Best Vapor Barrier For Concrete Slab

Place the vapor retarder on top of the granular material and directly beneath the slab for moisture sensitive floor covering and coating applications.

Best vapor barrier for concrete slab.

The usual solution would be 6 mil polyethylene with taped seams but a number of posters think there are much better products on the market. She s planning to pour a new layer of concrete over the old and wonders what type of vapor barrier she should use. It needs to dry and then stay dry to avoid flooring problems. Vapor and gas barriers.

Block or create a true impermeable barrier. The best way to accomplish that is with a vapor barrier under the slab. Uncontrolled water vapor through concrete slabs has cost building owners designers and contractors billions of dollars. To take it one step further astm e 1745 class a vapor barriers products with less than 0 01 perms are the best approach to protecting your concrete slab and components moisture sensitive floor and iaq from moisture sources below.

The best vapor barriers for concrete floors and slabs are a new generation of poly made from high quality polyolefin resins that are designed to ensure low permeability high tensile strength and superior puncture resistance compared to regular polyethylene sheeting. Vapor barriers are used because while fresh concrete is poured wet it s not supposed to stay that way. What is a concrete vapor barrier. Visqueen polyethylene is better called a vapor retarder as it really just slows the passage of moisture through the concrete and doesn t really.

Recently though research has shown that the old traditional layer of 6 mil visqueen polyethylene plastic under the slab is seldom effective for two main reasons. That s the subject of this week s q a spotlight. Use of fly ash may help reduce soluble alkali content in the slab. Since concrete is porous water vapors transmits from the ground through the concrete slab into your basement.

Vapor retarders have been used since the 1950s. A concrete vapor barrier is any material that prevents moisture from entering a concrete slab. The use of underslab vapor barriers is the best method and most economical solution for controlling water vapor migration through concrete slabs. View product where.