Humidity-proofing tank room

[LobsterOfJustice]

Hey all,

This spring is phase two of prepping the garage for the in-wall tank. Last spring I got the garage door swapped out with an insulated model and added A/C. This years project will be to humidity-proof the walls and ceiling to protect my house from mold/moisture damage. I have a couple options I need help with:

1. Tear out the existing drywall and replace it with greenboard, or leave existing drywall. I'm not sure if this is necessary depending on the wall covering I use. The added benefit would be I could insulate the exterior wall which is not currently insulated. The garage is getting by fine temperature-wise but it would increase efficiency.

2. Cover the wall with a plastic board (FRP or similar), or coat it with a heavy duty sealant.

I want to do it right but don't want to waste time and money on overkill. The tank will be 300g and it is only a 1 car garage so I expect there to be some humidity. I will also probably install an exhaust fan. Any direction from anyone who has done this before is appreciated.

 

[woodnaquanut]

Insulation would help lots. Probably a lot cheaper than the garage door and more useful for temp control.

Be sure to install a moisture barrier. There are online sources to show how to do it correctly. In my state (CA), there is fire rated sheet rock and mud for attached garages. If that is code in NC, this would be what you want to use on the attached sides.

Using an exhaust fan would help a lot. Better to remove as much of the problem as possible.

 

[slief]

Insulation would help lots. Probably a lot cheaper than the garage door and more useful for temp control.

Be sure to install a moisture barrier. There are online sources to show how to do it correctly. In my state (CA), there is fire rated sheet rock and mud for attached garages. If that is code in NC, this would be what you want to use on the attached sides.

Using an exhaust fan would help a lot. Better to remove as much of the problem as possible.

+1 on the exhaust fan. My tank is drywalled in from top to bottom. I have a 10" rotron fan built into my light soffit above the tank that ducts outside and it does wonders for removing the humidity. There are some vent holes that lead to the sump area below the tank which helps to pull any humidity from below the tank and duct it up through the soffit where it's exhausted out of the house. I have no humidity issues whatsoever in the house and my tank and it's 600+ gallons of water have been setup here since 1997.

I also lined all the inside walls above and below the tank with FRP. Not only does it look great and sanitary, it also does a great job protecting the drywall behind it.

 

[dave.m]

I would just isolate a space around the tank, not the whole garage. I would first be more concerned with isolating the tank from pollution generated by the car than humidity. It would be a lot easier to put up a moisture barrier just around the tank space (think "fish room") and then duct the humidity to the outdoors.

Dave.M

 

[woodnaquanut]

Is the garage/fish room going to have a car visit?

Cars can live outside. You need the space for the FR!

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Thanks for the replies. The garage is really quite small, barely large enough for a small car without a bunch of fish junk in it. If I walled off a section around the tank, there'd be nothing left. The car will not be parking in the garage, it will be just used as a fish room.

It sounds like I can install some moisture barrier sheeting on the drywall, and then FRP on top of that. Couple that with an exhaust fan and I should be good to go?

 

[dave.m]

It also depends on how much air/humidity seepage you have from outdoors into garage and temperature differences between the two air spaces.

Dave.M