Green Board For Bathroom Walls Do I Need Vapor Barrier

A vapor retarder is a material used to prevent water vapor from diffusing into the wall ceiling or floor.

Green board for bathroom walls do i need vapor barrier.

I would suspect that a water resistant wall board green board was to be used and the international codes as well as the old ubc do not allow this to be installed over a vapor retarder 2006 ibc irc and 2009 ibc editions or a class i or ii vapor retarder 2009 irc in tub or shower compartments. I think it is a wise choice for mold protection. A vapor barrier s job is to keep water vapor in humid air from diffusing through one side of a wall and finding a cool surface inside the wall. You don t need to put a vapor barrier in the ceiling of the bathroom.

When a vapor barrier is on the side of a wall where the dry air is i e outside in winter or inside in summer moisture problems can occur. Ceiling fans are a great help but are typically not left on long enough 45 mins after a shower. Because of moisture bathrooms are some of the primary areas of your home at risk of mold and mildew development. I use mr board in any rooms with water fixtures walls ceilings such as kitchen bath laundry.

A vapor barrier reduces the movement of water vapor by. If you are not sure if you need insulation in your walls follow along with this flow chart. Do you need a moisture barrier when building a shower enclosure. After the insulation is in place you will want to add a vapor retarder sometimes called a vapor barrier if you need one.

Whenever the steam from a warm shower hits the cool air in the rest of the bathroom condensation occurs. You shouldn t be putting safe and sound insulation in there either because that might screw up the moisture air flow behind the boards. It is important to make sure that a proper vapor barrier or vapor retarder is installed on the walls in your bathroom whenever you re building or remodeling. Greenboard is not fire resistant there is a fire resistant drywall product known as type x that s sold in 5 8 sheets for use around fireplaces and other high risk locations in.

Not every wall does. You can t put a vapour barrier behind green board because it creates a double moisture barrier especially where the boards are getting tiled over. Greenboard drywall isn t water proof it simply resists moisture better than the standard gypsum board that s on most walls in homes around the united states.