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Do I need water vapor barriers on a this SIP and stud double wall? – GreenBuildingAdvisor
- June 22, 2025
- Posted by: sherwin@eyeconz.com
- Category: Uncategorized
We are building a house near St. Paul MN and we have a double wall consisting of 8″ SIP panels with Neopor GPS on the outside (R40) and a 2×4 wall assembly with studs on 16 inch centers that is 2 1/2 inches away from the SIP panels with dense pack cellulose (overall 6 inches of dense pack cellulose) (R20) for an overall insulated wall of R60. We will have a vapor permeable membrane on the outside wall. The design temperature for St. Paul, MN is -11 degrees F. The record low temperature is -34 degrees. My question is in regards to moisture management. If I have the inside of the house at 74 degrees maximum temperature and 40% relative humidity, do I need to be concerned about condensation buildup in cellulose insulation of the inner walls? Do I need a vapor retarder somewhere within this wall sandwich? If so, what is recommended and where should it go? The walls are going up now so if we need it we need to add it soon.
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