Hello,
We hired a contractor to replace vapor barrier in our crawlspace because we have been having moisture problem.
We have discussed through emails that new vapor barrier would be attached to foundation wall with double sided tape. And I specifically asked for tape. But I just found out that instead of using double sided tape, they nailed the vapor barrier directly to the foundation wal ( pic of the nail attached). They nailed it about one foot apart, some are even floser together. Will this make the foundation wall more prone to cracks and affect the integrity of the wall? From what I can see the wall is made of solid cinder blocks. Would really appreciate it if I can get input on how to deal with this kind of situation.
Thanks!
Replies
Those appear to be "powder
Those appear to be "powder driven" nails, and they generally do not cause damage to reasonably sound CMU (concrete block). In fact, the nails are probably superior to tape, as the tape will eventually fail.
No. But the top of vapor barrier should be sealed to the CMU wall. Some people use an adhesive caulk for that detail. You generally don't get a get a very good seal with tape applied to a raw CMU surface because the material does not have a contiguous material surface.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contiguous
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?????
"Contiguous"
Mike,
He's referring to Deadnuts use of the word "contiguous" which does not mean what Deadnuts thinks it means.
Geoff
Thanks, Geofff
I was looking for the clue in the original post.