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  • Lee Bro posted an update 1 year, 1 month ago

    What is a concrete vapor barrier?

    A concrete vapor barrier is any material that stops moisture from entering a concrete slab. Vapor barriers are employed because while fresh concrete flows wet, it’s not supposed to stay like that. It requires to dry and after that stay dry to stop flooring problems.

    If you’ve had an issue with a basement floor (or any concrete floor), you understand the kind of damage that as well much moisture could cause. Moisture enters concrete in many different ways, including through the ground, from humidity via a flight, and throughout leaky plumbing that passes through a slab. Naturally, there’s the moisture that was in the original concrete mixture.

    There’s only one-way moisture leaves concrete, though, and that’s via its surface. If you have a concrete floor that’s in continuous exposure to an origin of moisture, you’re gonna have problems. That is why a vapor barrier under concrete is important. Vapor barriers are a way to help keep moisture from getting into the concrete.

    Note: A vapor barrier isn’t same as an underlayment. However, you’ll find underlayments that become vapor barriers.

    Vapor barrier permeability is expressed in perms.

    Vapor barriers have varying levels of permeability, expressed in perms. The higher the number, the harder permeable the information. Impermeable vapor barriers are the type having a rating of 0.1 perm or less while class II vapor retarders are those having a rating higher than 0.1 perm and less than 1.0 perm.

    You’ll hear people while using terms ‘vapor barrier’ and ‘vapor retarder’ interchangeably. However, in fact, they aren’t exactly the same thing. Vapor barriers are less permeable than vapor retarders. In the following paragraphs, we’ll be using the term ‘vapor barrier’.

    Why’s excessive moisture in concrete a challenge?

    A word: adhesives. Excessive moisture in concrete is a concern because it might cause pH changes that destroy adhesives. Here’s what happens.

    As moisture makes its strategy to the surface of a layer of concrete, soluble alkalies arrive for that ride and lift its surface pH above those of flooring adhesives. This will cause the adhesives to breakdown and also you get flooring failures including swelling, bulging, or cupping.

    Do you need a vapor barrier under a concrete slab?

    In a word, yes. Here’s why.

    There’s usually water underneath a structure site. It may not be nearby the surface, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. This water can progress up over the soil and are available into exposure to the base of a concrete floor via capillary action. Capillary action might be stopped by installing something known as a capillary break, a layer of crushed rock which goes involving the subgrade and also the slab.

    Capillary breaks do a good job of stopping water in its liquid state from reaching a slab. However, they can’t stop water in vapor form from reaching and entering a layer of concrete. Therefore, there should be something underneath the slab that stops vapor moisture from entering.

    You have to a vapor barrier for liability reasons since the majority of manufacturers of flooring include vapor barriers or retarders inside their installation guidelines.

    How thick should a plastic vapor barrier be?

    In accordance with the Self-help guide to Concrete Floor and Slab Construction provided by the American Concrete Institute, a vapor retarder mustn’t be less than 10 mils thick. You may want an even thicker barrier though if you’re covering material with sharp angles.

    Main point here: Vapor barriers have to be sufficiently strong enough so that they don’t easily puncture. Whenever they do, moisture can get in and that’s what you’re attempting to keep out.

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