Putting A Vapor Barrior In Your Garage Attic

The insulation fiberglass or cellulose is then placed on top of the drywall with no vapor barrier above or below.

Putting a vapor barrior in your garage attic.

The classic answer is that the vapor barrier goes on the warm in winter side of the assembly. Not every wall does. You can forego the plastic and use a vapor retarder kraft faced insulation or latex ceiling paint in all other climates except hot humid or hot dry climates. Such a location works both as a vapor barrier as well as an air barrier and eliminates the need for an external air barrier not a easy application on a multi storried building as well as any special electrical pans and their sealing.

Vapor barriers are usually best installed on the side of the wall that experiences the hotter temperature and moister conditions. Some regions don t require a vapor barrier. If you are not sure if you need insulation in your walls follow along with this flow chart. Whether using loose fill or batts put the vapor barrier closest to the warm side of your installation where hot moist air would get in facing the house s interior in cold climates beneath floor insulation and the attic s interior in hot climates on top of floor insulation.

When a vapor barrier is on the side of a wall where the dry air is i e outside in winter or inside in summer moisture problems can occur. In hot humid climates attics should not be vented and vapor retarders should not be installed on the interior of assemblies. This acts as a barrier to keep heated moist air from rising up into the attic during cold weather. After the insulation is in place you will want to add a vapor retarder sometimes called a vapor barrier if you need one.

I install my vapor barrier in the middle of the wall system between the two walls. If your garage is 45 degrees and you have a bonus room heated to 72 degrees above the garage the vapor retarder faces the upstairs room. The inner surface in colder climates and the outer surface in hot humid climates. Over time this trapped moisture can rot the wood framing in your attic or cause mold and mildew to appear.

Plastic vapor barriers should only be installed in vented attics in climates with more than 8 000 heating degree days. A vapor barrier reduces the movement of water vapor by diffusion. Your first job after the studs are in place is to fill those walls with insulation. Holes in the vapor barrier that allow humid air through may allow a lot more water vapor into an assembly than the vapor barrier is stopping.

First of all a garage is not a signicant source of vapor as it is not occupied that much and you don t cook or bath in in it. In existing spaces oil based paints or vapor barrier latex paints offer an effective moisture barrier.