Page 2 - 2018-10-CFR Volume 121 - It's Not Always Moisture - October 2018

tells you at the time it is taken. The experts at LGM
If the concrete slab is old it
may not have bothered any- specialize in consultation, cor-
thing for years sitting idly ex- rection and resolution for floor-
posed. Or it may have had an ing complaints, claims, installa-
old flooring installed on it such
as broadloom carpet which is tion and performance issues.
permeable or old vinyl asbes-
tos tiles installed with asphal- No issue is too big, too small or
tic adhesive – cut back (the too far away for us to handle.
black stuff) – that is not affect-
ed by moisture. All ads are interactive. Just click
• One of the things that you must consider is the age on the ad to enter their website.

of the slab you’re going to install on. If it was We are now posting the
placed on grade over 20 years ago for example, CFR on LinkedIn. Just click
chances are there was no vapor retarder used or a the image below or search
very thin one (less than 15 mills – 15 thousandths
of an inch) that is ineffective and the slab is being under Lew Migliore and
hydrated by what’s going on beneath it and this can let’s connect!!
be an ever-changing series of events.
• A vapor retarder was used, and it was very thin and compromised.
• Water entered the slab laterally and flowed under the slab.
• A pipe broke or drain is leaking beneath the slab or any number of
conditions do or did exist to create a condition hidden that you
would not be aware of until the installation failed.
So, along you come to install new flooring, likely some type of vinyl or
hard backed product, you test
the substrate, the numbers
look good, they meet the man-
ufacturers installation guide-
lines, which by the way have
no basis in science and you
think you’re good to go, you
prep the substrate and install
the flooring. The new flooring
is not permeable, which
means moisture vapor will not
pass through it but rises from
the concrete, condenses into
liquid when it meets the new
flooring which is acting as a topical moisture vapor barrier, not retarder
but barrier, it languishes beneath the flooring slowly compromising the
adhesive. Or if the adhesive is not affected by the moisture or isn’t
supposed to be, the moisture still passes through the adhesive and
comes in contact with the flooring which initiates a reaction and a re-
sultant failure.

Page Layout By: Anita S. Drennon

2 Commercial Flooring Report October 2018