Vapour barrier tape for fridge

[Hoghead]

In Canada we have red, now new improved blue "Tuck" tape to seal the poly vapour barrier between the house and insulation

I am building a fridge box and want to employ a poly vapour barrier but no such tape here in The Philippines.
Before I import some, is there a reasonable alternative - aluminium foil tape?

[Hoghead]

Or some sealant goop?
I see references to acoustical sealant, but no idea what that is called in the PH or even if available

IIRC my Contractor used both Tuck tape and goop on one of my houses in Vancouver

Is there a substitute under another name?

There is always 5200!

[Typhoon]

Tin tape works just fine as well . Also look for blue tuck tape . Make sure you use a 6mm vapour barrier film .

Regards John

[rbk]

You can try SAM tape (self adhearing membrane) it’s like butyl with a plastic backing. If you can find it Siga Tapes’s WigaLuv tape is 1000 times better than tuck tape, red or blue. Not sure what you can find there but a SAM type flashing tape is probably your best bet.

[Hoghead]

Does the vapour barrier go on the warm side like my Cdn house, cold side, both sides.......

It can get pretty humid here in rainy season

[john61ct]

Inside is high priority.

Most can't get to the outermost layer when the built-in box is already in place, but it wouldn't hurt to have more than one.

You certainly don't want your foam regularly getting wet, even if it is a type that doesn't absorb much.

[Terra Nova]

Aluminum foil tape or aluminized Mylar tape.

[hellosailor]

In the States, "Tuck" brand tape is just a cheaper version of Scotch (brand) cellophane tape, what the Brits call "cello tape". Originally cellophane with a layer of rubber cement based adhesive on it, nothing special. Except some aged and yellowed and the adhesive released faster, one reason that Scotch beat Tuck on the US market.

Sounds like you could use 3M's "storage" grade (long lasting adhesive) of clear packaging tape for this. Same thing, a cellophane tape of material with a very durable adhesive on it, instead of the cheaper one designed for immediate boxing and shipping.

That should be cheaper than the mylar (aluminum coated plastic) tape which is used to seal air conditioning ducting, but that also should do the job very well. This is not to be confused with the much more expensive metal tape (aluminum or stainless) used for gutters and flashing.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Inside is high priority.

Most can't get to the outermost layer when the built-in box is already in place, but it wouldn't hurt to have more than one.

You certainly don't want your foam regularly getting wet, even if it is a type that doesn't absorb much.

No. VB goes to the warm side. If you put it to the cold side it will sweat on the warm side and your foam will get wet regularly. The VB is not protection against water, it’s a barrier against vapour diffusion and if you put it to the wrong side it will make its own water as warm moist air condenses on the cool impermeable surface. For this application forget the VB and go with a low permeability foam ie foil faced polyiso or ccspf (closed cell spray polyurethane foam 2lb> density) something with a low perm rating to keep warm moist air from ever reaching the cold surface. What are you linning the inside with? That will most likely have a very low permeability and will probably create its own VB. Seal it well and bond the insulation to the back with zero air space to avoid surface area for water to condense. If you can get an inch of low perm foam bonded to your finished interior surface you’ll be doing very good.

[Hoghead]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

In the States, "Tuck" brand tape is just a cheaper version of Scotch (brand) cellophane tape, what the Brits call "cello tape". Originally cellophane with a layer of rubber cement based adhesive on it, nothing special. Except some aged and yellowed and the adhesive released faster, one reason that Scotch beat Tuck on the US market.

Sounds like you could use 3M's "storage" grade (long lasting adhesive) of clear packaging tape for this. Same thing, a cellophane tape of material with a very durable adhesive on it, instead of the cheaper one designed for immediate boxing and shipping.

That should be cheaper than the mylar (aluminum coated plastic) tape which is used to seal air conditioning ducting, but that also should do the job very well. This is not to be confused with the much more expensive metal tape (aluminum or stainless) used for gutters and flashing.

The "Tuck" blue tape (or the older red now regulated to the outer Tyvek sheathing) we are referring to in Canada is assuredly not Scotch (or Tuck) "cello"" tape no matter what the grade.
A B.C. building inspector would have a fit and issue a big red card if one tried to use cello tape on a vapour barrier.

The old code allowed for Tyvek tape on an interior barrier, but I do not know if this is still the case

The cost of a single roll of tape is inconsequential given the cost of the project and downside cost if the insulation gets wet. I would rather have the right stuff, and if that means buying a costly local product so be it.
My problem is finding the right local product in the Philippines.

[chris mac]

I do siding, and building wrap in alberta. The code is changing from the red tuck tape to the blue. I'm in the process of shutting down so haven't tried the blue version yet.
The red does work as an air barrier until about -15c. Any colder than that and the adhesive doesn't stick. It been an ongoing frustration of mine. Hopefully the blue is better.
I would focus on temp ratings of anything sourced locally. I doubt they have much need for cold rated products there.
Vapour barrier is more important on the warm side, and I have always liked acoustic seal for that. It stays plyable through most temps and as long as it isn't exposed, has no problems.
On the cold side excessive overlap of the barrier is as important as a good seal. Any moisture that does get through, needs a way out or the insulation is ruined.
On buildings, that means leaving the bottom and top untaped, to allow air movement and water shed. Not sure how you accomplish that in a cold box.
Good luck

[Hoghead]

Originally Posted by rbk

No. VB goes to the warm side. If you put it to the cold side it will sweat on the warm side and your foam will get wet regularly. The VB is not protection against water, it’s a barrier against vapour diffusion and if you put it to the wrong side it will make its own water as warm moist air condenses on the cool impermeable surface. For this application forget the VB and go with a low permeability foam ie foil faced polyiso or ccspf (closed cell spray polyurethane foam 2lb> density) something with a low perm rating to keep warm moist air from ever reaching the cold surface. What are you linning the inside with? That will most likely have a very low permeability and will probably create its own VB. Seal it well and bond the insulation to the back with zero air space to avoid surface area for water to condense. If you can get an inch of low perm foam bonded to your finished interior surface you’ll be doing very good.

That is what I thought, but the pics of fridge boxes with vapour barrier on the cold side gave me pause.

If I have to deconstruct the countertop and box, I then can install the barrier on the warm side with a bit of contortionist work.

I had planned for the box will be 12mm marine ply, epoxy infused, fibreglassed over both sides using epoxy resin, gelcoat or epoxy paint on the inside. EPS, AB, or EPS + AB foam on the exterior
Are you suggesting an interior layer of EPS as well then glassed, or the interior bare EPS?

Can one expoy paint EPS?

Might be a good idea to write a fridge box building sticky?

[Hoghead]

Originally Posted by chris mac

I do siding, and building wrap in alberta. The code is changing from the red tuck tape to the blue. I'm in the process of shutting down so haven't tried the blue version yet.
The red does work as an air barrier until about -15c. Any colder than that and the adhesive doesn't stick. It been an ongoing frustration of mine. Hopefully the blue is better.
I would focus on temp ratings of anything sourced locally. I doubt they have much need for cold rated products there.
Vapour barrier is more important on the warm side, and I have always liked acoustic seal for that. It stays plyable through most temps and as long as it isn't exposed, has no problems.
On the cold side excessive overlap of the barrier is as important as a good seal. Any moisture that does get through, needs a way out or the insulation is ruined.
On buildings, that means leaving the bottom and top untaped, to allow air movement and water shed. Not sure how you accomplish that in a cold box.
Good luck

I plan to only vapour barrier the warm side if it can be accessed. If not then I have to rely on low permeability foam.

"Acoustical" sealant seems to be unavailable here from common building sources, although I have not been able to find anyone in the sound attenuation business as of yet.
I have found some rubber based sealants with 300% elongation used in roof and gutter flashing, that apparently do not harden completely.

Aluminium tape is readily available as well

[rbk]

Originally Posted by Hoghead

That is what I thought, but the pics of fridge boxes with vapour barrier on the cold side gave me pause.

If I have to deconstruct the countertop and box, I then can install the barrier on the warm side with a bit of contortionist work.

I had planned for the box will be 12mm marine ply, epoxy infused, fibreglassed over both sides using epoxy resin, gelcoat or epoxy paint on the inside. EPS, AB, or EPS + AB foam on the exterior
Are you suggesting an interior layer of EPS as well then glassed, or the interior bare EPS?

Can one expoy paint EPS?

Might be a good idea to write a fridge box building sticky?

Ideally if you can remove the countertop, pre-build your liner as you’ve described, bed the bottom in ccspf, fill the sides in3-4” lifts (let cure 30 min between lifts) overfill slightly, cut excess at top and replace countertop. Even gap filler foam cans would do the trick IF you can even find those there. If not bond eps (double check compatibility, xps and polyester resin don’t go well, but styrene is a main component in epoxy and they make surf boards with foam glass sandwiches all the time) directly to the liner (don’t put another layer inside, this does go against the science but you have to compromise here, keybos to keep warm moist air from getting to cold surface by reducing permeability and increasing the temperature gradient over a greater distance ie more insilation, while keeping a mold and moisture proof liner) As mentioned above blue tuck is now the standard for exterior air barriers (water resistant but high permeability to water vapour, not liquid water) but you really shouldn’t need it if you can source the right materials.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by chris mac

I do siding, and building wrap in alberta. The code is changing from the red tuck tape to the blue. I'm in the process of shutting down so haven't tried the blue version yet.
The red does work as an air barrier until about -15c. Any colder than that and the adhesive doesn't stick. It been an ongoing frustration of mine. Hopefully the blue is better.
I would focus on temp ratings of anything sourced locally. I doubt they have much need for cold rated products there.
Vapour barrier is more important on the warm side, and I have always liked acoustic seal for that. It stays plyable through most temps and as long as it isn't exposed, has no problems.
On the cold side excessive overlap of the barrier is as important as a good seal. Any moisture that does get through, needs a way out or the insulation is ruined.
On buildings, that means leaving the bottom and top untaped, to allow air movement and water shed. Not sure how you accomplish that in a cold box.
Good luck

Chris,
You are a rare contractor.I’ve argued your points with contractors time and time again.FYI the blue stuff doesn’t do much better in the cold either, sticks easier at first then peels off later if not covered immediately. Gotta get bare hands out and warm it into the house wrap either red or blue.