set-up
>
>
>>>>You'll have to put ( at least ) 6 mil plastic down,
>>
>> If you put the thick plastic down you will trap the water between the
>> concrete and plastic, encouraging mold growth. If you use Styrofoam
>> panels,
>> the moisture can get through eventually, unless you have standing water.
>>
>> You could also screw treated 1x2s to the back of the plywood before
>> laying
>> it down without Styrofoam to keep the plywood off the moisture and allow
>> some air movement.
>>
>>
>>
>> Dean
>>
>> Dean May             cell 812.239.3359
>>
>> PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272
>>
>> Terre Haute IN  47802
>>
>>