Can I Place a Vapor Barrier over my old torn up one in the crawlspace? Or do i need to remove the old one?

Question

There was a leak which is now fixed that caused a slight flood in my crawlspace. Water has been removed and its dried out but the vapor barrier was damaged and now i noticed it gets very damp in there at times. Plus a little smelly.

Answer 1

I agree with Dean M

to remove the musty smell buy a bag of charcoal ,open it and place under the crawl space this will take care of it .

Answer 2

Remove the old barrier before installing the new one. If you don't, moisture will be trapped between the 2 barriers and mold will occur.

Answer 3

You need to treat this like it is brand new.  Take it back to the way it was originally with insulation and vapor barrier.  Remove all of old stuff and replace with new.  2 vapor barriers will be a moisture trap and cause more problems.

Answer 4

There is no reason not to just put the new one over the old vapor barrier. Mold has to have something to live on like paper products. The new vapor barrier will also be partially protected from puncture by the old one when you have to get down in there again. I usually put a barrier on the walls first and cut it a little long so it overlaps the flat area. then I install the barrier so that it overlaps the other. I do not join them in any way since it can be damaged the next time by needing to flex a little bit when a person crawls on it. Hope this helps!