I finally had a 30 x 30 pole barn built. It is insulated with a 4 inch slab and has a shed on each side. Now the question is after they poured the floor the concrete was putting alot of water in the air, the builder told me to leave the doors open to let it breathe that after it cured it would be nice and dry. Well its been about a 6 weeks and because of the amount of rain we have had I havent been able to leave the doors open every day because didnt want rain to blow in. Anyway when I do get to open it up there is still alot of humidity in the building and was wondering how long does it take for this to stop. I noticed today there was some mold spots on one of the wall purlins, I sure dont want my building full of mold. So my questions are long should this last, how can I eliminate the mold thats starting and how can I keep it out of my building. Its sad I have a new building and cant even put my stuff in it yet... Thanks in advance.
Pole Barn Question?
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gumshu
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I'm curious to know how your contractor prepared the base prior to pouring the concrete. Concrete will reatin water and will also absorbe water. If the contractor used a proper aggregate base, you should be ok. It also sounds as though you may need more ventilation than what you have. I've heard that a 1:5 ratio of bleach to water mix will help control the mold problem. You may want to google mold control. Spraying the concrete with a curing solution will also help it cure. Good luck
boomer1025
Platinum Member
Yes you'll need ventilation, a big fan would work to keep the air moving around.
Rustyiron
Super Member
Open her up! THe rain can't hurt the concrete now, in fact the slower it cures the better. Just watch dragging in a bunch of mud, some can stain new concrete.
SSdoxie
Elite Member
Rain or no rain, open the doors and let it breathe. An insulated roof is great to prevent condensation from forming on underside of steel and having it "rain" on inside, but it also keeps inside cooler so in worm humid temps the entire building has some condensation. For now open the doors, treat existing mold with mixture of bleach and water. For future, yaou may wan to add an exhaust fan with a humidistat switch to turn on when humidity inside reachs a certain level. You could also wire this fan to a manual switch to use it to exahust fumes if running engines inside with doors closed.
RustyIron, is it normal for the concrete to take this long to fully cure. I have been to friends pole barns and they are shut up with no ventalation and when you go in it will be hot in summer but not humid and they have no mold. I just want to make sure that this is going to go away and I'm not going to have to fight mold the entire time in the building.
Rustyiron
Super Member
I don't know where you are, but humidity, rain, and the poly under the 'crete will all slow things down. I believe that youre floor is fine and you mignt be confusing the wood issue and the curing of your floor, I doubt that they are related.
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Where exacty do you think the moisture is going to go, if the building is closed up and un-ventilated ?
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Concrete takes a long time to fully cure ....
When they cored the 'crete in Hoover Dam back in 1995, the cores showed it was still gaining strength ..... it was poured from '33 - '35 ....
rswyan,To be honest I didnt think there would be any moisture in the building to need any venting and the contrator said I didnt need any just to let the concrete cure and it would be fine after that.
Rustyiron, If the floor is not releasing the moisture than what is causing the moisture?
Rustyiron, If the floor is not releasing the moisture than what is causing the moisture?
tommu56
Elite Member
I doubt it is air tight but it could be.
it usually takes 28 day to reach full strength for the concrete
Dampness in there because the concrete is cool and feels humid my pole barn feels the same and it has 12" soffit ridge vent tyvec under the roof panel's and above the purlins to prevent condensation on roof and its 1 1/2 years old.
Here is a cure chart look at page 3 it is still cureing out to 90 days.
http://www.tkproducts.com/Curing Concrete.PDF
tom
it usually takes 28 day to reach full strength for the concrete
Dampness in there because the concrete is cool and feels humid my pole barn feels the same and it has 12" soffit ridge vent tyvec under the roof panel's and above the purlins to prevent condensation on roof and its 1 1/2 years old.
Here is a cure chart look at page 3 it is still cureing out to 90 days.
http://www.tkproducts.com/Curing Concrete.PDF
tom
ace10
Silver Member
Grab a sheet of plastic maybe 4'X4'. place it down on the concrete for 24 hours. If it's wet underneath, then your concrete is at least one of the source(s) of the dampness.
Actually the concrete looks damp in places not standing water but if you drag your foot across it you can see the wet tracks. Like I said not a puddle just damp. I have not seen any leakage from the structure and the concrete has a vapor barrier so it has to come from the concrete dont it? Called the builder and asked him and he said some buildings take longer to dry out than others. He said some in a week are dry and others have moisture on the ceiling and walls from the concrete. I dont know, I just know that I have waited a long time for the building and spent some savings to get it and I dont want it to be full of mold and rusty tools.
Rustyiron
Super Member
Is there a big difference in humidity in/out of the bldg.? Is your framing lumber KD or sawmill green? I'm not a concrete contr. but have seen many basements poured after the house was on it (new const) and only a few small 2x3 windows for ventalation and not witnessed the problems that you are having. Open that thing up for a week or so rain or shine and see what you end up with.
You are not still staying off the floor are you? I remember that 7 days and 28 days were milestones in the curing process, just do not remember for what. rswyan might ring back in here with that info. Are you sure that the mold that you see is mold? and that it developed after framing. I'm no expert there either but have seen many hacks of new lumber with that white strungy ish stuff on brand new (supposed to be) KD lumber.
It might be worth it to get a moisture meter and check the wood. In any event I don't think that a "pole" bldg will ever be "tight" enough for a long term indoor moisture problem. Relax - air it out.
You are not still staying off the floor are you? I remember that 7 days and 28 days were milestones in the curing process, just do not remember for what. rswyan might ring back in here with that info. Are you sure that the mold that you see is mold? and that it developed after framing. I'm no expert there either but have seen many hacks of new lumber with that white strungy ish stuff on brand new (supposed to be) KD lumber.
It might be worth it to get a moisture meter and check the wood. In any event I don't think that a "pole" bldg will ever be "tight" enough for a long term indoor moisture problem. Relax - air it out.
Well what I saw on a few of the purlins was drownish fluffy spots and one big whitish fluffy spot. When I rubbed across it, it was like a powder so I figured it was mold. I know after they poured the floor a few days later the installers came and put in the garage door and when they left they shut the door. When I came home that day I opened it up and there was drops of water on the ceiling from the concrete curing so ever since then when I can or it aint raining I raise the doors.
dcyrilc
Super Member
Unless there is something wrong with the concrete mix, it has plenty of strength after 30 days. As others have said, open that thing up and let it air out. Don't worry about a little rain blowing in as it won't hurt anything. Let it have a week or so of fresh air.
rambler
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I'd want a way to vent the shed when you aren't heating it - open doors I guess.
You got a lot of moisture coming out of the concrete, even out of the wood, and so forth. This time of year, even tho you didn't fill in your profile nor tell anyone where you live, most parts of the country are going threough sprting where there is a whole lot of shifts in humidity, air temp, and the temp of objects.
I went into my shed today, and part of the floor under the pickup, and _every_ tire in the place was damp. It was hot humid air blowing through the 1 inch crack under the doors, and passing over the very cold floor from winter, the moisture condensed out onto whatever it could.
For my new shed, it was damp & wet metal walls for most of the 1st year.
The 2nd year everything stablized & sorted out & the concrete got more fully cured, and it's been real good this spring, even tho it's been a cold wet one. I was a little worried that fisrt year for all the moisture in it!
Don't think I helped any, but the concrete should push out moisture for several months at least, and even if the wood was kiln dried it puts some out too, esp any piece of treated lumber.
My shed has a 6 inch screened gap on the top of both walls, plus sliding doors that have gaps, and mine still didn't vent out all that moisture the first year.
Vent it out more - fans just curculating air inside the building will not change much, the moisture won't go anywhere - I mean vented. You are capturing all the moisture inside the building with no where to go.
Be aware of the season & the air humidity and the air vs floor temp. Some days just will sweat, how it is.
Give it a year to get everything dried down.
--->Paul
You got a lot of moisture coming out of the concrete, even out of the wood, and so forth. This time of year, even tho you didn't fill in your profile nor tell anyone where you live, most parts of the country are going threough sprting where there is a whole lot of shifts in humidity, air temp, and the temp of objects.
I went into my shed today, and part of the floor under the pickup, and _every_ tire in the place was damp. It was hot humid air blowing through the 1 inch crack under the doors, and passing over the very cold floor from winter, the moisture condensed out onto whatever it could.
For my new shed, it was damp & wet metal walls for most of the 1st year.
The 2nd year everything stablized & sorted out & the concrete got more fully cured, and it's been real good this spring, even tho it's been a cold wet one. I was a little worried that fisrt year for all the moisture in it!
Don't think I helped any, but the concrete should push out moisture for several months at least, and even if the wood was kiln dried it puts some out too, esp any piece of treated lumber.
My shed has a 6 inch screened gap on the top of both walls, plus sliding doors that have gaps, and mine still didn't vent out all that moisture the first year.
Vent it out more - fans just curculating air inside the building will not change much, the moisture won't go anywhere - I mean vented. You are capturing all the moisture inside the building with no where to go.
Be aware of the season & the air humidity and the air vs floor temp. Some days just will sweat, how it is.
Give it a year to get everything dried down.
--->Paul
