Protection from condensation

[RedShirtGuy]

During the colder weather, the inside of my shed (actually an eight bay horse stable) cops a lot of condensation; particularly in the morning but is often still present for most of the day - and it's really bad when the nags are in there too, which fortunately they aren't at the moment.

I have a couple of new (secondhand, but in fantastic condition) tools (bandsaw and drill press) with cast iron bits that aren't in use at the moment, so I've given them a spray with WD40 (until I can get them into position and in use before cleaning up and waxing properly) and have an old flanny bed sheet draped over the top to try and keep the moisture from settling on the machinery.

Is that going to be enough for the short term (couple of months)? And without rebuilding, is there much else I can do to help over the longer term besides running a fire?

I've had a towel over my table saw for the last month or so and noticed yesterday that the places that the towel was in contact with the iron (I'd left a sled on there taking up most of the area) have rusted up again even thought I *thought* I'd put a pretty decent coat of wax on the whole surface. The towel felt damp so I'm thinking that it either should have been changed/dried regularly or completely raised off from the table.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that absorbent sheeting (or maybe canvas), rather than plastic, is better to use, and keeping it off of the surfaces and allowing a bit of airflow through is the best way to cover my gear whether it's in use or not?

Cheers.

[DJ’s Timber]

For longterm use, WD40 is really a bit too light as it evaporates fairly quickly, would use something like Lanolin (http://www.lanotec.com.au/?link=3) or Inox (http://www.inox-mx3.com/inox.htm)

[RedShirtGuy]

Thanks DJ. I'll grab myself some of either soon to get me by until I figure out what to do.

I was thinking after I posted this morning that it would probably be worth me splashing out and fixing up my part of the shed so I'm not constantly looking after the machinery and small bits and pieces. Also to help keep my stock dryer and contain the dust.

In the first post of this thread (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f43/sticking-things-aerosol-cans-108351/#post1065073) there is a pic of the corner of the shed walls of my work area. I'm thinking that if I remove the bottom boards, stick in some pine framing up to bottom of the roof and box myself in with some (marine?) ply sheets that it will help immensely. The other side of the area is a steel frame with a sliding steel door and above the same wooden boards is a big metal mesh screen which could be covered up at the least as well.

I'd also be able to put to use the 8 or so bags of R3 roofing batts I've had hoarded for the last 3 years in the walls and ceiling to make it a more comfortable place to work. (It's either "fog on the breath cold" in winter or "strip naked hot" in summer with little in between).

That should just about solve (expensively mind you) the condensation problem, yes?

[watson]

Having seen your "stalls" in the flesh as it were (:U) the boxing in idea would be ideal.
I wouldn't go for marine ply (too expensive) but PJ's Hardware in Maryborough stock bracing ply at about $22 a sheet and at that price you could make a sandwich of bracing ply /insulation / bracing ply and you'd be snug as a bug in a rug. A bit of ventilation for the hotter months and Robert is your Mother's Brother(IMHO)

[RedShirtGuy]

Thanks Watson. A bit of local knowledge goes a long way eh :)

To save myself a few bucks (I'm a low income (pension) tightwad), do I really need to make a ply sandwich for the walls along the shed's tin walls? Could I just put up a multi-part frame against the tin using the existing beams as the bases, screw support it through the tin from the outside (and where I can in the beams so I can put weight on the walls and hang stuff from them) and have the sandwich along that wall go tin-insulation-ply? If it's a reasonable idea without compromising the wall strength much (or the insulation entirely) I could save myself a decent amount on the ply cost which could be well used elsewhere. I'm extending the work area to take up two stalls so there's a fair bit of space I'll need to cover.

The interior wall and roof would have to be the full snug-bug ply sanga though...unless for the roofing I could just put something like plastic sheeting on top of the insulation to stop it getting dripped on...??...I could also extend the height of the interior wall right up to shed roof to make the area entirely closed in and more like a house ceiling rather than a factory office that's like a box chucked into a taller building. That, in my mind, would make the ceiling insulation more effective.

...I think I might need to bust out some sketches and plans now that this is turning into a vastly different/bigger job...

[Woodwould]

What about spray-on expanding foam for the under side of the roof at least?

[DJ’s Timber]

You should also have a look through this thread (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f245/shed-upgrades-wood-heater-bitumen-black-117744/) on some ideas for the condensation prob as well

[Groggy]

Suggest you get some carpet underlay, the 1/2" stuff with the silver top on it. Perfect for protecting machine tops. If you come over my way give me a yell and I'll cut some for you.

I would not use WD40, I reckon it makes things worse.

[Bob38S]

WD 40 would be for very short time use - I agree with Groggy that it often appears to make things worse.

I do the real NO NO thing [according to many] over my saws and other bits - I use plastic tarps from the $2 shops - BUT- they don't touch my cast iron tops - they form a tent/roof over the machines with plenty of air circulation. Have tried old sheets, bits of carpet etc but as has been said before should they get moisture on them it goes through and causes problems as it holds the moisture on the cast iron tops until it evaporates.

Just an extra thought for you, regards,
Bob

[Sturdee]

To save myself a few bucks (I'm a low income (pension) tightwad), do I really need to make a ply sandwich for the walls along the shed's tin walls? .

In that case do what I did. I collected about 50 old internal doors from the local hard rubbish collection and used that to line the walls with insulation between them and the walls. The beauty of them is that you don't need a big frame to nail them against.

Peter.