it's a mystery to me

I've an antebellum home and the previous owners cut into the basement rock wall and added a walk in cedar closet. It smells of mildew but I cannot discover where the problem is. I've ripped up the carpet and no evidence there and none on the cedar walls or ceiling, nor is there any evidence of water leakage. I'm afraid I don't even know what the problem is, let alone the solution. Can someone drop some clues as to either or both?? Thank you!

 

All materials absorb and expel(drying out process) moisture. Each material have different rates of absorbtion and expulsion. When brick is applied to a wood frame house, the brick is kept away about 2 inches. This gap is known as a drainage plane. This is because the brick absorbs moisture at a different rate than wood. What probably happening in your cedar closet is that they didn't provide that gap and the cedar is wicking up the moisture from the masonry. If you can, try and pull a few nails from the cedar and see if there are rusted or discolored.

 

OK..I did pull a few nails as you suggested (sorry, but it took me a while to find them and get them out) and you are right, some of them are discolored (or at least I think they are) in the lower corner of the closet. I never understood how a few items that were down there got mildewed, as they were NOT damp when placed in there, and the floor or walls weren't discolored. Now I understand, thanks. It must have been quite humid in there at one time. I had no idea what a drainage plane was or how it worked! Is there a solution short of tearing the whole thing out and having it rebuilt correctly?

 

Unfortunately the mold you might have behind the wall maybe hazardous to your health. You do not have a choice but to remove it. After the walls are down, let it dry out before doing anything. You can use a fan to accellerate the drying out. Once the walls are nice and dry, there are a lot of cement cleaners and sealers you can buy. Then you can rebuild the wall without the wood so close to it. Considering it's a closet, you don't have to insulate.

 

OK...thanks. You have a terrific website, I understand the problem even better now, or at least I think I do. Having a very well fitting door to this closet and keeping it closed didn't help matters, right?

 

This is one of the problems I have with this topic. The sole purpose of my site is to encourage people to conserve energy and not confuse them. Also I tried very hard to keep the topics plain, simple and short. Since you read the topic Ventilation, it's the longest topic on the site. And where most of the questions I get come from. It's not just from this country, I get questions on the subject from around the world. Thank God for on-line translation.

The topic Ventilation on my site primarily deals with attic and crawl space moisture problems. when insulation is installed. It does not apply when insulation is not installed. I know that's confusing, but what can I do, it's a fact.

The principle of Equilibrium relative Humidity (ErH%) applies to both my site and your moisture problem in this closet. The difference is my site deals with diffusion (heat flow through insulation) and your moisture problem concerning materials (different absorption and expulsion rates between wood and masonry). Therefore the topic ventilation does not apply to your closet and the tightness of the door will have very little impact.

I apologize that my site led to this confusion, it was not my intent.

 

I should never have avoided physics in college! Art history just doesn't cut it here!!!! Thank you for the clarification, I appreciate the time you spent trying to explain all this. Your website IS very user friendly and does indeed explain things well, I'm afraid I just jumped to conclusions applying some of the information. At any rate, I shall be looking for those ice dams on the roof when we next get some snow (just in case my attic isn't up to snuff). Thanks again.