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General Vintage Technology Discussions For general discussions about vintage radio and other vintage electronics etc. |
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8th Jan 2020, 10:52 pm | #21 |
Nonode
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Kirk Michael, Isle of Man
Posts: 2,346
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
Sorry, but something seems to be missing. Ventilation. If you put cellotex under ceiling, it becomes MORE important. Best is a pitched roof wooden shed, with vents near apex.Do not keep stuff in plastic boxes unless covered, use wooden ones. been there, got ALL the Tee Shirts.
Les. |
9th Jan 2020, 12:17 am | #22 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Colchester, Essex, UK.
Posts: 4,081
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
..Equipment which includes an old leather case or carrying handle should never be in an airtight container- leather can carry a large amount of water which departs as it warms up.
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9th Jan 2020, 9:09 am | #23 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London, UK.
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
As a side note I took the alternative solution which was to duke it out with Mrs Bungle until she gave in. It’s now in the living room, in the hall cupboard and under the bed. This is the best solution for the problem and cheaper than insulating a shed. Unless it leads to divorce which is probably more expensive
The shed is one of the worst inventions of the human race if you ask me. It adds more problems. |
9th Jan 2020, 9:40 am | #24 | ||
Nonode
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Leicester, UK
Posts: 2,505
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
Quote:
Quote:
Thanks for that. Noted. |
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9th Jan 2020, 11:12 am | #25 |
Rest in Peace
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Ripley, Derbyshire, UK.
Posts: 785
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
I have a 12' x 8' all-wooden workshop which I built from a large number of estate agent's thick plywood "For Sale" signs (4'x3' each) that I acquired cheaply from a timber yard, 30 years ago. I partially lined it with carpet underlay, overlaid with hardboard sheets. The exterior was painted with some gloss paint that was to hand, and then, apart from the two (reclaimed scrap) windows, covered with roofing felt.
The base is a frame made out of four pieces of 9"x3" timber, and stands on four brick pillars approximately 1 foot off the ground. It's not pretty, but was comparitively cheap to build, been up 30 years this year, and never a real damp problem yet. Tony. |
9th Jan 2020, 12:02 pm | #26 | ||
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Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
Quote:
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9th Jan 2020, 12:19 pm | #27 |
Dekatron
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Location: W.Butterwick, near Doncaster UK.
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
I certainly think 10 inches of concrete would stop water getting through.
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9th Jan 2020, 1:59 pm | #28 |
Dekatron
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Location: Ramsbottom (Nr Bury) Lancs or Bexhill (Nr Hastings) Sussex.
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
Re Tony's Workshop [p25*] I have an 8x6 shed in Rammy. I bought it [very cheap] in 1991 as a "stop gap". There's power from an over-head cable on a catenary wire, via a fused spur near the back door that isolates the shed and outside lights-it's usually switched off! This was never intended to be a radio workshop and is not insulated or heated [usually] Some of the rougher electrical gear is stored out there though, along with tools, garden stuff etc but nothing delicate. I put in shelves made from 2" floor joists obtained when the Church across the street was itself re-cycled into apartments... they don't bend [and neither do the shelves ] Although on the way out with a pronounced lean and overall deterioration it's still there. It was the only shed I ever bought and they knocked it together in a few minutes!
My point here is that I twigged it was a self perpetuating industry and why. Whether you are painting or doing some other work it's often said that "preparation is the secret". The guys would have been happy to just place it directly on the cobbled area of my yard [where it was going] but I'd built a sub frame, from those joists on edge, wrapped around with some remnants of the visquene blue damp proof plastic liner I had. Over the years some deterioration to the frame has taken place and been corrected but water damage has never reached the, quite insubstantial shed floor. If I was to do something similar now it would be a stronger shed floor on a sub-frame, itself raised blocks or bricks away from the ground. It was clear that punters were told to prepare with flags or with a thin concrete base put down. That would guarantee a rotted out shed and a replacement being needed, a few years later. When you look at the fascinating new [often American] Micro-Homes that are featured on You Tube, built for economy and flexibility, they are either on trailers or raised by short legs mounted on concrete blocks. The building doesn't touch the ground! Most of ours do! Dave W Last edited by dave walsh; 9th Jan 2020 at 2:25 pm. |
9th Jan 2020, 2:06 pm | #29 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Oxfordshire, UK.
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
Does anyone else have problems with shed and mice?
I tend not store equipment in my shed, but I did put a box into the shed containing all of my mains cable and flex. A family of mice occupied the box, didn't try eating the cable, but just left it nicely contaminated with lots of mouse waste. I have seen a couple of examples where mice took a nibble out of rubbery/ plastic items, and sometimes, even just a nibble can do significant damage. I have sometimes put traps down, but I worry that I just happen to be killing off some rare species of mouse B
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9th Jan 2020, 2:43 pm | #30 |
Dekatron
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
I used to manufacture timber sheds and erect them for a living, best if the underside is at least 150mm above "ground" level, also best if the support blocks are on a concrete slab or paving slabs or at the very least on a decent thickness of hardcore.
Sheds lined on the external face of the studs with a breather membrane are better. If doing self assembly then level supports are essential, if not then nothing will fit properly. Any "ground" contact timbers should be pressure treated to B.S whatever. This was my preferred regime....Concrete base with slight slope in favour of drainage, then concrete blocks set level at intervals to suit supporting the floor joists, a piece of DPC for joist/block interface. If you have an old concrete floor with no DPM the easiest way to stop the damp from below is to install a floating floor on top of a DPM on top of the old concrete floor, inward opening doors can usually be reduced in height to accommodate that, floating floor consists of DPM then slab insulation then T&G chipboard (the greenish moisture resistant stuff) Allow for expansion at floor edges commensurate with the floor area. Also, depending on your location take account of any anchoring that might be needed....sheds can fly Galvanised gate bands set into concrete make good anchors. Lawrence. |
9th Jan 2020, 2:59 pm | #31 |
Octode
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Fleet, Hampshire, UK
Posts: 1,764
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
My workshop is a brick outbuilding, with said concrete floor. I have some drainage issues around it - which I plan to address properly in the spring by installing a drainage system.
The concrete floor does "wick" water up, and I can see where the floor is cracked, the edges of the crack show damp when the rain is at its worst. Once Ive fixed the drainage issues, The solution I plan to deploy for this is to fill the small crack, then either: 1) Epoxy screed over the floor, and damp proof injections into the brick work around the edges 2) Install thick lino, seal the edges up to the bricks, and same damp proof injections. As both involve vacating the room , I might as well go with option 1 and never have to worry again. I have added a "lean-to" shelter thingy between the workshop and the house, which also replaced the roof on it. I plan to enclose this space in, which will also make 2 of the walls less exposed to elements. I have fitted a false ceiling and insulated that, and for the "exposed" walls I might add some thin external insulation. Given I have an 18 month old at home, and a whole house that needs renovating, I will probably complete the above tasks in around: NEVER |
9th Jan 2020, 3:09 pm | #32 |
Nonode
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Aberdeen, UK.
Posts: 2,838
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
Back on 16th Feb. last year I raised a thread "Rescued Test Equipment" along with another related thread "Sad Times".
The shed conditions I encountered were way beyond folks experiences here. The resultant state of the test equipment was almost terminal. Thoughts & lessons :- Sad as it may be, if some folks(of advanced years &/or subject to health problems) are experiencing difficulties in heating old sheds & accessing them regularly in the winter months, then perhaps they should seek help from nearby vintage radio enthusiasts. Likewise, if you know of some poor old chap who has these problems, then please consider helping him. The amateur radio fraternity refer to deceased chums as "Silent Keys". But more often than not, its then discovered that a heap of their stuff has been squirreled away in damp lofts, sheds, garages, etc. unbeknown to family members & friends. As was the case with the old chap who I used to work with, and who died this time last year. Regards, David |
9th Jan 2020, 6:54 pm | #33 |
Nonode
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Kirk Michael, Isle of Man
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
WavyDipole. I made a minor boob there. I meant to write "Linn Bins", but instead put plastic boxes, without adding "Open topped".
They get condensation which sits at the bottom and corrodes anything it can. A wooden equivalent will absorb the water which in due course evaporates from its outer surfaces. Les. |
9th Jan 2020, 8:08 pm | #34 | |
Nonode
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Cambridge, Cambs. UK.
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
Quote:
Martin
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9th Jan 2020, 8:38 pm | #35 | |||
Octode
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Location: Newbury, Berkshire, UK.
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
Quote:
The floor isn't that thick - maybe 5" and the bottom of that is rammed rubble. The structure is built on strip foundations so the floor doesn't support the structure. It's difficult to know where else the water is coming from, certainly not through the roof or the walls. With respect to my main workshop - It's an extension to the house built to latest building regs. The cost was circa 15K but on the positive side it could easily be converted to an extra bedroom and so increase the value of the house. Formally my workshop was a wooden shed in the garden . It was lined and reasonably dry but I still got surface rust appearing on equipment and it was an unpleasant place to work for extended periods in winter.
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9th Jan 2020, 9:56 pm | #36 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London, UK.
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
Yes. This ended up in problems multiplying. The cat my wife bought was completely useless. It just played with the mice, made them a bit wet and made me chase the damn things around with a two-by-four while it sat there sniggering to itself in the sun. Effectively it was just another mouth to feed.
Also make sure you set traps outside. Don't bait traps inside the shed. That just gets them all excited and they never leave. |
9th Jan 2020, 10:10 pm | #37 | |
Nonode
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Halifax, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 2,583
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
Quote:
Alan |
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9th Jan 2020, 10:20 pm | #38 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London, UK.
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
I suspect you are right there. I got good at it though. I don't recommend it. Difficult to clean up!
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9th Jan 2020, 10:34 pm | #39 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Cornwall, UK.
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
We had a short haired ginger cat for years, a female, a total snuffer of mice and rats...no prisoners, she used to kill and bring back rabbits almost as big as herself as well, almost on a daily basis during peak rabbit rabbit season...Paws was her name, RIP Paws.
Shed on blocks at a decent height (as mentioned earlier) is good for rodent snuffing cat access as well. Lawrence. |
9th Jan 2020, 10:45 pm | #40 |
Nonode
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Halifax, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 2,583
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Re: Sheds, damp and test equipment
Paws obviously didn't think you needed training!
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