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Vapor Retarders

The properties of vapor and moisture are complex. The following introduction is a cursory discussion only.

What is a vapor retarder?

A vapor retarder is a material that restricts or reduces the rate and volume of water vapor diffusion through the ceilings, walls, and floors of a building.

Building materials at a given thickness are tested and given a permeance rating. This rating measures the amount of water vapor that can pass through it. The thicker a building material is the greater its ability is to restrict vapor diffusion. Building materials with a permeance rating less than 1 are considered a vapor retarder.

What makes a vapor retarder different from an air barrier?

The vapor retarder should not be confused with an air barrier. A vapor retarder is designed to minimize the amount of water vapor passing through it. In comparison an air barrier is designed to stop air movement that could bring water vapor into a building assembly. Some air barriers are designed to allow water vapor to pass through to allow its evaporation and to allow the drying of the building assembly.

Why use a Vapor Retarders?

The main reason for retarding the transmission of water vapor through the building envelope is to prevent water vapor from condensing back into liquid form within the building structure cavities.

Where is a Vapor Retarder installed?

The local climate and the heating/cooling needs of  building determine where the vapor retarder is installed. Where the vapor retarder gets installed primarily depends on the local climate and the heating and cooling needs of a building.

For buildings in a heating climate, the vapor retarder is placed on the inside or the warm side of the building envelope. The reason for this is that the cold air outside will hold less moisture then the warm air inside a building. It is the warm, moist air inside a building that can get into the building envelope and condense when it contacts the colder surface, usually on the backside of the exterior wall sheathing. This is called "the first condensing surface."  With the vapor retarder on the inside and a vapor permeable air retarder on the outside, any water vapor that does condense inside will be able to evaporate and dry through the permeable air retarder to the outside.

In a cooling climate, the vapor retarder should be placed on the outside of the building envelope. In a cooling climate, the outside air is warmer, and has the potential of containing more water vapor than the inside air. Placing the vapor retarder on the outside will reduce water vapor movement from the outside from getting into the building envelope. Any vapor that does get into the walls or roof assembly can evaporate to the inside and therefore dry out before the moisture can lead to mold, mildew and rot problems.

Why is the very low permeance of closed-cell foam significant?

  • It provides protection against moisture transport into the insulation with its related potential for condensation. Vapor on the inside (the warm side) will not come in contact with cold surfaces where the dew point can be reached.

  • Imperfections in air barriers are less critical with closed-cell foams.

  • Indoor humidity levels are more easily maintained at healthy levels if vapor cannot escape during dry winter weather.

Vapor retarder and permeance research

The Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) has published a short report, as an industry service, on the basics of water vapor transmission and how it affects the building envelope. The report is available for download in PDF format can be viewed using Adobe Reader.

Demilic, a major foam insulation manufacturer, asked the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) to conduct extensive testing on their Heatlok 0240 polyurethane foam product. The purpose of the tests were to evaluate the water vapor permeance of the foam insulation while applied to either gypsum or concrete block.

The first step in the testing process was to measure the permeance of each product separately, and then test the foam and gypsum or concrete block together. The permeance was tested using the ASTM E 96 (dry cup) method.

Permeability Comparison Charts

SPF on gypsum (sheetrock)

Component or system

Thickness

Permeance

External Gypsum

0.5"

31.3

Heatlok 0240 polyurethane foam

1"

1.91

Heatlok 0240 on External Gypsum

1.5"

1.19

Heatlok 0240 on External Gypsum (Estimated)

2"

0.73

Heatlok 0240 on External Gypsum (Estimated)

3"

0.53

The results of the NRC test for Demilic:

 “The results clearly show that, when HEATLOK 0240 systems is applied directly to the exterior side of the gypsum board, the resistance to water vapor permeance of the combination wall components is much higher (1.19 perm) then the theoretical calculation (1.8 perm) obtained by the addition of each component separately.”

SPF on concrete block

Component or system

Thickness

Permeance

Concrete Block

0.8"

4.8

Heaklok 0240 polyurethane foam

1"

2.5

Heatlok 0240 on Concrete Block

1.8"

0.64

Heatlok 0240 on Concrete Block (Estimated)

2"

0.50

Heatlok 0240 on Concrete Block (Estimated)

3"

0.42

 The results of the NRC test for Demilic:

“These results clearly demonstrate that, when HEATLOK 0240 is applied directly to the exterior of a concrete block wall, the resistance to water vapor permeance of a combined wall components (0.64 perm) is much higher then the test results obtained by the addition of each component separately. It is the interface “skin” created by the HEATLOK 0240 foam system and the wall component which substantially increases the results obtained by NRC.”

Related Information

References

Bynum, Richard, 2001. Insulation Handbook, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY

Demilec Inc, 1999. Typical details for the design of the building envelope: HEATLOK 0240

Lstiburek, Joseph and John Carmody, 1993. Moisture Control Handbook, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, NY

Lstiburek, Joseph, 1998. Builders Guide: Cold Climates, Building Science Corporation, Westford, MA

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