Is this normal for a garage floor?

[OasisFan79]

Hello all,

Wondered if I could get some opinions on the way that damp seems to spread on my garage floor.

I went out to the garage this morning for a run on my treadmill and when I first went in the floor was completely dry.

As it was raining outside my trainers were a bit wet so I brought a few wet footsteps into the garage but only three or four.

After about 40 minutes in the garage the damp on the floor had spread out quite a bit. I’ve included a photo below and the yellow circle is where my footprints were. As you can see the damp spread quite a bit. It wasn’t raining in to the garage.

I’ve not seen this happen before in previous houses (this is a new build six months old). I presume it’s normal but I guess I was a bit surprised at how much the damp spread.

Cheers.

 

[old duffer]

At this time of year I have the same issue in my cellar
Its know as condensation and it occurs when warm air hits a cold surface

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Is it condensation, though? I'd expect warm air to rise, hit the cold ceiling or tops of the walls and condense there and not on the floor.

 

[OasisFan79]

I’m not sure if it’s condensation, although I guess it could be. I just thought it strange that the damp bits effectively spread to cover more floor space.

 

[Why Not Indeed]

A vote against condensation from me here too.
You should be able to determine which direction the moisture is coming from by laying some impermeable plastic over it [or even a sheet of glass] and leaving it for a bit:
Water on top side = moisture from the air condensing on the cold floor
Water on bottom side = moisture coming up from the concrete

 

[OasisFan79]

Had it again this morning.

I’m beginning to think it could be condensation.

It hasn’t rained for the last few days. The photo below is from when I first opened the garage door and about 45 minutes earlier it had spread more - in particular near the front of the garage.

I’ve never had this with any garages in previous houses so I wonder if it’s the material the builder has used for the floor?

Can you seal garage floors with anything to prevent this?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

All sorts of things you can seal concrete with, from diluted D3 PVA glue (won't last long), through floor paint to epoxy resin or epoxy floor paint.

 

[OasisFan79]

All sorts of things you can seal concrete with, from diluted D3 PVA glue (won't last long), through floor paint to epoxy resin or epoxy floor paint.

Would a floor sealant/coating likely stop the condensation problem?

 

[OasisFan79]

A vote against condensation from me here too.
You should be able to determine which direction the moisture is coming from by laying some impermeable plastic over it [or even a sheet of glass] and leaving it for a bit:
Water on top side = moisture from the air condensing on the cold floor
Water on bottom side = moisture coming up from the concrete

I’ll give this a try. Appreciate the suggestion. Cheers.

 

[Why Not Indeed]

Would a floor sealant/coating likely stop the condensation problem?

If the condensation is moisture condensing on the garage floor, then the only way a coating could stop that would be if it made the floor warmer relative to the air, ie thick enough to insulate it. So that's probably a "no".

 

[OasisFan79]

It’s condensation by the looks of it.

I went in the garage tonight, left the door open, and at first the floor was dry. Ten minutes later there was a damp patch at the front like in the photo.

What I can’t get my head around is the fact we’ve never had this problem in any of the garages in our previous houses.