Vapor barrier / Discussions

...vapor barrier on ground/walls, taping best able around mechanicals and piers - and adherred to the skim of mortar under the rim. Questions: 1) do you think an interior french drain to the sump is necessary? 2)  spray foam insulation on walls necessary? 3) would you pursue a radon system drawing under the vapor barrier...

...vapor barrier) and difficult to escape on the other side (OSB) is likely part of the problem. The other thing at play here is the interior vapor barrier and air conditioning the space. Here is another important page to read –  Never Install Air-Conditioning in a Home with a Vapor Barrier You will read there about how a...

...barrier over the cellulose on the inside under the drywall,  will I then cause vapor to be trapped between the outside vinyl /foam board and poly barrier.  The foil faced foam board is  not completly tight against the underlying shingles and I assume does allow for some air movement underneath it and  the vinyl siding....

...barrier afterwards/ that would actually be a bit better. There was usually a poly vapour barrier installed after the insulation and stud wall seemingly to ensure it would go moldy as quickly as possible. Either way, if you are getting mold and you have a stud wall with batt insulation against concrete then I don’t see ...

...vapor barrier' potentially trapping moisture in the roof deck causing long term issues given Naples is hot and humid. I was of impression open cell foam is an air barrier but not a vapor barrier, would the moisture only travel one way? I have read one option is to a/c the attic space, another is to install the 'peel an...

...barrier? And if so, you would need a method for attaching it so it won’t be perforated. And another question, are you planning to have air conditioning as well? Here is our page that covers this issue- Don’t install air conditioning in a home with an interior  vapor barrier If you aren’t planning to add air conditionin...

...Vapor Barrier to be necessary?  Thank-you Michael Vapor barriers can be a problem with homes that are air conditioned, because it reverses the vapor drive. When it is hot and humid, that warm moist air can find its way through a wall assembly until it reaches the cool vapour barrier, where it is at risk of condensing. ...

Perhaps my wording should have been, wrap the poly around the sheathing, then nail on the Larsen Trusses. My house like most in built in the early 1900's, has interior plaster walls with oil paint, 2x4 studs, and is insulated with blown in cellulose. The exterior sheathing boards are1x's. I’ve done thermal scans of the...

...vapor barrier?  Water is acculating on the dirt side of the vapor barrier. If I crawlspace has water droplets forming under the poly vapor barrier (on the dirt side) that means that it is doing its job. Without the poly that moisture would have evaporated into the air, raising the relative humidity in your crawlspace ...

...vapor barrier & ½” gypsum drywall, sealed with drywall sealer and painted with vapor barrier paint.  What problems do you see with this detail?  Thank you Polyiso rigid board insulation is a great product, but it does have its limitations. It is more expensive than EPS rigid insulation, but it does have a higher R ...

I have a 120 yr old home with a dirt crawl space that is completely dry, no Mold in the entire home, has new windows and new insulation in the attic. I have started the insulation in the floor joist from the crawlspace. I would like to know the correct way to insulate my crawl space regarding vapour barrier and what to...

...barrier. Often times an inspector won’t sign off on a basement renovation project unless they see plastic on the walls unfortunately. It isn’t really needed for function since 2 inches of EPS foam acts pretty much as a type II residential vapor barrier, but I would put the vapor barrier right against the foam and do th...

...barrier’, so if that is the one you are considering then I would for sure find out it’s vapor permeability first. In the image it looks like a foil membrane, which is for sure a vapor barrier, and you wouldn’t want that on the exterior of a wall in Ontario.  The BP product looks to be more breathable, that’s a good th...

...Vapor barrier. The basement is also dry and not humid. The joists are fully embedded inside the concrete slab. Hence, the floor above close to the baseboard is very cold.  My plan is to fully demo the basement walls and start from scratch.  I've been getting mixed opinions online about properly insulating the "rim jois...

...barrier are two different things, so let’s address them separately. And since you didn’t write ‘vapor barrier’ I suspect you are writing from Canada? There’s no place in the great white north where you would want to put a vapour barrier on the outside of a building, so hold that thought. Not having an interior vapour b...

In buying a old house with a low/dirt floor crawl space and plumbing under the home, would heating the part of the plumbing area cause any mold or other problems in the winter? No, its quite the contrary. Heating a crawlspace will prevent mold. But heating a dirt floor crawlspace without taking any steps towards insula...

...barrier and air barrier. It’s a great concept, but you are not alone in your skepticism. Before you give it a yay or nay, here are a couple of pages that will help you understand how all these systems work, and you will probably see for yourself how it may be a problem: Choosing Between OSB and Plywood Sheathing – How ...

...vapor barrier. The scariest part is that our house was only built in 2007! Now we've managed to strip all this smelly mess out, we tried to get quotes off contractors to refinish the basement but they all want to replace what we had with the same thing - wood framing inside the concrete basement stuffed full of fibergl...