The future of technology is being built, quite literally, on data centers. From artificial intelligence to cloud infrastructure and streaming services, today’s innovations rely on the uptime—the measure of continuous, uninterrupted operation—and the performance of these mission-critical environments.
Data centers are designed with meticulous attention to power, cooling, and network performance. Yet a critically underestimated threat to uptime and reliability originates below ground: moisture. Beneath the concrete slab, water vapor can infiltrate the facility silently, causing long-term damage to sensitive equipment, degrading flooring systems, and risking operational failure. With over two decades of experience serving construction teams, Stego has seen this issue arise time and time again. And once the slab is placed, it's either too late—or too costly—to start over. That’s why incorporating a high-performance vapor barrier, like Stego Wrap, is essential in the construction of reliable, long-lasting environments.
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Why are Vapor Barriers Important in Data Center Construction? |
Moisture may not be visible, but its effects can be catastrophic. Elevated relative humidity in concrete slabs can lead to:
Most commercial buildings face these challenges to some degree, but data centers are especially vulnerable. Even minor moisture intrusion can disrupt operations, triggering unplanned outages, equipment failures, or emergency maintenance—all of which contribute to costly and avoidable downtime. With so much at stake, controlling moisture from the ground up is a critical first step in ensuring long-term performance, uptime, and reliability.
A vapor barrier, often installed beneath the slab during early stages of construction, acts as a shield against water vapor transmission from the soil. In data center applications, the stakes are higher: any compromise in the building envelope can lead to system failures, unplanned maintenance, and serious financial repercussions.
Designers of high-performance facilities aren’t simply checking a box for code compliance—they're specifying materials that meet the demands of mission-critical environments. With expensive equipment and constant uptime on the line, the difference between a 10-Mil minimum and a 15-Mil or 20-Mil solution matters. That’s why forward-thinking teams turn to products with a long-standing track record of performance, site support, and durability. Stego Wrap Vapor Barrier has become the industry standard for under-slab protection because it offers low permeance, high puncture resistance, and long-term protection even in the most demanding environments.
Stego Wrap is more than just a plastic sheet under concrete. It is a multi-layer barrier engineered to resist moisture migration, soil gases, and even aggressive site conditions. Its installation is simple, but its impact is far-reaching. For data centers, that means:
While the Uptime Institute Tier Standards (Tier I through Tier IV) don’t mandate specific materials, they emphasize redundancy, fault tolerance, and environmental control—all of which are supported by using a high-performance below-slab vapor barrier. From reducing the risk of equipment failure to enabling long-term maintainability, a vapor barrier plays a vital role in aligning with Tier-level expectations for performance and reliability.
Adapted from Uptime Institute Tier Standard: Topology. uptimeinstitute.com/tier-certification
For Tier III and Tier IV data centers especially, the vapor barrier becomes a foundational layer of resilience, supporting the facility’s mission of uninterrupted performance from the ground up.
Stego also provides extensive field support, resources, and project-specific consultation—a critical advantage in high-stakes construction projects.
Today’s data centers operate at the edge of performance. The margin for error is thin, and downtime can cost thousands of dollars per minute. Installing a high-performance under-slab vapor barrier might seem like a small decision during the early phases of construction, but it can have profound implications years down the line.
Consider the ripple effect of slab moisture infiltration:
Each of these can degrade reliability, and when stacked together, they erode the very resilience data centers are designed to provide.
According to Concrete International, an underside vapor barrier does more than reduce vapor transmission—it acts as an isolation layer, separating the concrete slab from underlying moisture and contaminants. As Scott Tarr explains, “An underside vapor barrier can serve to isolate the concrete from sulfates, thus creating the minimum Exposure Class S0.” (Concrete International, July 2022)
ACI Code-318-25 defines these exposure classes to address risks such as moisture intrusion, chemical attack, rehydration, and corrosion of embedded steel. By isolating the slab from these threats, a properly specified vapor barrier helps preserve environmental control, equipment longevity, and uptime—disrupting the full chain of moisture-related failures.
To help mitigate risk in data center projects, contractors and specifiers should follow a moisture protection strategy that includes:
✔ Specifying a Class A vapor barrier with <0.01 perms (Stego Wrap meets this criteria)
✔ Choosing a 15-Mil or 20-Mil vapor barrier to stand up to heavy construction traffic and equipment loads
✔ Installing the barrier continuously across the entire footprint
✔ Sealing all seams, penetrations, and terminating edges properly
✔ Protecting the barrier during slab prep to prevent punctures or tears
These practices aren’t just recommendations—they’re industry best practices that align with ASTM E1643 and the performance expectations of modern facilities.
You only get one chance to install a vapor barrier beneath your data center. It’s not a component that can be retrofitted or replaced later without substantial cost or disruption. Choosing a trusted product like Stego Wrap is not just a materials decision—it’s a strategic one.
In an environment where uptime is everything and failure is not an option, protecting your facility from the ground up is a fundamental part of your reliability strategy.