My installer is ready to lay the whole house in 3/4 in prefinished solid wood but one room has a moisture problem due to skylights dripping condensation. Can you help me solve it?

The room is a long and narrow (10'X30') addition built 2 1/2 feet above a concrete slab with 3/4" plywood. The contractor did not lay a moisture barrier over the concrete and did not add any vents when he built the room! There are 3 vents from the interior wall under the main part of the house but none under that room that vent directly outside. There is a concrete step almost the entire length of the room. Short of ripping the whole room out, there is no access to the area under the addition and it has a flat roof with no attic above. This room has 3 large curbed 4X6 domed skylights and 3 sliding glass doors across one wall opening to the back yard.

The installer saw this morning that all 3 skylights are dripping condensation, not just a little either! I noticed it before but never thought about the hardwood and moisture issue. (Years ago, we had a leak and replaced one with the double pane, dark tinted dome but that drips just as much as the single ones.) The glass doors never get condensation but the skylights are baaaad. There are no bathrooms with shower/tub on that end of the house but it is adjacent to the kitchen with a pass through cut out.

Is there anything that I can do to stop the condensation to be able to put the hardwood floors down? I could put two vents in under the room but only at one corner because of the concrete step. Short of constantly running a dehumidifier, are there any solutions?

I called the skylight company and they recommend replacing the domed skylights with flat glass ones(naturally!) at the low low price of $3K. They can not guarantee that would stop the condensation either. To make matters worse, they can't even get out here to take a look for at least 2 weeks and the installer has ordered the wood! I am in a panic !

Thanks once again in advance for any help, thoughts or ideas you can give me. I really want my hardwood floors!

You answered you own question:

The answer is no. Get a window mounted airconditioner with a thermostatic control on it. Cost for a good one about 3 grand with instakllation and correct voltage. lol

Lower the humidity inside. The skylights are hitting a below dew point temp, and condensing moisture on the surface.

Buckets don't look good sitting around, catching drips.

How do I lower the humidity inside? Just buy a $200 dehumidifier?

I know this sounds like a dumb question but the only thing I can think of is a dehumidifier. Do you think the replacing the skylights with flat glass will even make a difference? We are on the central coast of California and no one has air conditioning here. We have a lot of fog and are just 2 blocks up from the beach. It never gets that warm here, tops in the upper 70"s and can go down to 40's at night.

Open the windows? Thats always a problem near the ocean!

How about redwood decking?

This morning, I opened the sliding glass doors as well as the windows in the front for a cross breeze-brrrr! It did not stop the problem!

What should I try next? Is there some coating to put on the skylights to stop the condensation? Now that it has been pointed out to me, every drip drip drip is driving me crazy and because it is dripping all around each 4X6 frame, I couldn't begin to do the "bucket" treatment!

I guess I am lucky to have a reputable installer who will NOT install the floor until the problem is resolved.

Any other ideas?

You will need to find a reputable building inspector/contractor and HVAC person. Many will just want to sell you more products but look for someone who actually has YOUR best interest at heart. Ask for references from family and friends. You have a condensation problem that maybe easy OR difficult to fix. We are hardwood flooring installers and while many of us understand various problems associated with installing wood flooring, we can't be expected to know how to repair problems outside of our profession. Your best bet is to find a reputable professional who can best help you without it costing you a fortune.

Thank you Gary! You are right that this is probably not the right forum for such a problem. I will look for someone to consult with tomorrow and try and get it worked out. I checked the wells in the skylight this morning and thought maybe they just needed cleaning out and they were bone dry so something is not right since the condensation is not flowing into them to evaporate later.

Still, thanks to this forum and the pictures posted, I know I don't want cupping so before we go any further, the problem must be solved!

Hopefully next time I post it will be to say how wonderful my new hardwood floors are!

Thanks again.