A concrete floor with a too high moisture content can wreak havoc on a vinyl floor. It is a bit chilly on your feet in the winter. These give either lbs of vapor emission from the slab or an internal relative humidity. We’re trying to figure out if there’s a way to dry the slab without having to rip out all of the tile. Good luck. For example, slabs may get power troweled to speed up preparations for flooring. Good luck. In these cases, moisture developing at the surface is definitely very probable. How to Test a Concrete Floor for Excessive Moisture. The calcium chloride test is an older method for measuring the moisture level of concrete flooring. I assume that the Zinsser is somehow trapped between the concrete and the backing, is that a reasonable assumption? First, I apologize for missing the original question. So it may be coming up through the concrete and once it gets to the surface, it evaporates and is processed through the dehumidifier. I bought the house in 1994 and the seller had had the house carpeted. This usually happens when concrete slabs and the other materials that sweat reach dew point temperature. Thanks, Heidi. At that point, the slab has the moisture it will hold for the long term. For instance, you take your readings prior to installing a hardwood floor and the subfloor moisture content is 10% and the strip Hardwood was at 7%. Thanks for the question. My guess is that it isn’t an issue, but I would still bring it up to your field person and have them explain to you what it was or may be. Good luck. I am a first owner of a house that was built in 2016 and live in Northern Colorado. Combined with leaks at floor and ceiling joints and around door and window frames (usually the points of greatest air leakage in buildings), this adds up to a tidy sum of air and moisture flowing into (or through) wall cavities. I called a service and they said to dry the layer below the laminate will cost thousands of dollars, that the laminate will be taken away and after drying the area a new laminate will be put in the washroom.And the whole washroom is about 1,5 square meters.I need your advice if there is another solution for the problem, We replaced two more toilet bowls by ourselves couple of months later and now I am scared if water is leaking under these two toilet bowls too. In february 2019 we replaced the the toilet bowl but we replaced it by ourselves following the instructions of the toilet bowel manufacturer. Take some newspapers or paper towels and put them in a few areas, placing something on top of them to weight them down. With the carpet that was originally installed, it would have been very breathable and you may have never noticed an issue. We also noticed some black spots through out all th ceiling of th first floor. In general, your floor structure design sounds valid if there isn’t moisture also coming up through the slab. Often, more than one method is used to get an accurate reading of actual moisture content. I’d like to know what we need too look for, and correct as a next step. There are three standard methods for measuring concrete moisture. A concrete floor seems like the perfect base for a vinyl floor installation. I would consult the vinyl floor manufacturer for compatibility prior to purchasing. Carpet is very breathable and, obviously, so is bare concrete. I put in a french drain around most of the house sump pumps and it seems to be working especially during heavy rains. I would recommend you search this organization https://www.nicfi.org/search.aspx for an inspector that can give you an independent evaluation of the problem and potential resolution options. summary I have an RH meter that will read down to 2 inches, but during the Xypex process, they require you to super saturate your slab, so at the moment it is reading 99.9% moisture at that depth everywhere. Joined: Apr 1, 2018 Member: #249083 Messages: 7 Gender: Male Vehicle: 2018 midnight TRD sport LB. That is why, I am wondering what else it could be. Once you have the RH% and temperature of the air, plug the information into this calculator http://dpcalc.org/ This will give you a dew point temperature that you can compare to the information you obtained from the infrared thermometer. One of the ways to outsmart this problem is to create a “vapor” barrier on the surface of the slab. If the tile surface is cooler than the warm, humid room air, the moisture inside the air becomes the dampness on the floor tile when the warm air and cool floor meet. Within two days the floor was wet again under the sealed area. Please what is the solution to this? Thank you in advance! The shell is completed: all brick (one story), drywall, windows, roof cabinets and doors. When I pull the tiles back, the slab is damp to the touch and you can watch it dry out (color change) once the slab is exposed. the place is a cottage and not occupied during the week. Given the age, I am going to wager that there isn’t a vapor retarder under the slab so moisture has access to the bottom of the slab from the soil. We are now trying to figure out how to lay stone on the floor of the shower over the concrete. Leave it for one to two days, then pull it up. If not, I would start there and then once you have that information, contact the manufacturers and ask for their recommendations on a proper installation. This may be the only way for you to be sure. Is it possible that water/moisture was trapped on the slab during install from the leaking windows? We thought it might have been absorbed by water seeping into the damaged area, so it wasn't a huge issue, it would dry out, then it would become wet again inexplicably and we assumed water was just being spilled on it. The moisture reading is 28 – 30%. Thanks for the question. It may require additional things such as dehumidifiers and ventilation. Pinless meters can rapidly test for moisture in floors without leaving pin holes at the testing site. Imagine if you stuck the end of a sponge in some water, how quickly that entire sponge fills up with moisture. My question is, because the humidity is so high and the smell is quite strong, will putting a vapour barrier down on the subfloor, before installing the vinyl flooring, be a good idea? Much appreciated Jason. If the moisture is coming up through your concrete floor, it becomes critically important to resolve this issue. If the two temperatures are within about 5 degrees of each other, then the likely hood of condensation forming is high. Of greater concern is what the MVER test measures. Thanks. You may have already seen this article, but if not, here is the link https://cleanfax.com/disaster-restoration/tented-tile/ I would recommend talking with a remediation contractor in your area that may have specific experience on this topic. Today the guys came and took the old wood out of my 4 bedrooms, hallway and bathroom but as they took the master bedroom floor out they noticed moisture on the concrete! It'll penetrate the concrete and block moisture from seeping up through your floor. We pulled up linoleum in a certain area in the basement (concrete floor) a couple of months back but could not get the backing off. I would look for a reputable flooring installer that will perform moisture tests on the concrete and then provide you recommendations for a successful installation. No one has been able to determine a leak or where the water is coming from. Congratulations on the new house. Once the slab is dry, use moisture barrier systems such as sealers, elastomeric membranes and 6-mil polyethelene underneath the wood flooring. They are not rotten, just turning a dark color. The first is to choose the wrong concrete moisture test. Heavy rains do not seem to affect the frequency, nor does an extended time without rain. It sounds like the basics you describe are consistent with installing a nail down floor on concrete. This tells me its probably that. Any ideas . Hi Jason, You want to know if your floor is holding too much moisture well before that. I am pretty sure that this old home does not have a vapor barrier. Good luck. I have had leak detectors out 3 times, numerous plumbers and even a scientist which my insurance company sent out. First, I would want to test the concrete to see how high the relative humidity is in the affected area, Second, the areas that you state don’t have a moisture issue, may. Vapor retarder on top of the slab may help, but I am not sure it will eliminate the issue you describe. Both excessive moisture and too little moisture result in more wood, bamboo and laminate flooring problems than any other cause. First, slab moisture tests are usually a required part of installing a floor based on the manufacturer’s specifications and in order to get a warranty. This is a low-cost, low-tech moisture test that can be useful for determining if you have moisture in a garage or basement floor. After going through the process, which took a month, I still had areas with high moisture levels through the slab and others seemed to be reduced. I brought an air condition company to see if that could be related to issues with my AC unit. the tile is likely directly adhered to the concrete slab. Unfortunately, the 28-30% isn’t a scale that I am familiar with, nor is it a measurement scale utilized within the floor finishes community when speaking of concrete moisture. While surface water has been cleaned up, our plumber emphasized the importance of finding out what the optimum temperature and A/C setting should be to avoid tenting or buckling of the ceramic tile. I know the floor will still get wet when the dew point is the right temperature, but I think the interlocking planks are tight enough so water does not leak through, or we will use some silicone sealer in the locks when we lay the vinyl planks. Good luck. I’m interested with your Rapid RH® 4.0 product. I will not stop trying until I solve this. It’s not testing the moisture condition that matters over the long haul. If you don’t place enough sensors throughout the floor, you won’t get an accurate picture of the space. I would contact a local contractor whom specializes in tile and/or contact National Tile Contractors Association (http://www.tile-assn.com/) and see if possibly they have any recommendations of someone who can take a look at it. The reasoning is that many of the products used to measure the moisture don’t give appropriate installation information after the “sealers” are installed. We finished our basement two years ago and chose a vinyl tile with grout for the bathroom. As a result we are going to lay down a plastic vapor barrier on top of the slab PLUS put pergo gold underlayment on top of it, THEN finally the flooring. Thanks for the question. Depending on where you purchased the material, you might get some help from them, or possibly even the manufacturer of the product. Contractors should install the vapor retarder over granular fill to create extra separation from the groundwater. None of my neighbors have noticed a similar problem, however, in the neighborhood due north of me, 3 or 4 homes have seen similar issues, just not nearly as severe. The 2nd floor ceiling also has air vents in the ceiling and the 2nd floor of the garage is insulated and the first floor is made from cinder blocks. Sent out often one of the cement slab is poured, the RH sensor accurately what. Will probably need to know what to do to get expert advice we get rid of the test vary. Manufacturer recommend for proper installation of insulation, our air handler was oversized running. Page briefly describes moisture sources, moisture movement mechanisms and typical basement problems... 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