Name: Stego Wrap 15 Mil - 14' x 140'
Brand: Stego
SKU: SW15-14-I
Price: 1066.75 USD
Availability: InStock

PRODUCT SPECS

Model: SW15-14

Dimensions: 14' x 140' - 15-Mil (1,960 SF)

Under-slab vapor retarder: Exceeds Class A, B, and C

Water Vapor Permeance: 0.0086 perms

Puncture Resistance: 2,266 grams

Tensile Strength: 70.6 lbf/in

Permeance after conditioning: 0.0098 perms, maximum

Weight: 147 lbs per roll

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PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

Can be used in commercial, residential, and industrial applications
Helps defend against soil gases (radon, methane)
Below concrete slab vapor barrier
Moisture proofing
Shield against floor failures
Toughest barrier available for most sensitive projects
Exceeds permeance requirements for its designated ASTM E1745 Class A
Resists vapor diffusion and moisture intrusion
Exceptional durability
Resists deterioration
Low maintenance needed
Simple, dependable installation

Other Stego Products:

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Product Guide

SDS

Installation Guide

Spec Sheet

Data Sheet

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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15 Mil Vapor Barrier Being Rolled Out

Serious Issues You Should Know About Generic Poly Barriers

Probably the most important feature of an effective under-slab vapor barrier is its durability. If the material is not good, it will deteriorate and fail to protect the building whose envelope has been compromised. The failure can happen directly after installation if punctured or torn before concrete placement. Also, when the material cannot withstand the difficult below-slab environment, it will deteriorate over time.

Visqueen

Generic low-quality polyethylene is often referred to as “Visqueen” which is also the trade name of the product offered by the British Polythene Limited and sold in the UK. Their product is the perfect example of a material that is considered defective as a vapor barrier. On top of that, degrading overtime is usually caused by its poor ability to withstand installation!

Generic Vapor Barriers Vs Class A Vapor Barrier

The best way to explain the difference why generic polythene is defective as a vapor barrier when comparing it with other vapor materials the meet the standard specifications for plastic water vapor retarders (ASTM E1745). Polythene is a thin material, loaded with inconsistencies such as nodules, variations of thickness, and tears very easily.A Class A vapor barrier is actually the complete opposite. Hopefully, this article will help you understand how high-performance plastic films, specifically those designed as under-slab vapor barriers are constructed.We are going to review the 3 main issues with Visqueen vapor retarders and why they are not a good element for constructing buildings. You will understand why selecting high-performance vapor barriers matters a great deal to the owners, designers, and builders of these buildings.

The 3 Leading Problems With Generic Poly Vapor Barriers

Problem #1

Cheap, recycled resins create weak ineffectual films. You need Prime, Fist-Melt Resins are Critical for Effective Under-Slab Vapor Barriers.

Problem Number One is the complex material science matter but with a little basic knowledge in polymer chemistry, it will be easier to understand.

High-performance under-slab vapor barriers basically use polyolefins. “olefin” refers to a class of plastic monomers such as ethylene and propylene with different atomic structures. On a basic level, they are all hydrocarbons, and “poly” means that these materials are strung together in large chains. The length of the chains and the degree of branching them, in large part, is determined by the quality of the resins and the physical characteristics of the finished goods. The chain length and ranching seem to go well with the density of the bulk plastic, especially when dealing with polyethylene. We do have a habit of classifying products by their density such as low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), etc.

The right chains and chain lengths, branching, sub-branching, etc takes a good knowledge in both science and technology and many of these firms that make polymer resins are very skilled at what they do. Resin suppliers can produce a large variety of materials with different degrees of conformance for almost any material specification that an end-user can come up with. This has become even more significant with the rise in costs along with the product’s performance. To get the desired properties in an under-slab film, prime resins are the key factor.

Crete Claw Used for Vapor Barrier Install

Impact Resistance: the ability to withstand punctures
Impact Resistance: the ability to withstand punctures
Water Vapor Permeability: to prevent water vapor diffusion through the membrane

Other terms:

Prime resins mean resins that meet specific material specifications which in turn provides the assurance that the right physical properties can be obtained when the pelletized prime resins are compounded, extruded, and blown into a film.

Outside of prime, resins can fall into other classes from moving down the hierarchy. Toward the bottom is the “Wide-spec” or “off-spec”, the feedstock or raw material of most generic films are those used to make trash bags.

Virgin resins are resins that have not been made into a finished good as of yet. Recycled lack 2 two key distinctions. Recycled resins are intended to be cheap even though you can breakdown a plastic into its base monomers and repolymerize those feedstocks into a high-quality product. While this process is very new, the resulting materials are very expensive.

Pre-consumer and post-consumer materials are cleaned, re-ground, possibly re-pelletized or compounded with other additives, then sent back through the extrusion process to be blown into a film. Remelting a plastic adds heat to its history which breaks apart some of its complex chemical chains and affects the strength of the resin film during the process. The more a product is recycled, the more the heat history will impact the film. Contamination or residual inks that were not removed can lead to an array of issues such as concentrated pockets of non-melting materials such as carbon to voids or cross-linking which can be seen as gels or hard nodules in the material. Each of these issues can lead to stress and loss of strength in the film.

An under-slab retarder with this problem is inferior content which is unlikely to stand up to the demands on construction and traffic from a construction site. It can lead to subpar protection in the installation system.

Aerial View of Stego Wrap Installation

Problem Number Two - Oxidation & Its Relentless Effect On Plastic

Processing and re-processing of plastic resin require a lot of heat energy. The added energy can break polymer chains and decrease the length of chains which can impair the strength of the plastic. Increasing oxidation along a chain, electrons will be stripped from the polymer. In turn, this can cause cross-linking or objectionable branching which will negatively affect the properties of the finished product.

Reprocessed or recycled material most likely will be weaker than the original plastic that provided the raw material and will probably lack the other needed properties. As an example, if the recycling is for trash bags or a park bench all’s fine and good, but if the materials are meant for protecting a building for life, a recycled or reprocessed material will not be up to the challenge.

Without a doubt, oxidation is a relentless process that affects a lot of plastics. It is also more dangerous for several reasons:

Oxidation will take place whenever a polymer chain gives up an electron to an oxidizing agent. Even though oxygen is a critical part of our atmosphere, it’s also a strong oxidizing agent. Contaminants in the soil, such as metals, where many vapor barriers are placed can act as an oxidizing agent.
Sunlight, ultraviolet light to be exact, has the right amount of energy to break down polymer chains and strip electrons from the polymer at critical places. Sunlight is impossible to avoid on a job site or a project even if the wrap is only exposed just before concrete placement. Constant sunlight will come in contact with a Visqueen vapor barrier while it sits out on the site waiting to be installed or waiting for the concrete pour. It will accelerate product breakdown, negatively affecting the plastic’s long-term performance.
Oxidation of polyethylene is called an autocatalytic process which is a single reaction if one of the reaction products is also a catalyst for the same reaction. The greater degree of oxidation, the more oxidation will take place in the future. A massively recycled product is at a great disadvantage when it comes to oxidation which will lead to future negative effects in comparison to virgin prime material.

Because Visqueen vapor retarders are usually cheap, the addition of helpful antioxidant compounds are often overlooked for economic reasons. There are 3 variables that stand out as why Visqueen is defective:

Cannot withstand installation
Will degrade overtime
Oxidation has already set in on the material before ever rolling out on the site.

Problem Number Three – Lacking Multi-Layer Co-Extrusion

Visqueen vapor barrier is only as good as the weakest point when recycled.

Not all the properties needed for an effective vapor barrier are present with a single polymer density combination. Some properties include puncture strength, permeance, chemical resistance, etc. The most effective high-performance under-slab vapor barriers are usually multi-layered co-extrusions of different densities and even different polymers or co-polymers which will isolate the function of each layer from its neighboring counterpart.

Materials that are the best match for resisting degradation, chemicals found in the soil, or stand up well against wear and tear at job sites can be located at the outer layers, protecting inner layers of a multi-layer co-extruded film or effectively, allowing to fulfill whatever specialized role they use for the film.

Stego Wrap 15 Mil at Construction Site

A generic poly vapor barrier made from recycled resins is usually meant to be cheap. There is little to no specialization in the layers if co-extruded at all. It is highly unlikely that a generic film would have any layers for strategic purposes. Instead, you will find quite average properties throughout the film. Individual properties of the whole film compared to a co-extrusion with specialized layers will deteriorate making the end product worth less than the individual parts. This can be a huge problem for properties of the film that depend on uniformity throughout, such as water vapor permeance. There are similar concerns with recycled materials leading to the contamination that can be brought in if the plastics used together are not compatible. The plastic can lose cohesive strength and further deteriorate on the job site under foot and machine traffic.

The biggest reason Visqueen is still found on sites is that it’s cheap. How it’s made explains a lot, but the biggest reason for its defectiveness is its under-slab vapor retarder capabilities or lack thereof.

Your Choice Is Critical And Very Clear

Face the facts, your building products must be able to withstand time while maintaining their integrity throughout the building’s lifetime. Generic poly has a history of failing which will lead to a mountain of problems over the years such as the concrete foundation, the indoor air quality, the failure of other building components such as the flooring. You only have one chance to install good vapor protection below the slab-on-grade building. Why would you take a chance using building products that are not guaranteed for long-term protection?

Stego Wrap 15 Mil - 14' x 140'

PRODUCT SPECS

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

Other Stego Products:

Stego Wrap 20 Mil - 14' x 105'