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Dip
Oct 5, 2011, 1:08 PM
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Anyone ever have an issue with wet holds? I have a decent sized wall in my garage, and i'm not sure if it's the abnormally wet weather this year, high humidity, or what the hell's going on but sometimes (especially but not limited to the warmest part of the day) my holds are soaked. It seems to affect the holds toward the top of the wall more. I've checked behind the wall and the wood doesn't seem to be wet, so i don't think it's a leaky roof or anything like that, the holds just seem to seep. One or two have even aquired some mold spots. Anyone have any experience with this?
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lena_chita
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Oct 5, 2011, 1:32 PM
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Not a home wall answer specifically, but I have seen this happen at the Red and the New a few times. I can't do a very good explanation that involves temperature, humidity, and dew point, but it is enough to say that under certain conditions the rock gets wet, not from the rain, but from the moisture in the air, and when this happens it is the overhanging walls that get it the worst. It looks like someone just took a spray bottle and thoroughly strayed the entire face, LOL. I can see how the same thing could happen on a smaller scale in the garage... How about opening the doors and using a large industrial-sized fan to get the air moving?
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Dip
Oct 5, 2011, 1:49 PM
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lena_chita wrote: Not a home wall answer specifically, but I have seen this happen at the Red and the New a few times. I can't do a very good explanation that involves temperature, humidity, and dew point, but it is enough to say that under certain conditions the rock gets wet, not from the rain, but from the moisture in the air, and when this happens it is the overhanging walls that get it the worst. It looks like someone just took a spray bottle and thoroughly strayed the entire face, LOL. I can see how the same thing could happen on a smaller scale in the garage... How about opening the doors and using a large industrial-sized fan to get the air moving? Yep, that's how i've combatted the problem. Just a small house fan usually does the trick with the door open, although that's not always an option when i'm not home. I guess i'm just concerned because i don't recall this problem last year, but then again last year Pennsylvania didn't reside in the tropics.
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sandstone
Oct 5, 2011, 2:21 PM
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I do a similar thing with a fan except that my fan is inside the house, blowing conditioned air into the garage. This cools or heats the garage just enough to make it usable and reasonably comfortable year round. I also insulated my garage door (haven't gotten around to insulating over the garage yet). My garage is adjacent to a hallway, so in that wall I cut in a small pet door (the kind that has a plastic door hinged at the top). I use a small but highly efficient squirrel cage fan in the hallway to blow air through the pet door into the garage. http://www.homedepot.com/...&locStoreNum=159 The fan will move so much air that I normally operate it on low or medium. When the fan isn't on, the flap of the pet door swings down to close the opening. This setup works really well, and is really cheap to install and operate. I expected to see a bump in my utilities bill when I started doing this, but it didn't happen. The fan doesn't run all the time, only when I'm in the garage.
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Dip
Oct 5, 2011, 7:17 PM
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sandstone wrote: I do a similar thing with a fan except that my fan is inside the house, blowing conditioned air into the garage. This cools or heats the garage just enough to make it usable and reasonably comfortable year round. I also insulated my garage door (haven't gotten around to insulating over the garage yet). My garage is adjacent to a hallway, so in that wall I cut in a small pet door (the kind that has a plastic door hinged at the top). I use a small but highly efficient squirrel cage fan in the hallway to blow air through the pet door into the garage. http://www.homedepot.com/...&locStoreNum=159 The fan will move so much air that I normally operate it on low or medium. When the fan isn't on, the flap of the pet door swings down to close the opening. This setup works really well, and is really cheap to install and operate. I expected to see a bump in my utilities bill when I started doing this, but it didn't happen. The fan doesn't run all the time, only when I'm in the garage. Thanks for your reply. Do you think it's the conditioned air that makes the difference? I ask because my garage is detached from my house, so there would be no way for me to circulate that air through the garage.
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sandstone
Oct 5, 2011, 8:57 PM
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Dip wrote: ...Do you think it's the conditioned air that makes the difference? I've never noticed the wet hold syndrome like you have, but where I live it's high humidity most of the year, so yes it makes a big difference to blow some dry air in there.
In reply to: ... I ask because my garage is detached from my house, so there would be no way for me to circulate that air through the garage. Look into a ductless mini split system for cooling/heating your detached garage. This is the type of system you see in a lot of motel rooms. They're not that expensive to buy, install, or operate, but they will certainly make your garage more comfortable to use.
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gunkiemike
Oct 6, 2011, 2:08 AM
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Some holds seem to develop condensation. A partner had a wall outside for a while. It was under a porch so it never received precipitation, but often all the red holds (of one brand) would be damp. Another possibility is that there's salt on the holds from sweaty hands. That promotes dampness in humid conditions.
(This post was edited by gunkiemike on Dec 6, 2011, 10:56 AM)
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CptnDarkness
Nov 19, 2011, 6:31 PM
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Moist air & cool holds equals wetness. Soon 'yall l'have lizards n'toads movin' in! My solution for my home gym was a pretty inexpensive dehumidifier. They run between 60 and 100+ bucks at your local hardware store. Remove lots of moisture and then no mold, frogs, snails, squeaky climbers, etcetera! Really helps with maintaining hold tightness as well if you have a wooden wall. The wood will not swell and contract if your humidity stays constant. Good luck!
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Pillowthread
Dec 4, 2011, 10:08 PM
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Is the floor in your garage un-sealed concrete? At any rate, try throwing down a cheap blue poly tarp under your wall when you're not using it...something about temperature/moisture gradients and radiative cooling...
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Dip
Dec 5, 2011, 1:51 PM
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Pillowthread wrote: Is the floor in your garage un-sealed concrete? At any rate, try throwing down a cheap blue poly tarp under your wall when you're not using it...something about temperature/moisture gradients and radiative cooling... Yep it is unsealed concrete. At least i think it is.
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flattexas
Dec 17, 2011, 6:38 AM
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A temperature gradient is likely causing the condensation. A fan at the bottom facing upwards would probably help by circulating air from the floor of the garage to the top. Good luck!
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