Comments on: Don’t Talk to Me About Vapor Barriers! https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers/ Building science knowledge, HVAC design, & fun Sat, 09 Jan 2016 00:24:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 By: Thomas Peterson https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers/#comment-8727 Sat, 09 Jan 2016 00:24:00 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers#comment-8727 David,
David,

You are right to be concerned. Dr. Joe did a presentation over 25 years ago in which he stated that a concrete pier painted on all sides would wick moisture vertically around 6 miles. Concrete (brick) walls need to breath to open air. Dr. Joe further cited that sealing concrete on both sides had led to rotting sill plates in Canada. Removing a band of paint on the exterior might help, but site unseen (by me) my recommendation is worth what I charged you for it. I highly recommend you do more research before sealing the interior wall. The exterior aesthetics may cost extra, but not as much as replacing sill boards with PT, which I highly doubt was placed there in 1940. Good luck!

]]> By: David Coffey https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers/#comment-8725 Fri, 08 Jan 2016 23:15:23 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers#comment-8725 DR. I have a question about a
DR. I have a question about a Crawlspace I inspected this week. Info about the Home. 1940’s craftsman. Grade under home is 1-1.5 feet below outside grade. Homes adjacent, both sides, are less than 10 ft away on both sides. NO gutters on the three homes. The Subject home in the center here has mortared brick peirs with a brick “underpinning” on the outside, This brick wall may have some structural significance. The question…The outside is painted, I guess several times over the years. If I seal the crawlspace with VB on the ground and Closed Cell on the Outside walls, will that create a double vapor barrier on the bricks and not allow the bricks to dry when wicking water climbs the wall?

]]> By: Thomas Peterson https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers/#comment-8728 Fri, 08 Jan 2016 19:24:00 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers#comment-8728 David,
David,

You are right to be concerned. Dr. Joe did a presentation over 25 years ago in which he stated that a concrete pier painted on all sides would wick moisture vertically around 6 miles. Concrete (brick) walls need to breath to open air. Dr. Joe further cited that sealing concrete on both sides had led to rotting sill plates in Canada. Removing a band of paint on the exterior might help, but site unseen (by me) my recommendation is worth what I charged you for it. I highly recommend you do more research before sealing the interior wall. The exterior aesthetics may cost extra, but not as much as replacing sill boards with PT, which I highly doubt was placed there in 1940. Good luck!

]]> By: David Coffey https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers/#comment-8726 Fri, 08 Jan 2016 18:15:23 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers#comment-8726 DR. I have a question about a
DR. I have a question about a Crawlspace I inspected this week. Info about the Home. 1940’s craftsman. Grade under home is 1-1.5 feet below outside grade. Homes adjacent, both sides, are less than 10 ft away on both sides. NO gutters on the three homes. The Subject home in the center here has mortared brick peirs with a brick "underpinning" on the outside, This brick wall may have some structural significance. The question…The outside is painted, I guess several times over the years. If I seal the crawlspace with VB on the ground and Closed Cell on the Outside walls, will that create a double vapor barrier on the bricks and not allow the bricks to dry when wicking water climbs the wall?

]]> By: Bill Smith https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers/#comment-8705 Thu, 03 Dec 2015 05:42:09 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers#comment-8705 In reply to Allison Bailes.

The narrowing gap is starting
The narrowing gap is starting to help. I’ve seen several builders over the past couple of years get hit with significant problems within a few months. The problem is admitting that thew problem is systematic and not just a one off.

]]> By: Thomas A. Peterson https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers/#comment-8715 Thu, 03 Dec 2015 04:07:15 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers#comment-8715 In reply to Andy.

Andy, I could not agree more
Andy, I could not agree more with your concerns and I see that Allison also agrees.

]]> By: Thomas Peterson https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers/#comment-8723 Thu, 03 Dec 2015 04:05:40 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers#comment-8723 I first learned about &quot
I first learned about “vapor barriers” well over 30 years ago, when their importance was stressed for Super-Insulating houses in colder climate zones (CZ-6), which I had begun to do. Air barriers were somewhat of a less concern back then, although that is the reason that I developed my modified double-wall system.

In wanting to do a superior job, I developed a way to install the “vapor retarder” ~ in the “middle” of a modified double-wall system. This eliminated the need for detailed work to be done around electrical and other penetrations, where air sealing was often difficult and expensive to do. I developed simple ways to install a very effective vapor barrier (poly) in the middle of my walls, which can be adjusted for different climate zones. I soon learned that this system was also a very effective air barrier, which is today recognized as much more important. This system is also very economical to install and to check on its quality of installation.

]]> By: Bill Smith https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers/#comment-8706 Thu, 03 Dec 2015 00:42:09 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers#comment-8706 The narrowing gap is starting
The narrowing gap is starting to help. I’ve seen several builders over the past couple of years get hit with significant problems within a few months. The problem is admitting that thew problem is systematic and not just a one off.

]]> By: Thomas A. Peterson https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers/#comment-8716 Wed, 02 Dec 2015 23:07:15 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers#comment-8716 Andy, I could not agree more
Andy, I could not agree more with your concerns and I see that Allison also agrees.

]]> By: Thomas Peterson https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers/#comment-8724 Wed, 02 Dec 2015 23:05:40 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers#comment-8724 I first learned about &quot
I first learned about "vapor barriers" well over 30 years ago, when their importance was stressed for Super-Insulating houses in colder climate zones (CZ-6), which I had begun to do. Air barriers were somewhat of a less concern back then, although that is the reason that I developed my modified double-wall system.

In wanting to do a superior job, I developed a way to install the "vapor retarder" ~ in the "middle" of a modified double-wall system. This eliminated the need for detailed work to be done around electrical and other penetrations, where air sealing was often difficult and expensive to do. I developed simple ways to install a very effective vapor barrier (poly) in the middle of my walls, which can be adjusted for different climate zones. I soon learned that this system was also a very effective air barrier, which is today recognized as much more important. This system is also very economical to install and to check on its quality of installation.

]]>