Protect your roof insulation and prevent mold with a vapor barrier

The roof of your house is one of the most important places where heat escapes. Up to 35% of your home's heat can be lost through the roof. That's why it's important to insulate your house well. But when insulating, it's crucial to protect your insulation from moisture. Fortunately, you can use a vapor barrier for that.

What is a vapor barrier?

When applying insulation, it is important to consider moisture present in your home in the form of water vapor. Did you know that a household can produce up to 10 liters of moisture per day? For example, through showering, cooking, washing, and breathing? Most of this moisture is removed through mechanical ventilation, but another part condenses. This means that the warm, moist air cools against a colder surface and then settles as moisture. Insulation loses its function when it becomes moist. A vapor barrier protects your insulation from moisture. It is an impermeable film that you place on the warm side of the roof. This prevents water condensation from penetrating the roof insulation.

Prevent moisture problems with a vapor barrier

If you don't install a vapor barrier when insulating your roof, moisture will eventually penetrate your insulation material. And when insulation becomes moist, it loses its insulating value. Not only that, but you may also experience brown and black spots on your walls due to mold formation. Additionally, there's a risk that mold will damage your roof structure. Fortunately, you can easily prevent these problems with a vapor barrier. It prevents mold,
extends the lifespan of your roof and insulation, and ultimately provides greater energy savings, as your insulation retains its insulating value.

Installing a vapor barrier

When insulating your roof, a vapor barrier is almost always necessary. We ensure that the vapor barrier completely covers your insulation. This is important because if it doesn't fit well, it won't be effective. When installing a vapor barrier, we make sure it forms a complete shield over your insulation and that there are no gaps or cracks. If we use PIR insulation, we place the vapor barrier on the rafters on the outside. The PIR insulation is placed on top of that,
and the chosen roofing is placed on top.

Reusing bitumen on flat roofs

Sometimes there are exceptions on flat roofs. There is often already a bitumen layer. This layer can potentially be reused to protect the insulation. It then acts as a vapor barrier. The condition is that this layer is still completely waterproof and in good condition. Is that the case? Then it's not necessary to install an additional vapor barrier. If the bitumen layer is aged and not 100% waterproof, it's better to remove the layer and install a
vapor barrier. On sloped roofs, there is usually no vapor barrier or alternative present. Therefore, when insulating sloped roofs, we always install a vapor barrier.

Extra assurance

In 80% of roof insulations, we choose PIR insulation, a synthetic insulation material with a high insulating value. The PIR insulation we use has an aluminum layer on both sides. This layer is already vapor-retardant. To ensure that no moisture can escape, we also install an extra vapor barrier when using PIR insulation. This way, you can be sure that no moisture can penetrate your insulation.

Contact

You can contact us for insulating your roof. We ensure the correct installation of the insulation and take into account all important points, such as installing a vapor barrier. Our advisors can also advise you on which grants you can apply for roof insulation and where you can do so. We are happy to think along with you and take the work off your hands. Want to know more about having your roof insulated? Contact us.