Garage storage

theleg · 21 Sep 2016 at 18:26

Ok so i have a pretty large garage and its a little away from my house. Im looking to rent the house out for a bit and keep hold of the garage to store my stuff in. Currently working away from hometown area.

What do I need to do to the garage to make it more hospitable to storing stuff? Ive left things in there before and the mould grows well in there. Its pretty dry as far as garages go but even so, id like to improve it if i can.

Would insulating the block walls help? Any way of sealing the door properly? Anyone done something like this? I assume it would be similar to converting a garage for living in.

koolpc · 21 Sep 2016 at 18:29

Interesting to know what the answers are

bremen1874 · 21 Sep 2016 at 18:29

If you're getting mould you probably need more ventilation not less.

theleg · 21 Sep 2016 at 18:39

bremen1874 said:
If you're getting mould you probably need more ventilation not less.

Really? Interesting. Thats a good point, there are no ventilation fans in there.

thezappa · 21 Sep 2016 at 21:11

Don't necessarily need fans, just a suitable number of small holes in positions that won't allow rain in but moisture out.

Tupro · 21 Sep 2016 at 21:49

id also suggest covering everything up with waterproof sheets/tarps
double check the roof to make sure there is no way water could get in.. if it does it'll ruin all your stuff

as long as the door isn't letting the rain in then i wouldn't bother with sealing it

theleg · 21 Sep 2016 at 22:44

Ok, ill take a proper poke around and look for any ventilation, if none, will add some. Rain doesnt come in through the doors. Will buy some tarp too.

Im still a bit worried though as stuff has moulded up quite seriously in there over the previous winter. Set of drawers that was up against the garage door got horrendously mouldy.

Akagi · 21 Sep 2016 at 22:45

Du-humidifier on a timer if more ventilation doesn't sort it.

bremen1874 · 21 Sep 2016 at 22:48

If you really care about the stuff rent a storage unit.

theleg · 21 Sep 2016 at 23:57

bremen1874 said:
If you really care about the stuff rent a storage unit.

Unfortunately the storage units around me are pretty much just bare containers in a carpark. I guess i could look further afield and hire a van or something...but ive got a 7m x 5m space which isnt really doing much so i thought id see if i could do anything to make it work.

Akagi · 22 Sep 2016 at 00:00

Dehummmmm!

bremen1874 · 22 Sep 2016 at 00:06

Is there power in the garage?

If there is have a Google for 'tubular heater'. They're an option to provide some low level (and safe) heat to keep the damp (more importantly condensation) at bay.

Not an actual recommendation, but this sort of thing https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_I...ular_Heaters/index.html#Tubular_Heater_DXECOT

Akagi · 22 Sep 2016 at 00:11

I give up

bremen1874 · 22 Sep 2016 at 00:15

Dehumidifiers aren't the cheapest things to run. The portable units also tend to need their tanks empting on a fairly regular basis; not ideal if the OP is away.

theleg · 22 Sep 2016 at 00:19

Acme said:
Dehummmmm!

I do have a few available due to a flood at work a while back. Putting them on a timer might work if i can get someone to empty on the reg..Good plan

theleg · 22 Sep 2016 at 00:20

bremen1874 said:
Is there power in the garage?

If there is have a Google for 'tubular heater'. They're an option to provide some low level (and safe) heat to keep the damp (more importantly condensation) at bay.

Not an actual recommendation, but this sort of thing https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_I...ular_Heaters/index.html#Tubular_Heater_DXECOT

Yes there is. Ill take a look, they seem interesting.

robj20 · 22 Sep 2016 at 08:05

bremen1874 said:
Dehumidifiers aren't the cheapest things to run. The portable units also tend to need their tanks empting on a fairly regular basis; not ideal if the OP is away.

Connect a pipe then, constant draining then, i have yet to find one that doesnt allow this.

Akagi · 22 Sep 2016 at 09:36

We run an old dehumidifier in the garage on a timer, I'm not sure how often it runs or how long for (i.e how much power it used) but it does the job very well. I'll try and find out later.

We do just drain the water out of the tank into the water butt at the moment, but with our old garage we ran a pipe through the wall.

Psycho Sonny · 22 Sep 2016 at 11:05

your going to need heating if storing electronics IMO. having stuff go extremely cold at night to warm during the day isn't good for electronics. basically a full conversion into a habitable room.

you need a wooden frame, insulation, plasterboard, floorboard, ventilation, heating, wiring, etc. the materials are cheap, it's labour that costs so ideally you want to be DIY'ing the lot. this is where youtube is at it's best. 1 step at a time and focus on that 1 thing until finished before doing the next. obviously in a set order of outwards in.

a large garage to convert properly shouldn't cost more than £2K in material i would think.

robj20 · 22 Sep 2016 at 12:38

Psycho Sonny said:
your going to need heating if storing electronics IMO. having stuff go extremely cold at night to warm during the day isn't good for electronics. basically a full conversion into a habitable room.

you need a wooden frame, insulation, plasterboard, floorboard, ventilation, heating, wiring, etc. the materials are cheap, it's labour that costs so ideally you want to be DIY'ing the lot. this is where youtube is at it's best. 1 step at a time and focus on that 1 thing until finished before doing the next. obviously in a set order of outwards in.

a large garage to convert properly shouldn't cost more than £2K in material i would think.

Rubbish. Temperature won't do anything, it's condensation that's the problem, and with a dehumidifier it won't be.