I have a house in the woods in Northern Wisconsin. It is a raised ranch with the lower level set up as a walk out. The lower level has a concrete floor which I assume has no visquine barrier under it because in the summer humidity the floor sweats. Because the soil in that area is sandy the homes do not have drain tiles around the foundation. I use a dehumidifier which helps the problem. Does anyone have a suggestion as how to alleviate the humidity and floor sweating problem. I thought that maybe there is a special paint that could be used on the floor to keep the dampness from wicking up through it, but wonder if there is such a paint would it cause some other problems by not allowing the moisture to wick through?
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Replies
I don't think that you are seeing moisture coming through the basement but rather condensing on the surface. The deep ground temp is about 54 degrees and in the summer in Wisconsin, the dewpoint of the air regularly in 60's, 70's, and 80's. Do you have AC? I had a similar problem in a house in Rockford, IL. No AC except a small window shaker in the BR. A dehumidifier fixed the problem. With centrla air, the house should be dry enough that you won't see much, depending on how much air you move through the basement.
In Arkansas floors sweat with out visqueen under the slab. By the way, I was born in Rockford. My father made a living at National Lock. I remember not having air conditioning,....no big deal in Rocford ,IL. But it would be pure hell here.
Tim Mooney
In order to eliminate possibilities.....
Dry a small area of the floor with a fan/heater for at least 24 hours drying time. Install a 24" by 24" patch of poly with good old dependable duct tape all round the perimeter and wait 24 hours. If the moisture beads form, the moisture is from the slab's lack of vb. If it's dry, it's air borne.
Not scientific but practical.
Gabe
Beat me to it Gabe! I just read that in my new tile book.
Dummy test , LOL, yep ,...pretty simple .
Why did I have to read that in a book ????????? Oh yea ,...cause its me !!!!!!!!
Tim Mooney
Last Wednesday and Thursday, we had 93 and 92 degree highs in the Rockford area. You can get by without AC, as I did for years, but when you need it, it sure is nice.