# Walls sweating?



## skinne9 (Nov 21, 2009)

It seems every winter I run into this problem a couple of times.
There will be 1 or 2 rooms in the house that has a wall or two that won't dry, or even worse it looks like somone took a big glass of water and threw it on parts of the wall. I think it has to do with poor insulation:any suggestions?. Today was new because it was in the corner on the ceiling.


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## Schmidt & Co. (Nov 6, 2008)

Its because the walls are to cold. The paint can't properly set up/dry and can even start to run down the wall if your not careful. Turn the heat up.


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## skinne9 (Nov 21, 2009)

Schmidt & Co. said:


> Its because the walls are to cold. The paint can't properly set up/dry and can even start to run down the wall if your not careful. Turn the heat up.


 The heat was on 68 before and during painting, but I did crank it up to 72 after I noticed the problem


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## Schmidt & Co. (Nov 6, 2008)

skinne9 said:


> The heat was on 68 before and during painting, but I did crank it up to 72 after I noticed the problem


But the _surface_ you were painting was still cold. If I'm unsure, I'll run my hands over the wall and see if its cold. Its just like exterior painting, the substrate needs to be warm, not just the air temp.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

Schmidt & Co. said:


> But the _surface_ you were painting was still cold. If I'm unsure, I'll run my hands over the wall and see if its cold. Its just like exterior painting, the substrate needs to be warm, not just the air temp.


 
Not making fun of you Schmidt, but it should not take a genius to figure that out, I mean, come on:blink: Some people just should not be doing this.


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

I just did an interior where I had a similar problem. We noticed that the trim was getting fish eyes in the paint right after it was sprayed and discovered that there was condensation on everything (very, very light condensation that you couldn't see but could feel if you ran you hand over the surface). Temps were in the 40's and it had been raining all day. We dialed up the heat and that solved the problem.


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## CliffK (Dec 21, 2010)

chrisn said:


> I mean, come on:blink: Some people just should not be doing this.


 From what I see in this area and the conversations and things I witness in the paint store, it's a lot more than *SOME* !!!!


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

CliffK said:


> From what I see in this area and the conversations and things I witness in the paint store, it's a lot more than *SOME* !!!!


 
I agree:thumbsup:


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## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

I did a historic renovation where the rooms were large with 11' ceilings and hardwood floors in the middle of winter. Had it cranked up to 75 degrees for 36 hours and then turned it down to 65 when I started. It was really nice - all the other trades decided to clear out and give us the house because they couldn't take the heat. :thumbup:

Worked great, now if I get somewhere and the other trades are in the way I crank up the salamander and watch run like roaches:thumbsup:


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## Custom Brush Co. (Jan 26, 2011)

skinne9 said:


> It seems every winter I run into this problem a couple of times.
> There will be 1 or 2 rooms in the house that has a wall or two that won't dry, or even worse it looks like somone took a big glass of water and threw it on parts of the wall. I think it has to do with poor insulation:any suggestions?. Today was new because it was in the corner on the ceiling.


Heat is good when it is available. If not a dehumidifier and floor style space heaters work.


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## jack pauhl (Nov 10, 2008)

Couple things. If you had one of those infrared temperature guns, you would see ceiling lines, corners and baseboard runs much colder than open wall areas. 

The other is humidity on a humid day.

Painting one 12x12 room with one coat of paint. I took a humidity reading prior to starting and again when finished. The humidity in the room before I started was 44% so as you can see just how much humidity painting one room with the door open can increase. In just 7 minutes of rolling the walls, the humidity jumped 14%.


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## Scotiadawg (Dec 5, 2011)

I'm far from an expert but I would have to question if the vapor barrier has been installed properly in the problem areas. I've run into this a number of times, usually in a new house. Another problem arose when insulators blocked the rafter vents off and water started running down the walls. Use a dehumidifer and electric construction heater helps. Humidity is always higher in new construction - new framing timbers even tho kiln dried have quite a bit of moisture, drywall readymix etc. But hey whadda I know I'm jest a dumb ol painter!


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## HJ61 (Nov 14, 2011)

I've seen this a few times when humidity outside is high on a cold day. Raining or snowing too. Then the paint starts drying, raising inside humidity which then forms condensation. For those poorly insulated walls an infrared heater is great because it will heat the substrate. I usually just turn a fan on and don't try to recoat til next day.


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## jack pauhl (Nov 10, 2008)

masterdawg said:


> I'm far from an expert but I would have to question if the vapor barrier has been installed properly in the problem areas. I've run into this a number of times, usually in a new house. Another problem arose when insulators blocked the rafter vents off and water started running down the walls. Use a dehumidifer and electric construction heater helps. Humidity is always higher in new construction - new framing timbers even tho kiln dried have quite a bit of moisture, drywall readymix etc. But hey whadda I know I'm jest a dumb ol painter!


This is common anywhere on a home where there is solid wood like a wall corner, typically two 2x4's sandwiched together and no place for insulation. Or the bottom plate on the floor is also doubled. Another area is where two floors come together.


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## Scotiadawg (Dec 5, 2011)

jack pauhl said:


> This is common anywhere on a home where there is solid wood like a wall corner, typically two 2x4's sandwiched together and no place for insulation. Or the bottom plate on the floor is also doubled. Another area is where two floors come together.


yeah, what he said !:notworthy:


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## JoseyWales (Jan 8, 2011)

umm...try a little wall deodorant for the sweating!


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## Scotiadawg (Dec 5, 2011)

JoseyWales said:


> umm...try a little wall deodorant for the sweating!


good idea,just make sure it's the non-staining:thumbsup:


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