rimfire4969 Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 I have a cuboard in my old house for all my shooting gear including a 8 gun cabinet shelving for my cartridges, cleaning bits and pieces, hats, gloves, books, basicly all the bits my wife does not want around the house. This cuboard is on an outside wall, and our house is about 300 years old, so we do suffer from a bit of damp. What would be best to keep the damp at bay, my gun room or (cuboard as my wife calls it) is about 3ft x 3ft with a ceiling height of about 7ft. I have thought about a small dehumidfier or a small oil radiator or both. Any thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyk Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 I would advise that you ensure the "cupboard" has adequate ventilation rather than spending a lot of money on a dehumidifier or oil radiator. My garage also suffers from damp coming through the walls and I have previously had problems with mildew and condesation forming on boots/clothes etc. but the problem was solved by leaving the window open slightly, thereby allowing a constant flow of air through the room. Clearly if you are using the cupboard for gun/ammo storage you need to ensure security isn't compromised. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimfire4969 Posted October 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 If i could put a vent in i would, problem is the walls are about 2ft think and made of old stone, so cutting through them is impossible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 Just an idea, if the wall/s have damp, why not get one of those plastic sheds, they come in all sorts of sizes. You can back it up to the wall where you mount your gun cabinet, then mount your cabinet inside the plastic shed and against the wall if that makes sense. Use some galvanised screws so they don't rust, and this way you keep the cabinet off the wet wall and the rest of your gear stays dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimfire4969 Posted October 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 The walls are not running with water, but anything left in the cuboard for a long time will end up with some mold on it. I do use a Napier anti rust pouch thingy in the gun caninet that seems great with anything metal. I already have an oil radiator i could use and a very small dehumidifier are not that much compared to my kit. What i don't want to do is take all the moisture out of the air in the cuboard and it effect my guns woodwork Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 Moisture will affect wood more than the lack of it. You need ventilation if things left in the cupboard are going mouldy. Can you not put a vent of some kind in the door? And then try circulating the air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8landy Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 Is this room on the first floor and if so can you vent through the celing into the roof space and then duct under the eves to outside? If not I would hire a core drill and vent to outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimfire4969 Posted October 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 Going up is possible , something like a bathroom vent would do i guess. At least the air can move around. Only trouble is i can't put a vent in the door as it is an expensive oak latch door and my wife would possibly gut me in my sleep. Would the vent move enough air with the only new air coming in around the door. Or i could put another opening into the roof space but it would be nextdoor to the vent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8landy Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 I think unless your door is a perfect vacuum seal air will move. Yes a bathroom type fan would be perfect, and you can even get some that have a built-in moisture meter type thing that turns the fan on and off automaticaly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimfire4969 Posted October 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 Great i will have a look and see what i can buy with a moisture sensor. Hopefully that will do the job. Thanks for the advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 You need cross ventilation.Attic spaces and suspended floors have cross ventilation for the excally the same reasons you're suffering.Two simple 6" vents on opposing walls should see an end to your problem.Depending on what your house if built from (brick or stone)-you might have to hire a diamond core drill if its brick or ask a friendly plumber he could do it for you as they have them for installing boiler vents. Having the walls tanked might also help,but this is very messy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Bear Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 Going up is possible , something like a bathroom vent would do i guess. At least the air can move around. Only trouble is i can't put a vent in the door as it is an expensive oak latch door and my wife would possibly gut me in my sleep. Would the vent move enough air with the only new air coming in around the door. Or i could put another opening into the roof space but it would be nextdoor to the vent Two possibilities if you use a bathroom vent - either way use slatted shelves so the air circulates 1 vent from the top and undercut the door by say 10 or 15 mm ( tell the wife it's so it doesn't ruck the carpet/jam on the floor ) This is industry standard for toilets etc. but the air will be warmer to aid drying if you have no moisture creating activities in the adjacent room. 2 Both vents from the top but duct (100mm dia or rectangular section platic both are readily available and not expensive compared with the gear) the incomming air to the bottom inside the cupboard. this will work to give circulation but the air will be cooler and "may" cool the room. Hope this helps D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbald Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 Hi, I used to work as a damp surveyor and most of the answers given are relevent, condensation is caused when moisture laden air comes into contact with a surface that is colder than the air temperature. The easiest way to avoid this is to increase temperature and ventilation,also look at where the moisture is coming from. we had great succes with whole house ventilation systems which go in the attic and move air around by vents although these are quite expensive. As suggested the best way is to vent through the wall,but if not possible air can be piped to the area preferably at low and high height to allow circulation, also consider low level heat such as the tubes used in greenhouses. take a look at this site for some answers on condensation link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph5172 Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 could you not just leave the door slightly ajar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotland rifles Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 i installed a 8" 40 watt tube heater in mine. no problems with moisture etc. £14 from a local electrical supplier. hth. bob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 Some great ideas here so I won't confuse the matter by adding too much, but VP90 patches are always good advice on top of solving the main problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambu13 Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 whatever of the above you decide on, would it be worth puting a little bit of silica gel/crystals in there?couldn't hurt? http://www.geejaychemicals.co.uk/ sambu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Harry Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 Can you not move the cabinet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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