This week, we’re going to give you a “pro tip” that will make installation of vapour barrier a whole lot easier.

If interior walls are going to be installed before the ceiling vapour barrier, staple a strip of vapour barrier on the ceiling where the wall is going to go before the wall is lifted into place. This gives a continuous barrier above the wood of the interior wall, and makes the later installation of vapour barrier a lot easier: it also means no worries about using acoustic sealant on that wall, because there is no need.

This simple trick ports over very nicely into more high-end construction where fire-rated drywall is required on the ceiling. In these cases, the drywall must be installed before the walls: failure to do so will result in some costly and time-consuming alterations after the fact.