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Vapor barrier? dr_swami 05-19-2006
`--> Re: Vapor barrier? Glen@ExpressQuo...05-21-2006
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Posted by on May 19, 2006, 3:52 am
Hi

I'm renovating the basement of an old house in Victoria, BC. The
climate here is typical Northwest. It rains a lot, but rarely does it
get below freezing.

The building code in this area says I should put vapor barrier on the
external walls between the drywall and the insulation. This is to
prevent in-house moisture from penetrating through the drwall and
insulation and condensing against the cold external walls. It's the
same building code across Canada.

My carpenter says however, that this code is relevant in climates like
Alberta where it gets to -10 and stays there for months on end, but
that for climates like BC where it hardly ever gets below freezing it
does more harm than good. His recommendation is that I not use vapor
barrier on the external walls and simply drywall right over the
insualtion. According to him, in temperate humid climates like British
Columbia, vapor barrier seals the moisture in the walls and causes more
wood rot and mold than without it.

(He does, however, recommend putting vapor barrier up against the
foundation (~ 2 feet) BEFORE the insulation and then drywalling. That,
he says, is to prevent the outside ground water moisture from coming in
through porous concrete and into the walls.)

What is your guys' opinion? Is he correct? Would you vapor barrier the
external walls between the insulation and drwall in humid climates that
rarely get below freezing?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Jack


Posted by Noozer on May 19, 2006, 4:48 am
> The building code in this area says I should put vapor barrier on the
> external walls between the drywall and the insulation. This is to
> prevent in-house moisture from penetrating through the drwall and
> insulation and condensing against the cold external walls. It's the
> same building code across Canada.

Vapour barrier should be placed on the warm side of the wall. Anyplace in
Canada that would be the side towards the living space. It's to prevent the
humid air in the living space from getting through the wall and condensing
in your insulation and framing.

If you want to put any kind of barrier on the cold side of the wall, use
something like Tyvec... It allows air movement through it but is designed to
reduce moisture movement through it.



Posted by Joseph Meehan on May 19, 2006, 7:55 am
dr_swami@yahoo.com wrote:
> Hi
>
> I'm renovating the basement of an old house in Victoria, BC. The
> climate here is typical Northwest. It rains a lot, but rarely does it
> get below freezing.
>
> The building code in this area says I should put vapor barrier on the
> external walls between the drywall and the insulation. This is to
> prevent in-house moisture from penetrating through the drwall and
> insulation and condensing against the cold external walls. It's the
> same building code across Canada.
>
> My carpenter says however, that this code is relevant in climates like
> Alberta where it gets to -10 and stays there for months on end, but
> that for climates like BC where it hardly ever gets below freezing it
> does more harm than good. His recommendation is that I not use vapor
> barrier on the external walls and simply drywall right over the
> insualtion. According to him, in temperate humid climates like British
> Columbia, vapor barrier seals the moisture in the walls and causes
> more wood rot and mold than without it.
>
> (He does, however, recommend putting vapor barrier up against the
> foundation (~ 2 feet) BEFORE the insulation and then drywalling. That,
> he says, is to prevent the outside ground water moisture from coming
> in through porous concrete and into the walls.)
>
> What is your guys' opinion? Is he correct? Would you vapor barrier the
> external walls between the insulation and drwall in humid climates
> that rarely get below freezing?
>
> Thanks for your thoughts.
>
> Jack

Go with the code.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit



Posted by marson on May 19, 2006, 8:45 am
i am personally skeptical about the advisability of fiberglass
insulation in a basement. fiberglass and moisture is not a good
combination. in a basement, you not only have to worry about moisture
from the house, you also have to worry about moisture from the concrete
walls.

IMHO rigid insulation is the way to go in a basement. there are a
number of options for attaching drywall. USG makes a z strip that
fastens to the wall and provides a surface to screw drywall to.


BTW you could go with a vapor impermeable primer on your drywall,
instead of plastic.


Posted by HotRod on May 19, 2006, 9:43 am
I live in Ontario and ahve to say that vapour barrier is really easy to put
up. Make sure that they also put some around all of the light and electrical
boxes to stop air movement. IT's hardly worth debating. BUT like another
post I'd use rigid foam if the basement has ever had water in it or urathane
spray foam.


> Hi
>
> I'm renovating the basement of an old house in Victoria, BC. The
> climate here is typical Northwest. It rains a lot, but rarely does it
> get below freezing.
>
> The building code in this area says I should put vapor barrier on the
> external walls between the drywall and the insulation. This is to
> prevent in-house moisture from penetrating through the drwall and
> insulation and condensing against the cold external walls. It's the
> same building code across Canada.
>
> My carpenter says however, that this code is relevant in climates like
> Alberta where it gets to -10 and stays there for months on end, but
> that for climates like BC where it hardly ever gets below freezing it
> does more harm than good. His recommendation is that I not use vapor
> barrier on the external walls and simply drywall right over the
> insualtion. According to him, in temperate humid climates like British
> Columbia, vapor barrier seals the moisture in the walls and causes more
> wood rot and mold than without it.
>
> (He does, however, recommend putting vapor barrier up against the
> foundation (~ 2 feet) BEFORE the insulation and then drywalling. That,
> he says, is to prevent the outside ground water moisture from coming in
> through porous concrete and into the walls.)
>
> What is your guys' opinion? Is he correct? Would you vapor barrier the
> external walls between the insulation and drwall in humid climates that
> rarely get below freezing?
>
> Thanks for your thoughts.
>
> Jack
>



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