Whether the installation is residential or commercial installing flooring material on concrete slabs without testing the slab is like playing Russian Roulette with all the chambers in the gun loaded – plan for a failure sooner or later.
There are some basics you have to know to avoid problems. First, all concrete contains moisture whether it is above, on or below grade. No matter how old the concrete is you can still have a moisture issue. You can’t tell if concrete is dry by looking at it, touching it or smelling it. If you cover the concrete with a non-permeable flooring material without testing the concrete you’re asking for trouble. Just because there was no problem with a previous flooring material over a concrete substrate does not mean you won’t have a problem with the new flooring material. If you install flooring material over existing flooring material on a concrete slab where there was no problem before doesn’t mean you won’t have a problem now or in the future. If you test the concrete incorrectly or if the environment is not controlled you’re going to get false readings and risk the chance of the installation failing. If the environment where the flooring is installed fluctuates, that is if the HVAC system cycles on and off at night and on the weekends, you’ll likely have an installation failure. If you Fast Track building and try to do the same thing with the floor covering installation over concrete chances are you’ll have a failure. If someone says it’s OK to install without testing and without the proper conditions and that the slab looks alright a floor covering installation failure may very well be in your future. Words spoken do not change the laws of physics no matter how confident the speaker is. Science doesn’t respond to the spoken word. Just because the installation is in a dry climate doesn’t mean there won’t be a flooring installation failure. If you don’t heed the concrete and floor covering industry’s advice and guidelines for testing and installing floor covering chances are good you’ll have an installation failure. Just because you use a moisture control application doesn’t mean you won’t have a moisture related installation failure. If a moisture barrier membrane is not used under a new slab chances are high there will be a floor covering installation failure.
If this information scares you, good, it’s meant to because we are approaching epidemic levels of floor covering installation failures due to moisture. The cost of these failures is in the 100’s of millions of dollars. The floor covering material wasted is in the 100’s of thousands of yards. The wasted energy, materials, time and money to resolve these issues is incalculable.
Floor covering installation failures can be prevented but it’s imperative you be proactive. If testing is conducted properly according to the International Concrete Repair Institute certification guidelines and floor covering manufacturers’ guidelines. There is a great deal of conflicting information and belief about substrate moisture issues and floor covering installation failures particularly in the commercial flooring industry. Residential flooring installation is at risk too. With the changes in floor covering materials, recycled content backing increasing, non-permeable flooring materials’use increasing and everyone being in a hurry, the risks are greater than ever. Believe me, these are not problems you want to have. You’ll never lose more money than with a moisture related installation failure.
We can help. LGM has the industry’s best concrete moisture testing and installation failure experts as associates and we will get you answers.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts