Mosser Construction Uses Job Site Dehumidifiers to Combat Moisture for Landair Project in Swanton
Posted by Matt Milos on Feb 1st 2019
How are moisture problems related to cold weather?
Look at it this way: as temperatures drop temporary heaters go into overdrive to maintain temperatures. On a large job site using direct-fired heat, this means pumping hundreds or even thousands of gallons of water vapor into the structure each day. See the connection?
Excess moisture can hurt finish schedules.
On some projects this isn't a critical concern. In large open areas such as warehouses that won't receive a finish it may not slow you down at all. But what do you do when that same warehouse has an attached office that will receive a critical finish? Here you have two options: accept the moisture delays or invest a little and save yourself a fortune later.
Direct-fired heat alone would have been fine at Land Air if not for the finishes on the attached office.
This is the dilemma that faced Mosser Construction Superintendent Troy Overmyer on the Landair project in Swanton, OH.
Taking advantage of what had been a mild winter, Mosser had until recently been supplementing temperatures with direct-fired heat only as needed. When the weather shifted gears Troy wisely chose to shift with it. He took a look at the 2,000 sq. ft. office attached to the warehouse and realized that he would need to change tactics to finish it on time.
The finishes in the office space needed the assistance of climate control to stay on schedule.
The answer was fairly simple.
Troy took advantage of onsite power and used an electric heater in the critical area. Though seldom ideal for large volumes, electric heat often proves effective in small areas that need to stay dry. That challenge handled, he then added a single dehumidifier. This small portable unit easily removes 25 gallons of moisture a day and brought the humidity inside the office area down to a level more suitable for finishes. "Sure," you say, "this will save them days (or even weeks) in the finish schedule, but at what cost?" How about less than $1.50 per hour!
The simple combination of an electric heater and a dehumidifier was enough to keep humidity in check.