We installed a steam room: we have tile interior walls and a glass/aluminum frame door. on the hallway walls just outside the door, which are drywall, they are sweating very bad and the paint is bubbling and peeling. The door frame leaks a little. We do not have an exhaust fan just outside the door: should we add one? Any other ideas?

I know this sounds like a stupid question, but I can't tell you how many I've seen that weren't....

Did your installer fully waterproof AND VAPORPROOF the substrate before tiling? If he did, how exactly did he accomplish this? Do you know what products specifically that he used?

Did you pitch the steam room ceiling down toward the center of the room (like a very flat V shape), so that condensate will flow away from the walls and drip in the center of the room where there is presumably a drain located beneath?

Richard, I agree that's necessary, but we're trying to get to the bottom of a problem that sounds like classic vapor transmission.

What is happening is not uncommon. Installing a steam unit or a steam room is a tricky undertaking that is not properly explained by the people who sell you the stuff to build it. If they did properly explain this to you you would realize all the additional costs and labor involved in installing this type of device and not purchase the steam system in the first place.

You need a fan to remove the excessive humidity that is building up within the room. This will help stop the dripping walls. The paint is peeling because of the moisture as Bill said getting behind the wall because of poor vapor/water proofing of the entire room, not just the steam area. The entire room needs this done as even though you use the steam unit the steam escapes the shower area and raises the humidity level in the outside door area.

The fix is to remove the walls, all of them and properly seal all walls with ONE layer of heavy plastic. Be sure to do ceiling as well and over lap the joints and tape closed. Then install moisture resistant wall board. I perfer to use the Dens Armor fiberglass sheetrock that is now available over the green board that most folks use. Use fiberglass rock tape over that instead of the typcial spackel you can purchase from the bucket. In the steam room you should then cover the walls with Schluter-KERDI it is a polyethylene, waterproofing mat equipped on both sides with an anchoring fleece. It is suitable for waterproofing in conjunction with tiled surfaces on walls and floors. Then tile over.

Be sure to use no wood fixtures such as vanities in the room. The steam will cause mold to develop behind the vanity mirror etc as it cannot be dried off once done in the room.

Paint all surfaces using a high quality mold resistant primer. And put at least two coats of high quality Oil based paint on walls.

Also another very important item is the insulation placed behind the walls. Even if the room is within a living area. The insulation will keep the walls an even temp thus lowering the amount of condensation you will end up with on the walls.

A good quality fan is also needed. Not the low quality metal ones you find at the big box stores. Have a professional HVAC person install a remote plastic fan and properly vent it to the outside of the house in insulated pipe. If not the steam removed will condensate in the fan and vent pipe and rust and leak water in other areas of the home.