I’m installing new kitchen cabinets for a customer in a daylight basement. I had to cut through the outside wall to put in the hood vent & noticed that the insulation had the vapor barrier on the outside. I pointed this out to the customer who called the company who installed it. They said that no barrier is needed – they just count on the PVA primer on the drywall to form a vapor barrier – but said if the insulation had paper on it , it should’ve been installed the other way ’round – but shouldn’t be a problem. Don’t sound right to me. What do you insulation pros think? And if it is a problem, is there an easy remedy?
Thanks in advance for your help
Replies
I don't know about yuor climate there in WA. Usually, VB goes against the humid side. Here near Atlanta, that's the outside.
Forrest
I don't know about yuor climate there in WA.
2 Seasons around here warm rain & cold rain <G>
But really our humidity varies from block to block.
I'm a lot closer to puget sound than Terry My humidity is pretty high except when it warms up then the humidity drops."I'm here to chew bubble gum & kick azz, & I'm all out of bubble gum" Rowdy Roddy Piper
In Pacific Northwest, where it is often rainy, VB on outside wouldn't be that bad, IMO. If you're interested, there is a web site called buildingsciences.com that explains it.
buildingsciences.com
http://www.buildingscience.com
In my ski place in Skykomish, the insulation is unfaced with a vapor barrier paint instead of a vapor barrier of plastic. It's been a while, but I think the inspector I talked to said that was what they preferred.
My nephew who is in the insulation business in WA recently told me that there are many homes in WA which have a lot of moisture problems today because they were not built properly.