ive posted about my moisture problems before. everything from humid
basement to frost in attic. I have sealed the attic well and it seems
to have helped.

but now to deal w the overall humidity. the house is a 1960 ranch w an
unfinished basement/garage in NY. the RH in the house was 60%+. I have
installed a bathroom fan. I have an older kitchen fan. Im not sure if
it works great but we dont cook so much that I think this is the
primary cause. I have tried the test where plastic taped to the
basement floor/walls w no +. However even though the the floor is
painted I do see areas of effloresence(sp?) - does that mean I have
moisture coming through the floor? If so how to stop. Ive read on
lowes.com to use water based poly.

any ideas or other things to look at

no signs of attic leaks

heat is oil/ baseboard

have you sealed the rim joists in the basement? I would expect a 1960 ranch
to be very leaky.

Do you run a dehumidifier in the basement?


wrote in message
ps.com...
ive posted about my moisture problems before. everything from humid
basement to frost in attic. I have sealed the attic well and it seems
to have helped.

but now to deal w the overall humidity. the house is a 1960 ranch w an
unfinished basement/garage in NY. the RH in the house was 60%+. I have
installed a bathroom fan. I have an older kitchen fan. Im not sure if
it works great but we dont cook so much that I think this is the
primary cause. I have tried the test where plastic taped to the
basement floor/walls w no +. However even though the the floor is
painted I do see areas of effloresence(sp?) - does that mean I have
moisture coming through the floor? If so how to stop. Ive read on
lowes.com to use water based poly.

any ideas or other things to look at

no signs of attic leaks

heat is oil/ baseboard

Are you sure the humidistat is accurate analog come from the store
uncalibrated, digital are better but yours could be off. Most analog I
see new are 10-15% off. Do you have condensation on windows, that is the
sign your humidity is to high for outdoor low temps. Unless you have
condensation I dont believe the humidistat, unless it is warm out.

Moisture Issues: please see all links at:
http://www.buildingscience.com/resou...re/default.htm

water bill high due to hidden water leak in wall. roof and gutters
leaking or backing up shingles into house. [what frost in attic?].
issues with brick house moisture. maybe issues with insufficient daily
air change. large population home versus small square footage. no whole
house ventilation for air changes. clothes dryer requires outside
venting. kitchen just filtered fan change to vented to outdoors.
rainwater not properly draining away from home. poor insulation. poor
weatherstripping. candles in use. unvented gas log heater in use.
central air conditioning with central ventilation required. faucets
dripping. humidifier in use. vaporizer in use. gas pilot lights burning
in kitchen stove and oven. houseplants. aquariums in use. showering
without exhausting. washing machine dumps into washtub change to
standpipe.

Where does the bathroom exhaust fan discharge to?

Stretch

.. m Ransley Jan 26, 8:20 pm Are you sure the humidistat is accurate
analog come from the store
uncalibrated, digital are better but yours could be off. Most analog I
see new are 10-15% off. Do you have condensation on windows, that is
the
sign your humidity is to high for outdoor low temps. Unless you have
condensation I dont believe the humidistat, unless it is warm out. "


I agree. All humidity gauges I've ever seen have varied widely. I
have a brand new digital one here that is part of a unit that measures
indoor/outdoor temps and it's around 20% off from either my analog or
the local weather reports. Older houses should be less prone to excess
humidity, because they have more air leaks. It's still possible to
have an isolated problem, like a bathroom with poor ventilation, but
it's uncommon to have a problem in the house in general. Unless you
have evidence of a problem in the house, like moisture on windows,
around recessed lights, etc, then I doubt you really have a problem.

I recently went out to several stores to buy a humidistat, I saw big
displays at several Box stores I saw groups all ranging 10-20% off from
each other, since they were all stabilised this is wrong for them to be
sold this way. They were mostly Taylor units. I settled on several 4"
large Taylors that came with a tool and the manual stated to Calibrate
Every 6 months by covering in a wet towel for 45 min and set humidity to
apx 95% [ if I remember} Point being the better units by the same Co
state to calibrate. You have not proven your humidity is high. Window
condensation is a true way to determine if humiity is high and can cause
issues, not a humidistat reading. Unless you condense somewhere your
humidity is low or normal.

have you sealed the rim joists in the basement? I would expect a 1960
ranch
to be very leaky.

no


Do you run a dehumidifier in the basement?

in the summer usually it can run almost continuasly

Are you sure the humidistat is accurate analog come from the store
uncalibrated, digital are better but yours could be off

it seems about right I do have condensation. it also had a reading of
about 28 in my office at the same temp.

water bill high due to hidden water leak in wall. roof and gutters
leaking or backing up shingles into house.

id say not to my knowledge, and negitive to the rest of the questions
buff. except I do have a 110g uncovered fish tank in basement. and
possibly the kitch. the stove hood vents inside w filter. the kitch
does have a ceiling exaust fan but Im unsure how well it worrks will
check bettor when snow on roof melts. I would not say we do a lot of
cooking and my wife usually cracks a window when cooking.

srost in attic = condensation

bath vent new vented to outside.

Unless you
have evidence of a problem in the house, like moisture on windows,
around recessed lights, etc, then I doubt you really have a problem

id deff say Ive got a prob that was the reason for buying the
humidistat. I have excessive moisture on windows and even sweating occ
on an small portion of the outside upper corner in one room. even if
its off. the humidity is there

what about the basement floor efflorr or is that deff not the
problem???

only pilot lights are propane water heater and oil furnace. considering
the garage is under the house Id say the basement is very leaky

as for the basement. Id caricterize it as damp in summer w condensation
at perimiter at times. I cant say Ive never had water penitration at
the base but its rare.

110 gallon open faced fishtank??? I think you found your problem.

I presume you have it nicely heated to around 75 - 80 degrees????

110 gallon open faced fishtank??? I think you found your problem.


I presume you have it nicely heated to around 75 - 80 degrees????



actually its in a small finished area playroom. only heated above
60deg occasionally when kids are playing

110 gallon open faced fishtank??? I think you found your problem.


I presume you have it nicely heated to around 75 - 80 degrees????



actually its in a small finished area playroom. only heated above
60deg occasionally when kids are playing

I will cover it

I presume you have it nicely heated to around 75 - 80 degrees????

.

misunderstood, yes the water is about 80 deg.

Yes, efflorescence indicates moisture transport. Studies have been
published indicating the large amount of water that can flow through a
sq-ft of bsmt per unit-time.

You need to get the water-table down, by eliminating exterior drainage
problems (pitch it away from house, for one) and possibly installing
drains outside or inside.

DAMHIKT but you cannot seal water out of house by applying anything to
the interior surface. Not short of one-piece layer of something like
GRE. Simply not possible.

Drainage will work.

J

this is a good booklet to read about your house even if you don't have
a basement fish humidifier:
http://www.buildingscience.com/resou...r_Renovate.pdf

here is where I am. ran the bath fan continuasly for about 4-5 houres
w a window open on the oposite side of the house. humid went down to
the 40s. coverd the fish tank. humid returned but now in mid to high
50s as oposed to constant 60s.

anouther note: around the kitchen exaust fan which is ducted through
the roof w a sheet metal duct I have always gotten condensation on the
duct to the point that the paint would bubble from efflor through the
thick plaster ceillings. I recently insulated the duct put some
expandible foam around the upening to the house. then layed plastic
under the insulation. Im now getting condensation not on the duct but
the underside of the plastic. should I remove it? is this from a air
leak?