Questions tagged [moisture]
The moisture tag has no usage guidance.
305
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Does this look like mold? (Mold test negative)
Recently had a mold test come back negative, despite me pulling a sample from white discolored crawlspace floor joist wood that is very close to an outside opening.
I was pretty confident this was ...
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1
answer
58
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What moisture content reading do I need to wait for before tiling on a sceed floor?
We've recently had an anhydrite liquid screed floor laid in our house. We are now waiting for it to dry before porcelain floor tiles are laid (over a decoupling layer).
There is some disagreement ...
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How should I go about troubleshooting this brown spot that appeared on my master bathroom ceiling?
This brown spot recently appeared on our master bathroom ceiling:
Some notes:
This is a second floor ceiling. The attic is above this room.
The HVAC is in the attic above this room. It's not ...
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1
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68
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How to insulate Rim Joist with no sill plate?
I recently had an energy audit/blower door test on my 1963 single-story ranch home in SE Michigan. They noted a lot of air infiltration along the baseboards, and recommended pro sprayfoaming the rim ...
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I have 19/32 Plywood subfloor screwed to floor joists. Can I add a MLV and floating OSB subfloor before installing LVP?
I am rebuilding the floor of a living room/dining room and am down to the plywood subfloor. I want to reduce noise transmission to the basement while keeping a low maintenance, low-ish budget solution....
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2
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59
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Old garage conversion to ADU: insulation question
I have a 2 x 4 framed garage. Years ago I insulated it with R13 fiberglass batts. Then I wrapped the whole garage in 1 inch EPS (R4), and put T1-11 over it. This worked just fine when it was a shop....
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59
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How do I properly finish basement without framing?
Here is the issue: we have an unfinished laundry room and an unfinished closet. I would like to finish both of them. We are in a wet/moisture climate (Wisconsin). I am trying to do this without ...
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Is our subfloor dry enough to lay hardwood flooring on?
we live in a coastal town in the NE and we are getting ready to lay hardwood floors. Some rooms, the lauan was not in good shape due to pulling up prior floor, so we pulled that up, but other rooms, ...
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66
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Do you need a subfloor over insulated concrete?
I'm having a house built, and I was discussing the floor in the basement with the builder. I thought I was going to use LVP over a subfloor, but the builder says they no longer put subfloors over ...
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61
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Do I need a vapor barrier under drywall in my unfinished garage?
I’ve got an attached unfinished garage and laundry room. I’d like to put something on the walls to attach shelves to sort out my mess of stuff and to convert the space into a more usable workshop.
...
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84
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What could be causing this moisture issue at the bottom of the middle wall?
We're baffled by this. Can someone help us solve this mystery?
In our mobile home, we recently (as in within the past few days) discovered some moisture behind the baseboard in the middle of an ...
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2
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58
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Moisture in center and corner of windows when raining
I have four double windows where moisture appears in the center or corners of the interior window sills when it rains. Even a light rain will show some moisture/softness on the interior window sill. I ...
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1
answer
58
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Fence touching soil and bark
Fence built by a builder. Coming up on one year warranty. Was thinking about long term implications for a fence that is buried at least 3 inches in between soil and bark. Unless this is not to fence ...
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51
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What type of prep do my basement floors need before carpet reinstall
I just ripped up my 30 year old basement carpet. There was significant efflorescence on the floor along along an exterior wall, where carpet padding wasn't used. The carpet in general felt "...
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How do I fix this corner?
I am trying to fix up the bathroom in my new apartment before I move in. The rest of it is bad, but not like this. It was duct taped in so I assume moisture got behind there and destroyed it. There ...
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48
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Water heater leak into base. Concerned about moisture or mold
I am in process of replacing my 17 yo gas water heater. I am estimating it was leaking steady (maybe a drop or two a second) for around 24 hours before I got it shut off. Should I be concerned about ...
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66
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Can plywood permanently retain moisture in an isolated spot?
The subfloor on the main level of my townhouse has several very small isolated wet spots. There is a crawl space underneath, and I thought high humidity in the crawl space was the culprit, but I no ...
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42
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Will dehumidifier damage old painted plaster?
I found a window leak during the rain, which ended up wetting a plaster wall near the window. During the rain, a 2 in by 6 in spot of paint lightly bubbled, the bubbles went away shortly after. Now, a ...
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283
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Vinyl Sheet Flooring -- Underlayment?
I'm looking at laying down some vinyl sheet flooring in my basement. Currently it's just a concrete floor with a layer of DryLok I've painted over it.
My question/concern is, do I need some type of ...
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2
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How wet a hole (with rain) is too wet to put concrete anchors in? [closed]
A few weeks ago I drilled 1/4" holes in my patio slab to mount some ~6' tall 4x4s with post brackets and wedge anchors (for a catio - ideally able to bear the weight of jumping cats). But I didn'...
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177
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What would cause drywall moisture to raise during the day and drop at night?
There is a portion of drywall to the side of a window in my bedroom (4' W x 5' H) that was saturated with moisture (my pinless moisture meter calibrated for drywall would read 100%). Not sure when the ...
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2
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234
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Vapor barrier under shed floor
I'm purchasing a shed that I intend to use as a home gym. On delivery, the shed will be uninsulated, aside from the roof which is metal with a bubble underlayment. The floor is a single layer of ...
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65
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Carpet under framing 2x4 exterior wall ,the carpet got wet and needs to be pulled out ,do I need to support each area under bottom plate stud
Framing of wall over carpet and pad ,carpet and pad got wet and cannot be dried properly so we need to remove the carpet and pad under the bottom plate studs,do I have to brace the bottom plate studs ...
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Bathroom shower wall tile is cracked across 4 tiles. Opinions?
Some structural guys bopped the back of a bathroom shower wall while installing some beams on the other side. A few subway tiles in a corner cracked in an area that get's a lot of moisture. Although I ...
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3
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183
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Whom to call to inspect damaged drywall ceiling of garage and repair leak?
Hello dear experts and DYIers,
I’ve noticed drywall coming off from my garage’s ceiling. After a closer look I suspect water/moisture issues.
There is some roof over the garage and a gutter that goes ...
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1
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40
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Is discoloration in my basement wall framing a concern?
We have a leak in our foundation, so I opened up the wall to patch it. This section of the wall comes to a T, and when I cut off the 2x4, I noticed discoloration in roughly 35-40% of the 2x4 that ...
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80
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Check wall for moisture: is there something like a fuse but moisture?
Is there such a thing like a fuse but for moisture? Some material or dye that can be used to know if a wall or floor is starting to accumulate moisture long before mold appears?
We had a moldy, moist ...
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194
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Purple drywall in bathroom
Had some drywallers come to do a kitchen and bathroom today. Is there any reason NOT to use purple moisture resistant board in the bathroom? The drywall has "1/2" high strength LITE - walls ...
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55
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Drywall in a bathroom cabinet?
I have mosture drywall in my bathroom and I have a 3’x 3’ linen cabinet do I need to use moisture Barrier drywall in there I have a lot of normal sheet rock I can use ? Does it really matter in there
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37
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Is greenboard an acceptable plastic surround backer?
I'm in Ohio, if that makes a difference for code.
In follow-up to Bathtub impersonating waterbed? , I ended up gutting the whole bathroom - the liner was not in great shape, there were layers and ...
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2
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312
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Heat Pumps that can add moisture to dry indoor air in winter
I heard that there are heat pumps in Germany that have the ability to add moisture to dry indoor air in winter. In Northern climates interior air tends to be far too dry, uncomfortable for skin etc.
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0
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61
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How to waterproof walk out basement
My mother's house is built on top of a hill that drops off at the rear. The front half of house is over a tall crawl space, the back half is an 8' high finished walk out basement with drywall and has ...
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177
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Why is my shed floor staying damp?
I built a shed last summer at my recreational property. This winter when it was snowing, I was up in shed and the plywood floor got pretty wet. It seems to have never really dried dry out all winter. ...
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2
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720
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Building shower curb directly on concrete
I am getting ready to remodel my basement shower and wanted to get everyone's input on building up the shower curb.
My shower is located in the basement where the floor is concrete. My concern was ...
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50
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moisture control inside of brick house
I am partially gutting a bathroom. It has been redone once. When I tore up where the sink was, underneath the Ditra on the layer of OSB that was laid down there was water damage. So I tore that up, ...
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answer
131
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How do I approach replacing subfloor in a small space (23 sq. ft.)?
I’ve undertaken redoing my laundry room in a house I bought as-is. Yesterday, the plumber came to remove the washer and dryer, which were sitting on a loose piece of plywood on top of the floor- ...
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OK to leave open combustion air pipe in crawlspace sucking air from crawlspace? I like in Alaska and we have had a lot of snow blocking outside vent
We recently had an unusual snowstorm that completely covered the open combustion air pipe that is vented at almost ground level to the outside. This caused the HVAC to shut down. We are worried ...
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Drying out wooden house frame after minor Water Ingress
I am currently re-GIBing (plasterboarding) the Master Bedroom. The old GIB was installed in the 90s with nails and was done rather poorly (10-20mm gaps between sheets, odd/off-cut sheets, sheets not ...
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How to diagnose the source of bathroom leakage with minimum damage
Today we notices some discoloration/stains under our stairway, next to our upstairs bathroom:
I removed the wooden cover of the piping system, which was mostly soaked/rotten
...
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1
answer
421
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Sound dampening a sump pump space
My house has 2 sump pumps that run every minute or so on wet days (and sometimes dry ones). Even with a French drain, there is constant water coming into the sump pits.
They are both enclosed with a ...
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53
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Water around window and door
I just moved to a new house. After first rain I have noticed wet patch by the window and door.
I removed the skirting boards to find even more dampness and wet dust.
I asked the developer to fix it. ...
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0
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26
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Proper moisture barrier under sill
What are some of the typical things used to put below the sill of a wall when attaching it to a wood foundation during framing? The foundation extends past the structure and is a deck too, so I can't ...
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Why do basement blocks above grade show moisture all the time?
At first, I thought maybe it was because the previous owners had laid plastic down in the flower beds so the water was getting trapped underneath the mulch. The soil was basically a mud pit and water ...
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2
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Can this old drain pipe still be active
My house is a renovation of a 1940 house. Many of the old nonworking disconnected parts were left in during the reconnection, including this 5 or 6" cast iron drain pipe. I recently noticed that ...
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Basement "bad idea"? Finishing top half, leaving bottom half exposed
My ranch home in Ohio was built in 2020. It has a 2300 sq ft unfinished basement with 1 sump.
I want to finish the basement, so I had a few companies review the moisture levels since I noticed the ...
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2
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56
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How much to (and how to) reduce moisture under slab before repairing drywall
Two weekends ago I opened up the drywall and replaced the valve on a bathtub. After opening the wall I was able to see that the plumber who installed the tub also apparently had trouble installing ...
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3
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781
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Installing LVP or LVT laminate flooring in bathroom: what base and side considerations?
We are looking to do new flooring in our downstairs bathroom. My wife likes a flooring material by a company called COREtec; specifically their "Calypso Oak" LVP/LVT product:
Our bathroom, ...
2
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1
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663
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Can an underground drain pipe cause water seepage into basement where floor and wall meet in the front and side of a house?
We have three water issues on one side of our 1934 house. Our house sits beneath our adjacent neighbor's 2018 cruise ship of a McMansion that runs the full length of our home and backyard four stories ...
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119
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How to proactively prevent termite infestation
I'm seeing ants boring holes through Tiles and ejecting sand and I'm told ants are first to come then comes the Termite.
Outside my building I'm seeing lots of ant colonies where if can lay our feet , ...
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Crawl Space Encapsulation: How to deal with the "Chamber of Secrets?"
I have a south Louisiana home built in the 1950's with a vented crawl space. In the 70's, a den was added with a slab on grade foundation. In this addition, the back porch was converted into a ...