My dad told me to use a 6 mil vapor barrier in that basement job, and I'm glad I listened

He said the concrete floor felt dry, but it would still sweat over time. I almost skipped it to save a few hours on the schedule. Sure enough, after we glued down the vinyl plank, a huge rainstorm hit. When I went back a week later to check, the floor was perfect with no moisture issues at all. Has anyone else had a client push back on vapor barriers and how do you explain it?

3 comments

3 Comments

ruby_gonzalez1mo ago

Remember my neighbor who skipped it to save money... had to tear out his whole finished basement floor last spring.

patkelly14d ago

But what if the neighbor knew the risk and it was a smart bet? Maybe he looked at the local water table and saw flooding was very rare. That money saved could have gone into a better roof or paying off debt. Sometimes you have to pick which projects to fund, and a basement floor might be a lower worry than other things. Not every skipped step is a mistake, it's just a choice with a chance of going wrong.

jade2261mo ago

Wow, that's the definition of penny wise and pound foolish. He saved a few bucks upfront only to pay for a whole new floor later. Some lessons are just really expensive.