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kevins_news
 
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Default Vapor barriers and drafty wall outlets.

Two questions here.

#1. I was hanging a curtain rod outside wall in our living room.
Drilled a hole in the drywall so I could put in an anchor for the
screw.. In the process i drilled a bit to far and punctured the vapor
barier. I tested by poking a long nail through the hole in the
drywall and there is definetly a thick plastic sheet back there with a
hole where i drilled. Is a single small hole like this a problem at
all?

#2. We were painting an inside wall (it connects perpendicularly to
an outside wall) and I noticed a slight draft (cold air coming through
the outlet into the room) when i was putting the faceplate back on an
electrical outlet. The outlet is about 10 feet from the outside wall.
Is this expected? If i can do something to help fix this... what?

In my constant quest for energy efficiency I'm never sure if the
things i worry about ar extremely minor little things that really
won't help even if i fix them.

Background:
House is new, built in 2002. Near Toronto Ontario Canada.

Our basement is unfinished. The walls consist of studs with pink
insulation between them. Then a thick plastic sheet has been screwed
into the studs from floor to ceiling. I assume that same type of
vapor barrier is upstairs in my question #1 even though i've never
seen inside the wall to know.

Any thought appreciated.
Kevin