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

Vapor barriers and drafty wall outlets.
 

"kevins_news" wrote in message
...
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

There are foam pieces made for weather proof boxes. Your going to play heck
finding just them for a bargain. I believe I saw some in an Ace a while
back. My googled got this
http://doityourself.com/store/switch...tacleplate.htm

Air movement is common in walls. My interior walls do the same thing when it
goes warm down here 40+C.

Vapor barriers and drafty wall outlets.
 

SQLit wrote:

"kevins_news" wrote in message
...

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


There are foam pieces made for weather proof boxes. Your going to play heck
finding just them for a bargain. I believe I saw some in an Ace a while
back. My googled got this
http://doityourself.com/store/switch...tacleplate.htm

Air movement is common in walls. My interior walls do the same thing when it
goes warm down here 40+C.
Hi,
If the house is that new, the outlet boxes should have plastic sheet
shroud installed before drywall went up. That hole you punctured can be
sealed by sqeezing in a dap of sealant. Foam pads to go behind the
switch or duplex plate does help. They're cheap. Is the vapour barrier
joint are pasted together with sealant?
Tony
Calgary