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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 |
#2
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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. |
#3
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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 |
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