Moisture Barrier Between Wood And Concrete

Sole plates or sill plates are the first pieces of framing lumber placed in home construction.

Moisture barrier between wood and concrete.

A vapor barrier against the concrete surface is generally recommended before wood framing or flooring materials are installed. Moisture barrier between the sole plate the concrete slab. When installing certain types of flooring such as sheet vinyl the moisture content of the concrete can be a problem. During the replacement i attempted to reduce the moisture transference into the wood by installing some tar paper to act as a vapor barrier between the wood and the concrete slab.

Below grade walls and floor slabs transmit ground moisture through concrete walls or slabs. Meadows makes a concrete vapor barrier called perminator. So there is enough gap for air to flow. Concrete may seem very dense but it is actually full of small pores that will absorb water from the ground.

Most jurisdictions require a 4 mil plastic sheet vapor barrier for basement walls against concrete. After concrete s initial cure when it is expelling it s water content and shrinking it then acts like a sponge and absorbs moisture. That is if the studs are going to touch the concrete wall. It is better to require some sort of phsyical barrier between concrete and wood treated or not treated.

Meadows 10 and 15 mil vapor barrier. Perminator vapor barriers help reduce the penetration of moisture and water vapor through the slab and into the building which helps reduce mold fungus and mildew. Most commercial specs for building forbid non treated wood in direct contact with concrete. For floating floors manufacturers often recommend installing a moisture barrier between the subfloor and the floating floor to prevent moisture intrusion.

Or you can leave a 4 inch gap between the studs and concrete wall and probably get away with it. Apparently i may have made worse because we just had to replace the sub flooring again here within the last month. The difficulty of course is that if the moisture barrier is compromised in any way moisture from the slab beneath can still damage the flooring or finish. Crawl spaces benefit from a polyethylene moisture barrier placed directly over the exposed earth.

But they have also proven to be beneficial in reducing failures of moisture sensitive flooring materials adhesives and coatings caused by excessive emission of moisture vapor from concrete slabs. Perminator also helps reduce radon gases from entering a building through. Vapor barriers have been associated with certain concrete slab on grade problems including curling and cracking.