Joan insulated her basement using dense insulation made for steel doors, then discovered moisture behind the vapour barrier and is worrying if it is the insulation that is causing the problem.No Joan, there can be lots of reasons for moisture in a basement wall, and even the researchers are tr...
Tanya from Surrey, British Columbia has a very shallow, very wet, very cold crawl space under her house, and the heating bills show it. She has tried all the weather-stripping and caulking she can do up in the house. Now what to do about the crawl space?First, despite the fact that there is ...
I got Dino from North York, Ontario on the phone to talk about his crawlspace. He has a split level home and below the upper split is a crawlspace with a concrete floor. He never seemed to have a problem until he decided to finish this space and use it for storage. He put vinyl tiles on th...
Leonard (Scotty) Wells, a long time floor installer dropped by to discuss hardwood floor expansion and contraction.His greatest recommendation was to try and control the humidity in the house to keep it as even as possible between summer and winter.Pre-finished floors have less problem of expansi...
Gills writes from South Surrey, B.C.:Problem: High humidity in a crawl space. What do you suggest to reduce this problem. Info: Rancher style home (single level), 1800 sq.ft. Crawl space: 6 ft. high, concrete floor No windows The only existing opening is a 6 inch pipe going out side.---------...
Dale asks about hardwood floors over concrete.If the concrete floor is above grade, like is common in a new condo, no problem.If the concrete is in a basement, below grade, then you have potential serious moisture problems, and hardwood really doesn't like excessive moisture.Generally it is not r...
An earthen crawl space or basement is a terrible source of humidity. The ground under the house, given most soil conditions, will continually feed water up to the surface -- where it will evaporate up into the house. Here vapour diffusion is important because there is nothing stopping this ...
"A few years ago a contractor installed ceiling grills typically used on the floor for forced air heating in the ceilings of my bathroom and living room. The grills are connected with a "Y" insulated conduit in the attic leading to a 20 liter pail connected to a turbine vent installed on the ...
False.
Vapour barriers, together with air barriers, prevent moisture from escaping into the walls.
In this sense vapour barriers make you more aware of the quantity of moisture you have generated in your house.
Condensation problems are caused by generating too much moisture and/or having too ...
Condensation or frost on cedar wall shingles on the shady side of the house, early in the morning on clear winter days, bothers many homeowners. They imagine that somehow vast quantities of water are escaping from the house.
In fact, what is happening is that the surrounding air is warming up fa...
