Vapour Barrier

[Crusty]

Recently we moved into a new house(to us) we ordered a satellite service to be installed as the previous owner had terminated his. Before the installation took place I expressed that I DID NOT want the cables from the dish running across my roof, over the eves trough, in the eves trough, or, attached to the outside of the house, then running to the required room, and drilled through the exterior wall into the room.

We have a un-insulated garage, and the basement is not finished, so access for installing the cables is simple.

While out with the neighbour, and the fellow who treats our lawn, I hear a hammer drill. fuck. fuck me.

Sure enough, he was in the guest room(freshly decorated and painted) and was trying to get through the outside wall/brick. The bit was too short on the drill, so he had driven the chuck into the finished dry wall to try and get a few extra inches. I look at the carpeted floor and there is plaster,insulation, and pieces of poly(vapour barrier) all over the floor. fuck.

The point: It looks to me like the dipshit has pulled out enough insulation that would cover two open hands, and the vapour barrier is torn enough to get a hand through.

The question: SHOULD I cut the drywall out around the damage to r e a l l y see the damage to the vapour barrier, then replace it, and seal it properly. or is this too small an issue(?) and not a threat to moisture working its way inside?

I have talked to the people at the Building supply stores and opinions seem to vary.

What say you? any help would be greatly appreciated folks.

:icon_wall:

[Iceman_40]

I'm not a expert but I did help build a few houses years ago. Any time we cut holes they were sealed so air couldn't get in. I was told the whole point of the vapor barrier was to keep air from moving from outside to inside and vice versa. Any hole that allowed air to flow in or out was sealed even around electrical outlets/cable wires etc.

Maybe the guy I was working with was anal retentive on it but he insisted that every hole be HAD sealed.

[Biometrix]

So here's my 2 cents based on input from two different friends who are contractors when I had a similar situation. I was told that before vapor barriers, mositure and mold was not as big of a problem (in general) because the whole house breathed. Since the use of vapor barriers and house wrap to really seal up a house tight, any significant breach in the barrier can be a welcome mat to mosture problems and mold because the outside moisture wants to get in and concentrate at the breach. It's almost as if your house is a vacuum and you poke a hole in it. All the outside air wants to rush in through that opening.

So, for all I know, this could be total BS and barstool logic but as I said, it was told to me my two different people in the house building and contracting trades. Also with that said, I would imagine if you simply sealed up the wire entrance on the outisde wall you shouldn't have a big problem, one would think but again, I'm not an expert.

Sorry about your problem. I can't stand the knuckleheads they send to install stuff like telephone, cable etc. They're generally a bunch of butchers.

[Crusty]

Thanks for the feed back folks. I recently talked to a contractor here, and he said the same thing about breaching the vapor barrier. Its 6mm poly and with the extreme cold we get in these parts, the concentration of warm and cold air WILL draw moisture to the broken part of the barrier. Its h o w much that is in question. If that is enough to concern me because its difficult to determine, then a repair s h o u l d be made to be sure.

Fricken hack installers.

[spicholy]

Is the area in the wall small enough that you could use expanding foam insulation to fill the void? What is the exterior surface at the breach?

[EVLXX]

interesting...

I wonder what would happen if you don't fix it.....

Gremlins might get in,

ectoplasm might now see it as a doorway,

Spider mites will have easy access,

[Crusty]

Is the area in the wall small enough that you could use expanding foam insulation to fill the void? What is the exterior surface at the breach?

Maybe... I don't know the properties of the foam stuff, will look into it though, thanks. The exterior surface is painted drywall(Inside of bedroom) followed by 6mm poly(inside-behind drywall) then, pink insulation. Then plywood, with tarpaper, then outside brick.

The only thing he did NOT breach, was the brick.

[spicholy]

Since the exterior surface is still intact, I would just fill the hole with the expanding foam and repair the drywall.

[Justin]

Just fill the entire thing with expanding foam and cover the hole on the outside.

[Crusty]

Thanks for the feed back folks!