Information It's Essential To Learn About Concrete Vapor Barrier

Just what is a concrete vapor barrier?
A concrete vapor barrier is any material that forestalls moisture from entering a concrete slab. Vapor barriers are used because while fresh concrete flows wet, it’s not likely to stay doing this. It has to dry and then stay dry to avoid flooring problems.

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If you’ve ever had a problem with a basement floor (or any concrete floor), you already know the level of damage this too much moisture might cause. Moisture enters concrete in several ways, including through the ground, from humidity in the air, and thru leaky plumbing that goes through a slab. Naturally, there’s the moisture that was inside the original concrete mixture.

There’s only one-way moisture leaves concrete, though, and that’s via its surface. For those who have a concrete floor that’s in continuous exposure to a source of moisture, you’re likely to have issues. This is the reason a vapor barrier under concrete is crucial. Vapor barriers are a good way to keep moisture from getting into the concrete.

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

Vapor barrier permeability is expressed in perms.
Vapor barriers have varying degrees of permeability, expressed in perms. The better the number, the greater permeable the material. Impermeable vapor barriers are the types which has a rating of 0.1 perm or less while class II vapor retarders are those with a rating more than 0.1 perm and less than 1.0 perm.

You’ll hear people with all the terms ‘vapor barrier’ and ‘vapor retarder’ interchangeably. However, in fact, they aren’t a similar thing. Vapor barriers are less permeable than vapor retarders. In this post, we are with all the term ‘vapor barrier’.

Why is too much moisture in concrete a problem?
A word: adhesives. An excessive amount of moisture in concrete is a dilemma because it could cause pH changes that destroy adhesives. Here’s how are you affected.

As moisture makes its method to the outer lining of your layer of concrete, soluble alkalies arrive to the ride and lift its surface pH above that relating to flooring adhesives. This will cause the adhesives to breakdown so you get flooring failures such as swelling, bulging, or cupping.

Do you need a vapor barrier under a layer of concrete?
In short, yes. Here’s why.

There’s typically water underneath a building site. It might not be close to the surface, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. This water can progress with 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 that goes between your subgrade as well as the slab.

Capillary breaks do a passable job of stopping water in their liquid state from reaching a slab. However, they can’t stop water in vapor form from reaching and entering a concrete slab. Therefore, there must be something beneath the slab that prevents vapor moisture from entering.

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

How thick should a plastic vapor barrier be?
Based on the Self-help guide to Concrete Floor and Slab Construction authored by the American Concrete Institute, a vapor retarder mustn't be below 10 mils thick. You might need an even thicker barrier though if you’re covering material with sharp angles.

Net profit: Vapor barriers have to be sufficiently strong so they don’t easily puncture. When they do, moisture can get in and that’s what you’re trying to keep out.

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Pub: 22 Feb 2023 11:07 UTC
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