It limits the amount of vapor that passes through the walls. They are materials that don’t allow (or allow a small percentage of) vapor to diffuse through it. This is where vapor barriers or vapor retarders come in. Prolonged exposure of the wall sheathing to moisture can lead to moisture damages such as the formation of molds and mildew on the wall, and reduced thermal efficiency of your insulation. Once this hot, moist air hits the cold wall sheathing, it condenses back into liquid, wetting the wall sheathing. The outside wall becomes very cold, while the interior of your home is heated.ĭue to this temperature difference, some of the hot, humid air in the living area, or our case, the garage, diffuses through the drywall. This is known as vapor diffusion.įor instance, in the winter, there is a huge temperature difference between the inside of your home and the outside. Just as the concept of heat transfer, water vapor transfers from a high temperature to a low-temperature region. Here is why vapor barriers became a thingĪccording to research, water vapor can diffuse through a vapor-permeable material such as drywall. That was when it became a necessity for every building. Textbooks and architectural magazines wrote several articles about it, and that was when the concept of vapor diffusion and the need for vapor barrier in walls and ceilings became widespread.Īfter a few years, the vapor barrier became a requirement in the International Building Code, based on research by William Rose, an architectural researcher. The vapor barrier concept was birthed in the late 1970s and started gaining traction in the early 1980s. And then later in the article, I’ll give you some recommendations and alternatives to vapor barriers.įor now, let’s talk a little bit about vapor barriers, so we are on the same page. After that, we will discuss when it’s important to consider vapor barriers in your garage. We will take a look at the reasons why vapor barriers are not as important as some people make it seem.
Vapor barrier insulation install#
However, if you live in a cold climate zone such as Alaska, it’s a good idea to install a vapor barrier on the warm-in-winter side of the wall.
Most garages don’t need vapor barriers because the amount of vapor that diffuses through garage walls, ceilings, and the floor is not enough to cause wet walls that result in moisture damages. So, in this post, we will talk about vapor barriers and whether you need it in a garage.
However, even some building experts still haven’t nailed this concept down. Homeowners and DIY’ers are usually the ones that bring this question up. Whether or not to install a vapor barrier in a garage has been a topic of discussion for many years.
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