Basement drywall repair / vapor barrier question

Post date: 2019-06-17 10:50:24

I am patching a hole in the drywall in the basement; should I also fix the vapor barrier behind the wall? Or nah?

So, the moisture problem on my basement wall seemed to be getting worse. I used a drywall saw to cut out the drywall that seemed moist/damp and found a small amount of moisture in the wall cavity and insulation behind the drywall. It seems like water had infiltrated through the exterior cement basement wall, making the cement clammy to the touch (like a "seep" through the cement, not a running leak). To fix the seep, I ended up getting my gutters cleaned and fixing the grade that runs against the exterior wall, which I think has stopped the moisture. The cement looks very dry now, even though we have had more rain.

But, now I have a gap in my drywall (roughly 1 foot square) and I pulled out the insulation that was behind that gap because it was damp/musty. There was also a plastic sheet between the drywall and the insulation, which I think was part of a vapor barrier system. It looked a lot like this. I accidentally cut the plastic sheet with my drywall saw when I cut the wall, but, also, some of the insulation was wet so I ended up pulling out more insulation and plastic beyond what I had accidentally cut. Basically, the whole 1'x1' area now has nothing between where the drywall will be and the exterior cement. The vapor barrier and insulation is cut open all around this hole.

Here's the question: do I need to do anything to fix the insulation and vapor barrier before I patch the drywall? Is it bad if I just slap a drywall patch over it and leave the vapor barrier/insulation alone? Part of my thinking is that, if I get "seeping" again, I'd prefer not to have a bunch of wet insulation in there again. But I don't really understand what the vapor barrier is supposed to be doing - and googling leads to a bunch of controversy about whether you need a vapor barrier or not, with some people saying that a vapor barrier just creates dampness behind the drywall.

Any other suggestions for things I should do before I seal it up? I have half a mind to put some kind of desiccant/moisture-remover behind the wall (like Oil-Dri stuff) on the chance that a little bit of moisture gets in again, but there is probably a good reason people don't do that.

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