Can I use painters plastic as a vapor barrier?

You can use plastic if you put polyethylene between your drywall and the wall studs. This way, you should get a tighter wall without trapping moisture inside the exterior walls. If you are framing out a below-grade basement, however, do not use plastic as a vapor barrier.

greenbuildermedia.com - 3 Reasons Not to Use Plastic Instead of Housewrap - Green Builder Media

Does plastic freeze well?

Rigid containers and flexible bags or wrapping are two general types of packaging materials that are safe for freezing. Rigid containers made of...

Last updated Sep 22, 2020

How much does it cost to build a 12x12 porch?

A deck will cost much less than adding a similar size room to your home. For example, the cost of a 12 x12 deck. A 12 x12 deck can range in cost...

Last updated Jan 20, 2022

Are shed plans easy to follow?

These are! They guide you every step of the way to complete your dream shed.

Learn More »

Promotion

Walking through a historic section of Portland, Maine, this week, I noticed this grand old house, wrapped in polyethylene (sheet plastic). Why, I wondered, would anyone in the 21st Century still use this product in this way?

It's not clear whether the owners of this 100-year-old building in Portland, Maine, intend to shingle over the plastic wrap, or whether the wrap serves some other purpose such as insect treatment. If the answer is the former, it's a recipe for water woes. It can't be price. Housewrap such as DuPont Tyvek costs about .50 per sq. ft. Even for a large house, that's a pretty minimal outlay to wrap your house in a high-tech product that allows water vapor to pass through from inside the home to outdoors, versus suffocating your house and trapping humidity from showers, cooking, breathing and basement drying inside walls. Before the advent of homewrap, most homes in the Northeast had a simple paper barrier on the exterior or what's now called felt paper, an asphalt-impregnated paper that's primarily intended to keep rain from entering roofs or walls. Here are 3 reasons why you should not wrap your house in plastic:

1: Water Gets Trapped in Walls

As moist air from inside the warm house enters the colder wall cavities in the fall and winter, it hits cold surfaces and condenses, and water runs down the framing, or interior of the drywall. What if you inherit a home that's improperly sealed tight in this way? All is not lost. All it means is that you're now the permanent caretaker of the home's humidity balance. In this scenario, your best option is to install a combination of HVAC tools that will allow you to monitor humidity in real time. This includes installing a smart thermostat that will automatically adjust/reduce humidity, such as the one shown in this video. In addition, you will need to maintain a constant supply of fresh outdoor air with an ERV or HRV to replace polluted air trapped indoors. The wrong type of building wrap can allow the amount of moisture to build up quickly inside wall cavities, creating an ideal environment for mold, mildew and termites.

2. Plastic Degrades When Exposed to Repeated Heat

It’s a little known aspect of plastic’s chemical makeup that it breaks down rapidly when heated and cooled repeatedly. When the Smithsonian studied astronaut spacesuits from the 1960s, for example, they were shocked to learn that the buttons on the spacesuits had nearly melted away. This is especially true of plastic sheeting installed under siding on south-facing walls. It’s likely to become brittle in just a few years.

3: Plastic Is a Lone Wolf Product

To create a complete vapor barrier, seams in polyethylene have to be carefully taped (as do housewraps), but unlike housewrap, plastic does not come with special tapes and flashing that make sealing around penetrations, pipes and windows easy.

FAQ

Should I put plastic sheeting on my interior walls?

Well, "should" is too strong a term. You can use plastic if you put polyethylene between your drywall and the wall studs. This way, you should get a tighter wall without trapping moisture inside the exterior walls. If you are framing out a below-grade basement, however, do not use plastic as a vapor barrier. Concrete tends to wick moisture, and if you cover insulated cavities with plastic they can become wet and optimal for mold growth.

Do I need a concrete base for a log cabin?

A flat and level concrete base is the ideal log cabin foundation, but if you already have a paved or decked area that you want to place your cabin,...

Last updated Jul 12, 2018

What is the point of a Barndominium?

Why a Barndominium? “In simple terms, these are metal buildings that have an inside living quarter. These are very affordable, energy-efficient and...

Last updated May 15, 2021

Promotion

Can you touch insulation with bare hands?

Removing Fiberglass from Your Skin While touching fiberglass doesn't usually lead to long-term effects on your health, exposure to it may cause intense itching, redness, or a rash. So, it's important to remove fiberglass from your skin as soon as possible so it doesn't come in contact with your eyes, nose, or throat.

webmd.com - How to Remove Fiberglass From Skin - WebMD

Fiberglass is a common man-made material found in many household and office products. During renovation or construction, you may be exposed to fiberglass dust. This dust contains glass fibers that can irritate your skin , eyes, nose, or throat.

Removing Fiberglass from Your Skin

While touching fiberglass doesn’t usually lead to long-term effects on your health, exposure to it may cause intense itching, redness, or a rash. So, it's important to remove fiberglass from your skin as soon as possible so it doesn’t come in contact with your eyes, nose, or throat. If you’ve come into contact with fiberglass shards or you have a rash and itchiness after you were exposed to fiberglass, don’t rub or scratch the area. Immediately wash the exposed area with warm water and mild soap and wipe with a washcloth to remove the glass fibers from your skin. Sometimes, you may be able to clearly see fiberglass fibers in your skin. After you've washed the area, use a small piece of adhesive tape over the area that was exposed to fiberglass and use the tape to pull out the shards.‌ Take a shower as soon as possible to wash off other traces of fiberglass that may have touched your skin. ‌Contact your doctor if necessary to treat any rash and other exposure symptoms, like coughing or itching.