Vapor Barrier Under Basement Floor

Americover has a high performance 15 mil vapor barrier for installation under concrete floors and slabs that will retard moisture migration and radon from escaping through the surface of the concrete floor.

Vapor barrier under basement floor.

Is a vapor retarder barrier necessary for under the concrete slab of a garage or basement. The 2012 international residential code states. Vapor barriers have varying degrees of. 15 mil vapor barrier by americover.

When installing certain types of flooring such as sheet vinyl the moisture content of the concrete can be a problem. Whether or not you need a vapor retarder hinges on three main factors your climate your home and the location of the wall you re insulating. It helps reduce mold and condensation in buildings. Use option a to keep your floor dry if you have damp floors in your basement.

Here are some of the company s and their products. Once this happens the. A vapor retarder is a material used to prevent water vapor from diffusing into the wall ceiling or floor during the cold winter. Since concrete is porous water vapors transmits from the ground through the concrete slab into your basement.

One of the reasons those old basement floors were like that was because they had no vapor barrier beneath them leaving an easy path for water vapor from the soil to migrate into the slab assuring that the cold clammy damp feeling never went away. A test used by flooring contractors is to tape a square of poly to the basement floor for 24 hours and see if water droplets collect under the poly. As mentioned earlier a sub slab gravel layer and vapor barrier will help keep things dry but you may not know what s under your slab. However there are underlayments that act as vapor barriers.

Concrete may seem very dense but it is actually full of small pores that will absorb water from the ground. Once the water vapors gather underneath your flooring it will start to pool up and soak into your hardwood flooring. 2 4 how to install vapor barrier on concrete floor under laminate flooring. This is why a vapor barrier under concrete is essential.

We find ourselves having to explain that the vapor retarder wasn t required or necessary for a concrete garage floor poured at or above grade. To know if you need a vapor retarder ask yourself a few basic questions. For a dry mold free finished basement floor always install a vapor barrier before laying a wood subfloor or. Vapor barrier permeability is expressed in perms.

Vapor barriers for basement floors. Option b is sufficient if your floor is generally dry except for small amounts of moisture evaporating through the slab. Topped by decorative vinyl squares or carpeting these tiles feature molded plastic bases that enable the concrete slab to. Also available are basement flooring tiles with a built in vapor barrier.

Vapor barriers are a way to keep moisture from getting into the concrete. The last thing you want your customers to envision when thinking of a concrete floor is a damp cold basement slab.