Plastic Vapor Barrier Under Concrete Slab

For most residential applications the 10 mil under slab vapor barrier will offer enough protection against moisture vapor transmission coming up through the concrete floor allowing for flooring materials to be successfully installed on top of the concrete.

Plastic vapor barrier under concrete slab. The home 19yrs old has a concrete slab on grade with a visqueen vapor barrier under the slab. For most commercial applications the 15 mil thick concrete vapor barrier will be a better choice. Thin plastic like this is often called a vapor retarder meaning it slows the vapor down but doesn t stop it. The black plastic sheet that the reinforcement is sitting on is the vapor barrier.

By steve ragan director research and technical services the answer to this controversial question from both angles is a qualified yes vapor barriers have been associated with certain concrete slab on grade problems including curling and cracking. In various places around the house we installed a gypcrete leveling course 1 2 5 8 and then a glued down engineered wood. This heavy duty plastic is commonly used under concrete slabs as a vapor barrier on top of freshly poured slabs as a curing blanket and as a temporary cover for equipment and supplies. Florprufe vapor barriers gcp lied slab vapor barrier by professional concrete floor problems building under monolithic concrete slab 10 and 15 mil underslab vapor barrier concrete vapor barriers ers.

Waffle slabs require vapour barriers too and here are some photos that show a few waffle slabs with vapour barriers again before the concrete is poured. Vapor barriers under concrete floor slabs. A concrete vapor barrier is simply a sheet of polyethylene plastic visqueen placed directly on top of the sub grade before the concrete floor or slab is poured to help keep moisture from the soil from passing up through the concrete.