Just what concrete vapor barrier?

A concrete vapor barrier is any material that stops moisture from entering a concrete slab. Vapor barriers are utilized because while fresh concrete flows wet, it’s not supposed to stay this way. It has to dry and then stay dry to avoid flooring problems.

If you’ve ever had an issue with a basement floor (or any concrete floor), you already know the kind of damage that too much moisture might cause. Moisture enters concrete in several ways, including through ground, from humidity via a flight, and through leaky plumbing that passes through a slab. Obviously, there’s the moisture that has been 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 going to have issues. This is why a vapor barrier under concrete is vital. Vapor barriers are a great way to maintain moisture from getting into the concrete.

Note: A vapor barrier is not comparable to an underlayment. However, you can find underlayments that act as vapor barriers.

Vapor barrier permeability is expressed in perms.

Vapor barriers have varying numbers of permeability, expressed in perms. The higher the number, the harder permeable the pad. Impermeable vapor barriers are the type with a rating of 0.1 perm or fewer while class II vapor retarders are the ones having a rating higher than 0.1 perm and fewer than 1.0 perm.

You’ll hear people while using the terms ‘vapor barrier’ and ‘vapor retarder’ interchangeably. However, strictly speaking, they aren’t exactly the same thing. Vapor barriers are less permeable than vapor retarders. In this article, i will be while using term ‘vapor barrier’.

How come an excessive amount of moisture in concrete a challenge?

One word: adhesives. An excessive amount of moisture in concrete is a dilemma because it could cause pH changes that destroy adhesives. Here’s what are the results.

As moisture makes its strategy to the surface of your concrete slab, soluble alkalies arrive for that ride and lift its surface pH above that of flooring adhesives. This causes the adhesives to breakdown and you also end up getting flooring failures such as swelling, bulging, or cupping.

Do you require a vapor barrier within concrete slab?

In a word, yes. Here’s why.

There’s more often than not water underneath a building site. It might not be nearby the surface, however that doesn’t mean it’s not there. This water can progress up from the soil and are available into contact with the base of a concrete floor via capillary action. Capillary action could be stopped by using something called a capillary break, a layer of crushed rock which goes involving the subgrade and the slab.

Capillary breaks do an adequate 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 concrete slab. Therefore, there needs to be something under the slab that stops vapor moisture from entering.

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

How thick should a plastic vapor barrier be?

Based on the Guide to Concrete Floor and Slab Construction published by the American Concrete Institute, a vapor retarder mustn’t be under 10 mils thick. You need a much thicker barrier though if you’re covering material with sharp angles.

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

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