Laminate Flooring - Vapor barrier
 

I have a split entry house. In the basement there is a room about 11 x 11
that I am goign to lay laminate down on. Right now there is just the cement.

My question is do I need foam with vapour barrier, or just foam to lay the
floor on?

There has never been any moisture down there since I have lived in the house
(1.5yrs).
The only real reason I ask is that on a recent edition of Holmes on Homes
(for all the canadian readers out there) he laid floor in a basement without
vapour barrier because he said that barrier, in essence, could cause
condensation itself...

Comments?

Laminate Flooring - Vapor barrier
 

In article , "Jon" wrote:
I have a split entry house. In the basement there is a room about 11 x 11
that I am goign to lay laminate down on. Right now there is just the cement.

My question is do I need foam with vapour barrier, or just foam to lay the
floor on?

There has never been any moisture down there since I have lived in the house
(1.5yrs).
The only real reason I ask is that on a recent edition of Holmes on Homes
(for all the canadian readers out there) he laid floor in a basement without
vapour barrier because he said that barrier, in essence, could cause
condensation itself...

I'd lean towards including a vapor barrier.

However, I think the really important thing is to follow
the instructions provided by the manufacturer of your
flooring. Failure to do so will invalidate the warranty.
If they call for a vapor barrier when installing over
cement, you'd better include the barrier.


--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laminate Flooring - Vapor barrier
 

"Jon" wrote in message
...

There has never been any moisture down there since I have lived in the
house
(1.5yrs).
The only real reason I ask is that on a recent edition of Holmes on Homes
(for all the canadian readers out there) he laid floor in a basement
without
vapour barrier because he said that barrier, in essence, could cause
condensation itself...

Comments?

AFAIK, every manufacturer recommends a vapor barrier. Do you believe
Holmes or the guys that have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on
research and testing of their product?

I used a barrier and I've not had moisture in 25 years.

Laminate Flooring - Vapor barrier
 

"Jon" wrote
I have a split entry house. In the basement there is a room about 11 x 11
that I am goign to lay laminate down on. Right now there is just the
cement.

My question is do I need foam with vapour barrier, or just foam to lay
the
floor on?

There has never been any moisture down there since I have lived in the
house
(1.5yrs).
The only real reason I ask is that on a recent edition of Holmes on Homes
(for all the canadian readers out there) he laid floor in a basement
without
vapour barrier because he said that barrier, in essence, could cause
condensation itself...

Comments?

Unless you have zero humidity in your home (zap/ouch), you have moisture.

Always follow the manufacturers installation procedure, unless you don't
mind a voided warranty.

I would like to know where this fella Holmes, thinks the moisture will
condensate without a vapor barrier. He didn't eliminate the moisture by not
putting down a vapor barrier. Hint: It will condensate on the underside of
the flooring, and the flooring will absorb the moisture upto the saturation
point. Swelling & buckling will occur b/4 the saturation point.

Laminate Flooring - Vapor barrier
 

On Mon, 05 Feb 2007 18:10:54 GMT, "Jon" wrote:

I have a split entry house. In the basement there is a room about 11 x 11
that I am goign to lay laminate down on. Right now there is just the cement.

My question is do I need foam with vapour barrier, or just foam to lay the
floor on?

There has never been any moisture down there since I have lived in the house
(1.5yrs).
The only real reason I ask is that on a recent edition of Holmes on Homes
(for all the canadian readers out there) he laid floor in a basement without
vapour barrier because he said that barrier, in essence, could cause
condensation itself...

Comments?


My laminate flooring did NOT recommend a vapor barrier. It
recommended the laminate go right over he concrete floor after
applying an adhesive.

..

Laminate Flooring - Vapor barrier
 

"Moe" wrote in message
...

"Jon" wrote
I have a split entry house. In the basement there is a room about 11 x 11
that I am goign to lay laminate down on. Right now there is just the
cement.

My question is do I need foam with vapour barrier, or just foam to lay
the
floor on?

There has never been any moisture down there since I have lived in the
house
(1.5yrs).
The only real reason I ask is that on a recent edition of Holmes on Homes
(for all the canadian readers out there) he laid floor in a basement
without
vapour barrier because he said that barrier, in essence, could cause
condensation itself...

Comments?

Unless you have zero humidity in your home (zap/ouch), you have moisture.

Always follow the manufacturers installation procedure, unless you don't
mind a voided warranty.

I would like to know where this fella Holmes, thinks the moisture will
condensate without a vapor barrier. He didn't eliminate the moisture by
not putting down a vapor barrier. Hint: It will condensate on the
underside of the flooring, and the flooring will absorb the moisture upto
the saturation point. Swelling & buckling will occur b/4 the saturation
point.

It was a program about a house that had three different wood floors
installed in a ground floor kitchen all with water problems over concrete.
He eliminated water under the concrete and deduced that it was condensing on
the concrete surface, wicking through they plywood underlay and then leaking
through the thousands of holes where the wood floor was nailed down to the
plywood underlay. Everything was soaking wet. He did not say "don't use a
vapour barrier" he said that it was not protecting the wood floor in fact it
was holding the water so that it could not evaporate back into the air. This
is all in a cold Canadian winter. He did not like wood installed over
concrete in these conditions and changed the floor to a slate or ceramic
floor with underfloor electric heating for the homeowner. Before you can
give a meaningful opinion, you need all the facts.

Laminate Flooring - Vapor barrier
 

"EXT" wrote
Before you can give a meaningful opinion, you need all the facts.

FYI, I responded to the facts the OP posted, which entailed their
particular situation. Do you have anything relevant to add?

Laminate Flooring - Vapor barrier
 

Jon wrote:
I have a split entry house. In the basement there is a room about 11
x 11 that I am goign to lay laminate down on. Right now there is just
the cement.

My question is do I need foam with vapour barrier, or just foam to
lay the floor on?

There has never been any moisture down there since I have lived in
the house (1.5yrs).
The only real reason I ask is that on a recent edition of Holmes on
Homes (for all the canadian readers out there) he laid floor in a
basement without vapour barrier because he said that barrier, in
essence, could cause condensation itself...

Comments?

Just read the provided instructions on the floor you buy.

Laminate Flooring - Vapor barrier
 

"DK" wrote in message


My laminate flooring did NOT recommend a vapor barrier. It
recommended the laminate go right over he concrete floor after
applying an adhesive.

That sounds right on a glued floor, but a floating floor is a different
situation and with no barrier, there is an air gap where condensation can
form.