Not every wall does.
Insulating knee walls vapor barrier.
Vapor barriers are sheets of plastic or other material placed on one side of insulation sheets.
The number one most important step in insulating and air sealing a knee wall is having a continuous air barrier.
Whether your vapor barrier is a facing or a film it must be placed on the warm in winter side of the wall.
Whether or not you need a vapor retarder hinges on three main factors.
Knee walls have r 13 fiberglass rolls also called batts in them covered with stapled on reflective insulation.
If you live in a hot humid climate.
Wow there s a lot of new stuff there.
The science of moisture movement.
Thus installing vapor barriers on wall surfaces must.
This barrier is meant to keep moisture from getting to the insulation in the walls and ceilings and it is required by building codes when insulating most houses.
In any case the vapor barrier must point to the warm side.
If you live in a cold climate place the vapor barrier between the interior of your home and the insulation.
Water vapor can pass through building materials in several ways including direct transmission and by heat transfer but studies suggest that fully 98 percent of the moisture transfer through walls occurs through air gaps including cracks around electrical fixtures and outlets and gaps along baseboards.
A vapor retarder is a material used to prevent water vapor from diffusing into the wall ceiling or floor during the cold winter.
Vapor barriers keep the air moisture in your house from condensing in the insulated cavities.
The biggest heat loss problems with knee walls are those gigantic holes in the air barrier.
So before we get into the details there are a few choices to make.