Drives me nuts when crews skip the vapor barrier on interior slabs

I keep seeing jobs around Phoenix where they pour a garage or basement floor right on the dirt, no poly sheet. That moisture WILL come up through the concrete eventually, guaranteed. I had to tear out a 2-year-old floor for a client in Mesa last month because their epoxy coating bubbled from the trapped moisture. Does anyone else fight with their boss about this, or is it just me?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaronowens20d ago

Honestly wonder if it's overblown sometimes. Seen plenty of slabs poured right on grade that held up fine for years, no vapor barrier. Maybe it depends on the soil or the drainage around the pad. That epoxy bubbling could've been a bad mix or application, not just moisture.

the_brooke19d ago

Yeah, "overblown" until your floor coating looks like a science experiment gone wrong. My uncle skipped the barrier on his garage, said the same thing. Now his "epoxy lake" has more bubbles than a kid's bath time. Sure, maybe the mix was bad, but betting against ground moisture feels like playing the lottery with your slab.

emma_hayes8019d ago

My buddy's basement floor turned into a swampy mess after one winter, all because they thought the plastic sheet was a waste. The tiles started popping up and the whole place smelled like wet dirt. It's a cheap fix that saves you a massive headache later.