Jump to content

Under cupboard storage space


blackrose

Featured Posts

29 minutes ago, blackrose said:

I don't think the moisture can be coming up through the floor unless it can travel through 18mm ply as there are no gaps between floor and lining.

 

That'll be it then.

 

I have a half inch gap under the skirting boards and a half inch gap between the floor and the hull sides along the full length of the boat.

 

Annoying when you drop fiddly bits down the gap but allows excellent ventilation under the galley and in the lockers.  Probably helps keep the cabin bilge dry too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, blackrose said:

I don't think the moisture can be coming up through the floor unless it can travel through 18mm ply as there are no gaps between floor and lining. Also whenever I've inspected my bilges in various parts of the boat they've always been dry. 

 

No it's definitely coming from warm air in the cabin reaching the cold surfaces of below water level floor & walls.

Moisture will travel upwards through any non-waterproof material regardless of thickness, hence moisture barriers in the ceilings of buildings. That ply itself will contain a percentage of moisture albeit minimal.

The bilges don't have to be wet for moisture to be present in the air. Is the underside of your flooring dry?, If it is then your problem, as you say, lies somewhere else.

Another possibility is maybe your insulation stops short of floor level?

 

Keith

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Steilsteven said:

Moisture will travel upwards through any non-waterproof material regardless of thickness, hence moisture barriers in the ceilings of buildings. That ply itself will contain a percentage of moisture albeit minimal.

The bilges don't have to be wet for moisture to be present in the air. Is the underside of your flooring dry?, If it is then your problem, as you say, lies somewhere else.

Another possibility is maybe your insulation stops short of floor level?

 

Keith

 

 

I don't think that amount of moisture could have travelled through my floor. Yes, where I have access the underside of the floor is dry. 

 

The insulation goes all the way down.

Edited by blackrose
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 16/01/2022 at 22:07, TheBiscuits said:

 

That'll be it then.

 

I have a half inch gap under the skirting boards and a half inch gap between the floor and the hull sides along the full length of the boat.

 

Annoying when you drop fiddly bits down the gap but allows excellent ventilation under the galley and in the lockers.  Probably helps keep the cabin bilge dry too.

 

That'll be what then?

 

I'd say your gaps between floor and hull sides are quite unusual. Most boats aren't built that way from what I've seen.

Edited by blackrose
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/01/2022 at 19:39, blackrose said:

Update:

 

So two weeks later with no tools under the cupboards and the plinths fitted in the same position there's absolutely no sign of the condensation returning so it must be packing the tools down there that caused the problem. 

 

I'll leave it empty for a couple more weeks just to be sure and then think about putting the tools back and see what raising the plinths by half an inch looks like.

You'd only need to rest them on a couple of match sticks to allow the cold air out?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update: Last night I checked and noticed the first signs of condensation returning down there. Only a small amount but enough to make me think that what I originally saw was an accumulation of condensation over a couple of months. 

 

I took the plinths away again and this morning the condensation had gone So I think the cause must be a combination of both issues - a lack of ventilation combined with packing the small area full of stuff. I've bought some 4mm plastic spacers and will stick these to the bottom of the plinths to encourage airflow, and then just keep my eye on it over the rest of winter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Well, raising the plinths by 8mm hasn't solved the problem. I was away for a few days and left the boat unheated. Came back and it's wet under there again. I've been back for a day, warm boat and the condensation is still there.

 

I think I might get rid of the plinths and try to find some sort of mesh material to put in there instead just to make it look ok cosmetically. Vented radiator screen perhaps? Something like this.

 

51dYJHENw2S._AC_SL1000_.jpg

Edited by blackrose
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Just following up to show what I did in the end in case anyone is interested:

 

I made some wooden frames using 32 x 40mm pine that was fairly cheap from B&Q, painted it black, then stapled some black stainless mesh from Amazon onto it and added some black plastic handles to get the plinths out easily to access my tools.

 

 

IMG_20220425_175251.jpg

IMG_20220425_175307.jpg

Edited by blackrose
  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Alistair1357 said:

Is it staying dry now, or will you have to wait for middle of winter again to assess?

 

Well it's dry now and I reckon the mesh provides the maximum amount of airflow apart from not having anything there at all.

 

However, I'm beginning to think that the reason it was so wet down there and in other storage spaces too, is because when I go away in winter the boat and it's contents get down to a few degrees C and then when I come back home to the boat everything gets warmed up again, but of course the items with large thermal mass remain cold for much longer than the ambient air temperature inside the boat. Warm air meeting a cold surface produces condensation. 

 

So I think it's more about that than the ventilation of those spaces but it will be next winter until I know for sure.

Edited by blackrose
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...

To be honest, the idea that cardboard boxes under the bed on a boat were a good way of storing stuff seemed so ridiculous to me that I did not read the post, if I had then I would have reported it as well.  Suggesting mixing cardboard with what has been shown to be a damp environment strains one's credulity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

 Suggesting mixing cardboard with what has been shown to be a damp environment strains one's credulity.

It's alright, Tony, they've thought of that one. If you follow the link it includes this advice:


"The first thing you should do is line up the outside of your cardboard box with as much duct tape as you can, sealing it as much as you can and getting inside every nook and cranny.Then you need to open your cardboard box, and line the inside of your cardboard box with duct tape, let’s call it double sealing, to ensure that no kind of moisture or liquid leaks into your cardboard box."

😃

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

To be honest, the idea that cardboard boxes under the bed on a boat were a good way of storing stuff seemed so ridiculous to me that I did not read the post, if I had then I would have reported it as well.  Suggesting mixing cardboard with what has been shown to be a damp environment strains one's credulity.

 

Yes, I was about to reply asking how cardboard boxes would alleviate condensation drawn from warm air to a cold thermal mass when I saw the post had been reported and realised it was spam.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Storing tools is a challenge.

They are neither decorative, nor in everyday use, which tends to relegate them to far off corners, and out buildings.

Or if they have made it inside, under cupboards,  instead of in cupboards. 

But good quality tool steel, combines the relatively high thermal mass of iron,  with very high corrosion sensitivity of high carbon steel.

Thus these tools demand high quality storage.

 

A constant battle for suitable  territory in our household.

I have just yesterday spent some hours trying to get the rule, on an inappropriatly stored, beautiful Moore and Wright combination square, readable again, only to find it was completely lacking in the now only comprehensible, but French invented, metric length measures. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.