Crawl space moisture barrier question.

Mikhail

Our crawl space is attached to the basement. I noticed that in one of the corners of the crawl space the soil is moist (no standing water). It's probably because of a clogged gutter, which has been fixed. Right now, I pulled the moisture barrier from that corner and I am running a humidifier 24/7. I want to install new moisture barrier and attach it to the walls, so my question is should I wait until the soil is completely dry and then install the barrier? How should I attach the new barrier to the walls? Tape? Adhesive? Is there anything else that I should check, other than the gutters, to make sure that there is no further moisture in the future? The house was built in 1987. Thank you for any advice, comments.

Windows on Wash

Sealant or spray foam work well for attaching the vapor barrier to the stem walls.

You can attach it now if you want or wait until the space is somewhat dried out.

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Mikhail

Thanks for reply!
What kind of sealant should I use, any recommendation?
Thanks.

Windows on Wash

Something that is compliant with the plastic.

Acoustical sealant seems to stay flexible for quite a while.

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jklingel

I have scraps of poly glued together w/ Tremco acoustical sealant from 11/08; it's still very flexible and stuck like stink on vulture droppings. The Tremco actually splits before it pulls off the poly; I am impressed w/ the stuff. (BTW: Let me go out and buy 5,000 shares of the company stock before you go stocking up on the stuff, ok?)

Mikhail

One more question guys!
Is it worth to pay extra money for 12 mil liner vs 6mil barrier from homedepot or lowes?

Windows on Wash

Not unless you are storing stuff or walking on it constantly.

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