Moisture Barrier Garage Walls

Vapor barriers when to use them when to not.

Moisture barrier garage walls.

Use a vapor barrier. Water vapor can pass through building materials in several ways including direct transmission and by heat transfer but studies suggest that fully 98 percent of the moisture transfer through walls occurs through air gaps including cracks around electrical fixtures and outlets and gaps along baseboards. Whether or not you need a vapor retarder hinges on three main factors. A vapor retarder is a material used to prevent water vapor from diffusing into the wall ceiling or floor during the cold winter.

This barrier is meant to keep moisture from getting to the insulation in the walls and ceilings and it is required by building codes when insulating most houses. Proper installation of a wall vapor barrier or using insulation products with a built in vapor barrier will reduce garage condensation a vapor barrier can also be used to cover the floor but avoid using it on garage ceilings. The science of moisture movement. In any case the vapor barrier must point to the warm side.

This is normally done because it s the most cost effective method to achieve the desired level of comfort and ease of installation. Without a vapor barrier in place condensation inside the walls could ruin the insulation and promote the growth of harmful mold and bacteria. Plastic specifically 6 mil polyethylene plastic is. A vapor barrier reduces the movement of water vapor by diffusion.

Vapor barriers are sheets of plastic or other material placed on one side of insulation sheets. The traditional way to insulate the walls and ceiling of a typical garage is to install fibreglass batt insulation in the walls and attic space followed by a six mil poly air vapour barrier and drywall. Holes in the vapor barrier that allow humid air through may allow a lot more water vapor into an assembly than the vapor barrier is stopping. After the insulation is in place you will want to add a vapor retarder sometimes called a vapor barrier if you need one.

Ceiling vapor barriers are a bad idea because they keep water vapor trapped inside the garage. When a vapor barrier is on the side of a wall where the dry air is i e outside in winter or inside in summer moisture problems can occur. Thus installing vapor barriers on wall surfaces must. Not every wall does.