Page 3 - 2018-10-CFR Volume 121 - It's Not Always Moisture - October 2018

This last issue is going to create havoc in the indus- October 2018
try because the claim will be that the adhesive is a
moisture barrier, did what it was supposed to do and
it must be an installation problem which it won’t be.
Take the time to read the warranties on some of
these new so-called moisture mitigating adhesives
before you drink the Kool Aid on this stuff. If some-
thing seems to good to be true it probably is. And,
going back to a statement in the opening section of
this issue, every concrete slab is unique so there is
no universal method to prevent it from messing up
the installation and the flooring. Even the best mois-
ture mitigation system can be compromised so noth-
ing, when it comes to moisture, is ever 100%.
The concrete mix – you can’t possibly know what’s
going on with the concrete mix design. This is a very
complex issue which involves the knowledge of
chemistry and concrete design as well as a myriad of
other factors.

New concrete contains water, aggregate, cement
and a variety of additives both chemical and mineral
that have a purpose for whatever their use. You as
flooring contractors or commercial end users have
no knowledge of the concrete mix or design. There
are chemicals, minerals and even the water used in
the mix that contain components that can cause a
failure of anything installed on top of the concrete.
This fact goes well beyond just moisture in concrete
and these things are hiding in plain site where you’ll
never see them because you don’t know anything
about them nor should you be expected to. They are
out of the realm of your knowledge. This is science
you’d never be aware of. That’s our job to deter-
mine when you have a failure and it goes well be-
yond anything related to flooring or installation. This
issue falls into a whole different category of expertise
and it is very complex, complicated and involved.
Before you need resuscitation let’s look
at some fairly simple things that you can
understand and do something about.

3 Commercial Flooring Report