How to choose a vapor barrier material: expert advice and feedback. Steam insulation materials for walls

Steam insulation material is most often used in damp and warm rooms. This applies to heated cellars and baths.

Need to use

These materials are used in rooms that are located below ground level, as well as in those that are particularly prone to the appearance of dampness. Inside such premises there is a profuse formation of steam, which is a warm air with particles of water. For such conditions, it is necessary to escape moisture from the room. These ways become the ceiling and walls. Steam formation is a process that has a harmful effect on building structures and materials. Its impact causes destruction of the structure. In order to prevent such phenomena, a vapor barrier layer is made, which can be used as all kinds of materials.

Materials for vapor barrier

Steam insulation material does not have to have the qualities of complete vapor tightness. Modern materials such as membranes are capable of ensuring the passage of a certain amount of air flow. This ensures the absence of the so-called greenhouse effect. The excessive amount of moisture is delayed by this material, while the air released from it is no longer capable of damaging the materials of the walls.

Varieties of vapor barrier materials and reviews about them

If you decide to choose a vapor barrier material, then it is worth taking advantage of consumer feedback. Most often today they choose the traditional material for this, which is polyethylene. When installing it, you must be careful, since strong pulling can damage the film. When the film is tensioned, when the material is affected by temperature variations during the change of seasons, the risk of damage to the film increases significantly. But this is not the only drawback of the material.

According to the home-made craftsman, if unperforated polyethylene is used, it will not pass neither steam nor air. So, it will be impossible to create a comfortable microclimate with the help of such a material. That is why it is not used for vapor barrier. Some consumers, choosing a vapor barrier material, purchase a polyethylene film, which they then try to perforate on their own. They do this with a roller, in which nails or other sharp elements are pre-driven. Such a modernization of polyethylene is not capable of providing vapor barrier insulation and building structures. Membrane materials have a quality similar to polyethylene film, but they are fundamentally different in multilayer structure.

Mastics

When the vapor barrier materials for walls are selected, some home masters purchase specially designed mastics. If you apply such a mixture on the surface of the ceiling or wall, it will let in air and retain moisture. Such mixtures are used for surface treatment until the finishing decorative layer is laid or installed.

Membrane films and professional advice

In the sale are steam insulation materials for the roof. Among them, membrane films can be distinguished. Such materials are used as a vapor permeable under roofing waterproofing. In addition to its basic functions, experts say, such a vapor barrier is able to insulate the room. It perfectly protects against snow, rain, dust and soot. Apply it if necessary to protect the structure from the effects of wind. Experts recommend it as a material with excellent vapor permeability.

Membranes can be called universal materials, this indicates that they can be used with any insulating materials. Quite often such hydro- and vapor-insulating materials consist of three layers. Each of them provides strength, insulating qualities and protection from negative influences. Lay a layer of such a membrane, according to the advice of experienced builders, can be directly on the thermal insulation or other substrate that covers the load-bearing structure of the roof. Such a membrane layer is versatile, as it can be used, if necessary, for external insulation of vertical walls of buildings of any purpose.

Varieties of roll vapor barrier

If you choose vapor barrier materials, the price of them should interest you. It will depend on the variety and the manufacturer. If we talk about the Pergamon, which was used earlier as a vapor barrier, its price is 100 rubles per 1 roll. Currently, professional builders and private masters use not only it, but also more modern materials. Among them one can single out single-layer films based on low-density polyethylene. This material is characterized by a rather loose structure and has defects.

It is also possible to isolate reinforced polyethylene films, which are also supplied in coils with a thickness of 50 μm. At the device of a cold roof today sack fabrics are used, in spite of the fact that they possess not so impressive vapor-proof qualities.

In the sale there are also combined materials, the vapor permeability of which can vary from 15 to 25 grams per square meter per day. Such material is permissible to use exclusively for the installation of cold roofs, since it does not possess the necessary qualities of a vapor barrier. If you are interested in vapor barrier materials for the ceiling of a bath, you can choose aluminum or any other metal foil. The vapor permeability of this material is zero, which is why it is used in the finishing of steam rooms.

Conclusion

In building stores today, you can find vapor barrier materials in a large assortment, among them there are foil foils that have a combined structure. According to the builders, they should be used in rooms whose conditions are characterized by high humidity and the usual temperature regime. This applies to swimming pools, saunas and showers. Consumers also respond positively to the cardboard, which is laminated on one side with polyethylene. It is used for the vapor barrier of rooms in which cyclic heating is connected. The vapor permeability index of such cardboard is equal to the limit of 3 to 5 grams per square meter per day.