Wooden shed - dry inside - help

[The Natural Philosopher]

Yep! that way any moisture will be peramently trapped in the clothes, ensuring that they rot.

I cannot believe the amount of total bollocks being spouted here.

I suppose in tehse days of suburnaites living in selaed double galzed battery farms, and drying clothes by putting them in a heated tumble dryer, the facst of living more or less out doors have been totally lost from te fulture.

mould comes from damp stuff sealed up and put away.

You 'air;' things by hanging them out so air can circulate. This DRIES them. It even - gasp - used to be done on washing lines OUTSIDE. I wonder why we bother to ventilate rooves to stop them rotting. OBVIOUSLY the only way this can be done is to seal them, up totally and run humidifiers in them. I cant understand how all the stuff stored in my shed for years hasn't gone rusty or rotted away. It must be a miracle! No less than all the flags that are flown on poles, however do they not rot when exposed not only to the dangerous un-dehumidified COUNTRY AIR but also to the dangerous cancer inducing SUN and worst of all RAIN. Oh my gosh. If ONLY we had listened to these suburbanites in their sealed little boxes, our flags might last MONTHS instead of the TENS OF YEARS they do last.

I cant understand why anyone would actually USE a shed when patently, conditions inside them are so dreadful that you would be no better off leaving things out in the rain and the sun.

Unlike houses, people do not sit in sheds sweating, take steamy baths in them or cook in them. Thy have no sources of moisture over and above what is in the air.

Get real folks. Keep the rain off, let the air circulate, stuff wont rot. 2000 years of experience says so.

[The Natural Philosopher]

WTF are you guys ON?

I am absolutely and completely gobsmacked by the total SHITE you are talking.

[The Natural Philosopher]

My experience is quite the reverse.

Only if its hung up damp, and sealed up, does it even BEGIN to smell musty.

Or if you have loads of flowers in pots full of vegetation transpiring water like crazy. And no ventilation at all.

[The Natural Philosopher]

ONE SANE MAN IN A THREAD OF IMBECILES.

It solves ALL the problems. The coldest place at night is the GROUND. it radiates heat far faster than the air. Which is why you get dew and 'griound frost' LONG befire you get dampp anywhere else, or air frost.. PROVIDED that the shed is ventilated, it wont ever have air below the dewpoint, and any slight absorption of humidity will vanish as soon as the air temp rises in the day, *as long as that air can get to the clothes*. sealing it up is a recipe for utter disaster and insulation without heating is meaningless.

[Harry]

Another subject altogether, but thanks for the input. Many thanks to one and all for a thoroughly entertaining selection of responses. As we've failed completely to change the lady's mind - council of war today - we'll go with the un "improved" and basic shed for a few weeks and test the waters, so to speak. All suggestions very much appreciated.

[dave]

That has been my experience. I know of at least 3 houses that have clothes where you can smell old damp on them. One of them is a millionaire, the other two are quite well off as well.

Dave

[dave]

Sorry Owain, but what has this to do with storage insurance by the producer?

Surely the contract can only be broken when the producer fails to produce the goods as ordered.

Dave

[Cicero]

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She's probably taking in garments for alterations and/or restyling. An insurance company might consider a garden shed an insecure place to keep garments.

Cic.

[dave]

Oh! Sorry, I thought you were on the topic of storage and smells etc.

Dave

[The Natural Philosopher]

airflow and rain off is all that is important.

If there's no venting under the eaves, make holes and fit some soffit vents OK I would say.

[Rad]

The NP is, as usual, spot on. What is the point of spending any money on a shed's characteristics of insulation etc for a week in the summer? (assuming it is now) - none! My only comment or warning would be to check that the moisture content of the shed's timbers had equilibrated to that of the surroundings and that it was not freshly constructed and thus a source of water! Likewise, if it had been freshly treated with a water-borne pressure impregnation process or if OS that it had dried out more than a week. The trick is to keep the shed well off the ground and well ventilated and only if "suddenly" the weather significantly changed such that the RH was continuously high (and I cannot ever recall this happening in a British summer) would I consider a dehumidifier as a Plan B. The best shed therefore is a clean second hand one or if you have to buy new take a cheap damp meter and check its MC out Chris

[stuart noble]

I think I might be more inclined to test the waters during the winter

[The Natural Philosopher]

I dont even think thats a real issue as long as its well ventilated. New sheds are built from seasoned wood, usually stored inside prior to manufacture. Its likely that a new shed will in fact absorb water slightly as it adapts to its new sligtly damper settings.

Far more a problem is the smell of any treatment it has..again ventilation will stop that being picked up in the clothes.

My old shed was jemmied open and a load of stuff nicked some years back. I never repaired the lock. A log keeps the door partially closes, but there is room for cats to get in to shelter in there ..so its well ventilated. It is dry and must free. Apart from one bit of floor which has got rained on by the (open) door. That's a bit dodgy.

everything off the floor is in perfect shape. It has no wet soil or plants in it since I got he greenhouse fixed. SWMBO has moved all vegetation out, and that has turned it into a totally bone dry mould free zone.

I am fairly sure its keeping plants in potting sheds and watering them, that raises the RH in them to the point where mould and must can form.