Multifamily
7. Healthy Living Environment
7.11a Basements and Concrete Slabs: Vapor Barrier
Mandatory
Provide proper drainage to the lowest level of concrete. Waterproof exterior of foundation walls, and provide vapor barriers under all slabs.
Green Communities and the Green Communities Criteria are a national initiative of Enterprise Community Partners to transform the affordable housing sector. For more information go to www.greencommunitiesonline.org
Minnesota Overlay
The national Green Communities Criteria is modified as follows:
In EPA Zone 1 : no modification. This criterion is mandatory as written.
In EPA Zone 2: Install vapor barrier as written or in strict accordance with the required Geotechnical Engineer's report, including subsurface water and moisture vapor recommendations, and in accordance with the current American Concrete Institute (ACI) recommendations.
Exemption (Zone 1 and Zone 2): attached and underground vehicular parking garages that are highly ventilated for exhaust.
Important Considerations
Codes and Regulations
International Building Code 1910.1
The thickness of concrete floor slabs supported directly on the ground shall not be less than 3 1/2 inches (89 mil). A 6-mil (.006 inch, 0.15mm) polyethylene vapor retarder with joints lapped not less than 6 inches (152 mm) shall be placed between the base course or subgrade and concrete floor slab, or other approved equivalent methods or materials shall be used to retard vapor transmission through the floor slab.Note: Some exceptions apply, mostly for non-occupied spaces.
Specifications
03 30 00 (03300) Cast-in-place Concrete Specification of vapor retarders should be included as part of the materials and methods section for concrete slabs. Specify lapping and seal requirements in cast-in-place concrete installation instructions (for slab-on-grade).
The information above refers to the Construction Specification Institutes (CSI) MasterFormat. The numbers listed above refer to some of the most relevant but not all of the possible MasterFormat sections related to this strategy. The 6-digit numbers refer to the newer 2004 MasterFormat edition. Numbers in parenthesis refer to the older 1995 edition.
Other Resources
Publications and Links
See full list of recommended resources and links in our library.
Related Strategies
| W1b: | Manage site and stormwater through design |
| Q1a: | Eliminate sources of indoor air pollution |
| M1: | Do a durability plan |
Related Scales
