Barrier-Bac

Project Owner: Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc.

Floor Space: 328,000 square feet

Architect: Adams & Associates, Mooresville, NC

Concrete Subcontractor: L.R. Cowan Concrete CO., Phoenix, AZ

Product: Barrier-Bac VB-350 16 mil vapor barrier

Background:

Construction is underway at the new Tanger Outlet Center Westgate. The project will feature about 85 brand-name stores in an open air mall on 38 acres located at loop 101 and Glendale Avenue in Glendale, AZ. The 328,000 square foot outlet center is oriented toward pedestrians, with landscaped courtyards and a park like atmosphere.

While it is still unannounced which stores will be located at the new Tanger Outlet Center Westgate, typical Tanger outlet centers, such as the Barstow, CA location, feature popular brands such as Banana Republic, Coach, Gap, Reebok and Tommy Hilfiger.

Conditions:

With annual customer traffic at the new Tanger Outlet Center Westgate estimated at 5 to 6 million visitors, the project architect, Adams & Associates, located in Mooresville, NC, designed the facility with heavy foot traffic in mind. As the floor coverings throughout the outlet center vary from store to store, to include moisture sensitive materials such as epoxy, engineered hard wood plank, terrazzo, VCT tiles and polished concrete, to mention a few, the decision was made to install a state-of-the-art moisture vapor barrier membrane beneath the concrete slab-on-grade.

How it works:

The moisture vapor barrier selected for the new Tanger Outlet Westgate, is Barrier-Bac VB-350, 16 mil vapor barrier. Barrier-Bac, an operating unit of the Inteplast Group, Ltd., manufactures VB-350 vapor barrier at its ISO certified manufacturing facility located in Lolita, TX. Barrier-Bac VB-350 vapor barrier membrane has extremely low water vapor permeance properties and is designed to restrict water vapor moisture from migrating through the concrete slab-on-grade, from the sub-grade, and causing damage to moisture sensitive floor coverings. Barrier-Bac VB-350 is also has high puncture and tensile strength, to be tough enough to withstand typical job site traffic, thereby reducing the risk of vapor barrier damage prior to concrete pouring.

Conclusion:

Barrier-Bac VB-350 vapor barrier membrane has successfully performed, protecting sensitive flooring systems, for now over 10 years and has been installed beneath over 100 million square feet of concrete slab-on-grade in the USA.