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Stop Moisture From Concrete Floors

Dear DIY,

We have a 12' x 24' garage which we built approx. 6 years ago. The garage is on a cement slab w/ footings, we laid plastic down before we poured the cement. The garage has:

(2)16 foot doors, a walk-in door and 3 windows. It is for the most part been all insulated and we have put in a ceiling. The roof is also vented. The garage is not attached to the house.

After every cold spell and every spring, when it warms up outside, everything including our trucks from tools to everything. Absolutely everything is just soaked with condensation including the floor.

Any ideas, comments or suggestions to remedy this? Thank you for any suggestions you might be able to give us.

Well Curtis, without actually seeing your garage it's kind of difficult to determine but assuming your windows and doors are installed properly and the garage is well ventilated the moisture is most likely coming from the concrete floor. Try this technique and see what happens. Dry off completely a 3' by 3' area of the garage floor. Next take a piece of heavy duty plastic like visqueen or maybe a garbage bag, lay it over the dried area and tape it securely on all edges with duct tape. Wait at least 24 hours and then check it to see if any moisture drops show up inside on the plastic or if the floor is wet. If so then that's most likely the problem.

Don't worry, you're not going to rent a jack hammer and remove your concrete floor but you will need to apply a concrete sealant. You'll have to move everything out of the garage then clean and dry the entire floor completely. Concrete sealants tend to set up quickly so when you begin your project be sure to have a helper. Find a good sealant that will penetrate the concrete up to four inches. Apply the concrete sealant per manufacturers instructions.  Once the sealant has been applied allow it to completely dry. A good sealant will force loose materials out and you should expect a dusty floor for a couple of weeks so keep a broom and dust pan handy.

Good luck and let us know if this solves your garage moisture problems.

Jerry Holt
 

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