2008-03-01 BE AWARE OF DANGEROUS SITUATIONS INCLUDING MOISTURE

In a recent conversation with an executive of a specialty hospitality carpet manufacturer he was telling me about a situation they had encountered recently, in the lobby of a hotel for which they had custom made the carpet with the infield, out fill and border designed to fit this space as it was produced.  He got a phone call from the project manager at the hotel and was told the border for the carpet was not attached. Long story short they found out that the installers decided to cut the border off because they wanted to, seems they didn’t like the way it looked – I guess they felt their keen sense of design superseded that of the firm that originally specified the design and the custom making of the carpet.  Fortunately the border that was cut off had not yet made its way into the dumpster and was available to reinsert into the position it was intended for.  This was not going to be done without some effort and complicated undertaking in altering the original installation but a disaster in design was averted.  This situation may come as a surprise to most, it did to me, to hear that the installer, for reason only he knows, decided on his own that the border didn’t look good and therefore he cut it off.

Imagine the shock when this was noticed.  An integral element of the carpet, intact upon arrival made to fit in as a unit, gone because someone who had no part in the reason for its being, determined that it didn’t look good to them so let’s just eliminate it.

Another fact that exists with increasing frequency is the installer, lacking the skills required for working with expensive and intricately patterned woven goods, messing up the installation by mis-matching the pattern, not fitting the components properly together or not understanding how the product should be installed.  Further we find that by not actually going to the installation site to check the measurements of the space versus the design of the carpet the installation is compromised.  Worse yet is an installation firm not knowing what the carpet will be like that they have to install.  This one I really don’t understand.

Problems can also occur on the manufacturing side of the fence when the borders or out-fill of the carpet do not symmetrically fit the space.  In one recent situation we were involved in the manufacturer actually made part of the pattern backwards necessitating the replacement of 1,200 yards of carpet.  The carpet was re-made to replace the mistake but this was a costly error involving removal and re-installation and disposal of perfectly good carpet.  This type of mistake impacts the “green” aspect of the industry and it happens all too often.  The sustainability of products gets lost in the scheme of things and is not given the importance it deserves when a situation like this occurs. 

A scourge of the industry is still installation failures on concrete slabs and plywood for that matter in some instances. Plywood is a little different story that we won’t get into right now.  Benny Wood, one of our V.P.’s has written a column for this issue regarding moisture and alkalinity.  But what I want to mention here is a situation that has the potential to really wreak havoc on successful floor covering installations on concrete that has links to sustainability.

You’re going to be seeing more concrete poured that contains fly ash a component that allows qualification forLEEDScredits and speeds up the drying time of concrete.  The fly in the ointment, or in this matter the fly ash, is that nothing will stick to this type of concrete regardless of what you do. Fly ash is a carbon residue material that fights being stuck to in simple terms.  So you’re going to have to be extra vigilant and aware of what type of concrete is being used on new builds and involved in the process at an earlier stage to prevent specifying or trying to install flooring material that nothing will stick to.  You’ll have to request the components of the concrete to find out if it contains fly ash because looking at it won’t tell you.  This is information you can get from the general contractor or concrete contractor.   The problems created by the fly ash will necessitate, prior to any installation attempts, shot blasting the floor to open it up so sealers will stick to it and then you can install over the sealer – either a cementitious or polymeric sealer would work.  So if you have, or have had a problem like this you are now aware of it because it has surfaced in print.  Don’t get caught in a trap like this.  In this type situation you’re going to have to ask questions and get proof that you are getting a straight answer.  If you hear “just go ahead everything is alright” be afraid.  From a little calendar I have I’ll give you a quote.  “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth even has a chance to get its pants on.”  You want the truth so you don’t wind up losing those pants, your shirt and your first born to one of these problems.

Remember, if you need help with a flooring problem give us a call.  Lots of times just asking a question and getting it answered will head off an accident.  There’s no charge for asking questions.  And if you have a situation you’d like to share that we can write about so it helps others in the industry, no matter what your involvement in the industry is or what the flooring material may be, talk to me so we can keep others out of harms way.

Moisture and Alkalinity, Why the Mystery? – By Benny Wood

I would venture to say that the vast majority of flooring specialists, architects, specificers, contractors and manufacturers within the flooring industry have studied either some chemistry or biology at some point in their educational training. Why then, are we continuing to remain ignorant of the number one problem that faces all concerned when it comes to getting the proper “Performance” out of the floor covering we sell, warrant, and install on a daily basis?” That number one problem is the affects of moisture and alkalinity on floor covering products.

I have been in this industry nearly forty years and I have seen very little change in the understanding of the detrimental effects of excessive moisture and alkali (pH) among industry professionals.  Excessive moisture alone (above 3.0 lbs per 1000 square feet in 24 hours and/or above 75% relative humidity) can cause installation and product failures to all types of floor coverings including ceramic, tile, wood, vinyl and carpet.  Excessive moisture can create mold and mildew; can chemically turn an excellent adhesive into a whitish/chalky powder destroying the bond between the flooring and adhesive, in addition to providing the vehicle for alkali to change the color in the flooring material. So why then is moisture vapor emission (MVE) and pH the number one problem in the commercial flooring business?

I have served and trained personnel in the inspection and consulting field for several decades, yet in my new venture as a Vice-President with LGM and Associates, over 50% of the “problem” commercial installations I have visited and inspected have been moisture vapor emission and alkaline related problems. I am not talking room size problems; these are large commercial jobs such as entire hospitals and multi-floor high rise buildings.  In many cases the flooring contractors have been large and reputable.  The assumption is that they should have the knowledge and experience to prevent these types of problems – unfortunately that’s not always the case.

When the proper substrate testing, preparation and considerations are not performed by the contractors and the floor covering fails everyone begins to point fingers,   naturally to avoid the liability of the financial repercussion, which is inevitably very costly, time consuming, disruptive to business and very upsetting to the client.  Experts, such as LGM, are called in to determine who, what, why and where things went wrong. You simply cannot afford to remain ignorant of the technical aspects of concrete, adhesives and today’s floor coverings if you want to be successful.

Over the years I have served on several committees, been a member of FCICA, and most all other industry organizations. I have listened to and participated in many great seminars on moisture vapor emissions, pH, Calcium Chloride testing, and relative humidity/probes systems. I can’t understand with the technology and information that is available today, why the proper prep work could not be performed to present a floor ready to accept any type of floor covering.