Had to rip out my basement floor after 2 years because of bad vapor barrier

I finished my basement back in 2022, put down LVP over a 6 mil poly barrier from Home Depot. Last month I pulled up a corner to check something and found moisture trapped under the whole thing, mold starting on the subfloor. The poly had tears everywhere, must have happened when we laid the flooring. Anyone else had problems with the cheap vapor barrier from the big box stores?

3 comments

3 Comments

alice33623d ago

Yeah that 6 mil stuff is basically glorified trash... I learned the hard way too after pulling up my whole basement floor. Spend the extra money on 10 or 12 mil from a real building supply place, it's way tougher and won't tear when you're crawling around. Also make sure you overlap the seams by at least a foot and tape them with the proper seam tape, not just duct tape like some people do. The whole key is getting a continuous seal with no gaps anywhere... even a tiny pinhole will let moisture creep in over time. You're probably looking at pulling up that LVP and starting over with the subfloor too, mold doesn't really go away once it starts.

adam_thompson5323d ago

Tell me about it, I still find little bits of that cheap vapor barrier in my garage from a job I did five years ago. Nothing like spending a Saturday ripping up brand new flooring just to find out the 40 bucks you saved cost you about four grand in labor and materials. At least now you've got a real good story to tell the next time someone says "it's just basement flooring, how hard can it be?

danielw8823d ago

Did your basement have that weird musty smell before you pulled the floor up @alice336? I had a buddy who ignored it for like two years and ended up with mushrooms pushing through his carpet, no joke. He said the whole room smelled like a wet dog that rolled in potting soil. I told him next time just spend the extra sixty bucks on vapor barrier and save yourself the headache.