Pole Barn Concrete Floor Vapor Barrier

I have a 40 x 20 pole barn type building with a concrete floor it was probably built in the mid 70 s.

Pole barn concrete floor vapor barrier.

When we poured the floor years ago poured it over gravel. A concrete vapor barrier is any material that prevents moisture from entering a concrete slab. Always install a good vapor barrier such as a2v reflective insulation available through hansen buildings below any interior pour to stop moisture from traveling up into slab through capillary action. The amish guys that are doing it say i don t need plastic on the walls and ceiling but i think morton suggests it.

That air condenses on the cooler concrete floor. W east canton ohio 44730. Puncture studies of 6 8 10 and 20 mil vapor retarder materials have shown that 10 mils is the minimum thickness that should be considered and thicker material may be necessary over. Place 3 to 4 of clean and drained sand on top of the vapor barrier to decrease differential drying shrinkage and floor curling.

Well it s too late and i am in the process of making a little. Post frame buildings with metal roofs and especially buildings with minimal insulation hold warm moist air. Someone said to me that i should have put a vapor barrier down like a sheet of plastic then poured over top of that. Lined with 29 ga indoor steel.

Inside my pole barn the concrete floor always feels damp. A vapor barrier should be used for all concrete floors and slabs that are going to receive an impermeable floor finish like epoxy laminate linoleum and wood or if the concrete floor will be used for any purpose where the passage of water vapor through the floor may create problems. I am insulating my 42x60 mrton bldg with batt fiberglass in side walls and blown in 30 fiberglass in ceiling. The american concrete institute s guide for concrete floor and slab construction recommends that the thickness of the vapor retarder be at least 10 mils.

Heated with propane a couple months a year. Vapor barriers are used because while fresh concrete is poured wet it s not supposed to stay that way. A vapor barrier under your slab will also protect you from harmful ground pollutants like radon gas.