Page 2 - 2017-10-CFR Volume 109 - Back To Basics With Vinyl Flooring Installation - Also Polyester And Polyethylene Membranes October 2017

Another important factor is the substrate being level. Regardless of
whether the flooring material is floating or glued the substrate for all
flooring materials must be flat, level, clean and dry. Why would you
think just because the flooring is floating that the substrate should not
have to conform to ASTM Standard Practice for Preparing Concrete
Floors to Receive Resilient Flooring F710 which states in the first line,
“This practice covers the determination of the acceptability of a concrete The experts at LGM
floor for the installation of resilient flooring.” This standard has been ac- specialize in consultation, correction
cepted into every viable resilient flooring manufacturer’s installation and resolution for flooring complaints,
claims, installation and performance
guidelines. And although carpet tiles, broadloom carpet, wood flooring, issues.
WPC flooring, laminate flooring, coatings, films, and paints are not spe- No issue is too big, too small or too far
cifically intended to be included in the category of resilient floor cover- away for us to handle.
ings, the procedures included in this practice are useful and applicable All ads are interactive. Just click on
for preparing concrete floors to receive such flooring materials and fin- the ad to enter their website.
ishes. Suffice it to say that no matter what type of flooring material
you’re installing on a concrete slab, whether soft or hard goods, rigid or
pliable, the substrate must be clean and dry and level and flat. There
should be no exceptions to this; its common sense as well.

Now let’s go back to polyester and polyethylene. We’re talking here
about the use of these materials not as flooring but as a component of a
flooring system and in particular a moisture barrier product and a mem-
brane on a cushion. Polyethylene and polyester and we have to include
polypropylene as well, are water resistant materials. Polyethylene’s pri-
mary use is in packaging (plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes,
containers including bottles; it is hydrophobic. Polyester and polypro-
pylene are also hydrophobic. Hydrophobic means non-water absor-
bent; polyester is used in clothing, upholstery fabric and carpet and oth-
er applications.

POLYETHYLENE MOISTURE VAPOR BARRIER MEMBRANE

What is the significance of this and why do I bring this up? We recently
had a case with a failed double stick carpet installation that was

Page Layout By: Anita S. Drennon
2 Commercial Flooring Report October 2017