Condensation mud room corner
#1
02-02-19, 12:33 PM
Join Date: Feb 2019
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Condensation mud room corner
Hello all,
I am having a problem this winter with mold/moisture/condensation in my mud room. Back story is, I had a mudroom built into my garage. I have a 1950’s home with the original basement stairs inside the garage. I wanted to create a flow with making a mud room so that the stairs would be part of the interior. Going out to a cold garage to go down to the basement was not ideal. I am getting moisture and condensation on 2 corners. One being the outside to the weather corner, and the other is the outside to the garage corner. I am getting some drafts from the garage side door. That could be creating the condensation? The other corner that leads outside has a piece of concrete that was encased within the drywall. It is moist and I am constantly cleaning mold from it and now the corner where the drywall meets each other is wet and spongy. This is my first post and am trying to figure out how to post pictures. I have no idea how to do this. I clicked on the picture icon and it’s asking for a URL. Head scratcher.
Thank you for any help you can give me
I am having a problem this winter with mold/moisture/condensation in my mud room. Back story is, I had a mudroom built into my garage. I have a 1950’s home with the original basement stairs inside the garage. I wanted to create a flow with making a mud room so that the stairs would be part of the interior. Going out to a cold garage to go down to the basement was not ideal. I am getting moisture and condensation on 2 corners. One being the outside to the weather corner, and the other is the outside to the garage corner. I am getting some drafts from the garage side door. That could be creating the condensation? The other corner that leads outside has a piece of concrete that was encased within the drywall. It is moist and I am constantly cleaning mold from it and now the corner where the drywall meets each other is wet and spongy. This is my first post and am trying to figure out how to post pictures. I have no idea how to do this. I clicked on the picture icon and it’s asking for a URL. Head scratcher.
Thank you for any help you can give me
#2
02-02-19, 12:58 PM
Group Moderator
Basically I tell people to click the Go Advanced button next to the post quick reply button, then use the paperclip icon. Tell it where the photo is on your computer, then click upload. Seems to work for some but you have to be able to figure it out. If your photo is already stored on the web, such as at Flickr or some other photo site, then you can just share the link.
You are having the mold problems because the basement is warm and humid, and the outside corners are cold. Your concrete is uninsulated and cold. The cold surfaces act like a dehumidifier coil... so the warm moist air from the house is condensing on the cold surface.
Surfaces can be extra cold if there is an air leak... so if you have a door from the garage to the mudroom, it needs to be an insulated EXTERIOR door that has weatherstripping. If the basement opening has no door, that adds to the problem by just letting that warm moist air right up. That should also be an insulated exterior door. And then the space within the mudroom should be conditioned. (heated) Forced air heat is best since moving air helps prevent condensation by mixing the air, preventing those cold areas from getting so cold.
As for the concrete behind the drywall, that's just a bad design. You need sufficient insulation between cold and warm spaces or that sort of thing is bound to happen when you get cold weather. Putting 2" of rigid foam over the concrete... then the drywall... would be a better solution for example. And if the floor is concrete too, well the perimeter of that concrete is going to be pretty cold too. Not sure if any of that helps any?
You are having the mold problems because the basement is warm and humid, and the outside corners are cold. Your concrete is uninsulated and cold. The cold surfaces act like a dehumidifier coil... so the warm moist air from the house is condensing on the cold surface.
Surfaces can be extra cold if there is an air leak... so if you have a door from the garage to the mudroom, it needs to be an insulated EXTERIOR door that has weatherstripping. If the basement opening has no door, that adds to the problem by just letting that warm moist air right up. That should also be an insulated exterior door. And then the space within the mudroom should be conditioned. (heated) Forced air heat is best since moving air helps prevent condensation by mixing the air, preventing those cold areas from getting so cold.
As for the concrete behind the drywall, that's just a bad design. You need sufficient insulation between cold and warm spaces or that sort of thing is bound to happen when you get cold weather. Putting 2" of rigid foam over the concrete... then the drywall... would be a better solution for example. And if the floor is concrete too, well the perimeter of that concrete is going to be pretty cold too. Not sure if any of that helps any?
#3
02-02-19, 01:24 PM
Group Moderator
It's easy to post from a laptop or desktop. A bit harder from a phone...... How-to-insert-pictures
#4
02-04-19, 03:42 AM
Join Date: Feb 2019
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Thank you so much! It all makes sense, and is what I thought to begin with! It’s been there for 5 years now, and this year is the first I’ve seen mold on the garage side corner. Now, I will tell you, being a single mother, you have to rely on someone knowing what they are doing when you hire them to construct something like this for you! You hope it’s all being done properly. I should also add, the other wall was never finished with drywall. The outer wall has been bare fibreglass insulation with no drywall covering it for 5 years! So I’m guessing the cold from within the garage was moving through the unprotected wall of insulation. It’s now being finished as we speak and hopefully properly! Both doors are exterior doors. But, the one on garage side is leaking air in spots. I will do my best to try to upload some pictures.
#5
02-04-19, 03:45 AM
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PS. Maybe it’s because I’m on my mobile device and can’t access the whole site. Can’t see the Go Advanced button from mobile.
#6
02-04-19, 07:03 AM
Group Moderator
I use Samsung / Chrome and go to settings (the 3 dots menu) and select the option "desktop site". Might be different on an iphone, i dunno.
