Moisture Barriers and Flooring
Concrete Moisture Problems
Static control floors should never be installed without first testing your concrete slab for possible moisture and alkalinity problems. Up front testing can prevent future problems and shutdowns due to failed flooring installations.
Ask your Staticworx Customer Service Representative if GroundLock might be a solution for your moisture problem >
Did you know that the number one cause of ESD flooring installation failures is moisture permeation through concrete slabs from below the sub-floor? Moisture vapor, inside concrete, becomes alkaline – adversely reacting with flooring adhesives and consequently compromising the bond you expect from adhesives. More importantly, this problem is almost always unexpected because it rarely involves ground water, heavy rains or the local water table – so there are no visual predictors. The problem isn’t solved by installing drains or water diverters around a building because it isn’t the result of weather. It is the result of evaporation of water from far below the surface and the worst problems are where you would expect them the least: desert and arid climates like California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Texas and Nevada. But the problem also haunts many other locations so it’s always a necessity to learn about moisture and how to test for it before it ruins your new anti static or conductive flooring installation.
And, if you’re a flooring professional – you’re expected
to know about moisture problems because your client certainly doesn’t
know about it…
This page contains some information and helpful links to help you get up to speed on this problem.
Helpful links to learn more about hydrostatic pressure, osmotic blisters, vapor emissions and moisture vapor problems installing Resilient and Epoxy Flooring:
Here’s ASTM’s own description of a resilient floor:
Resilient Flooring — It
would be helpful to start with the definition of this category of flooring
products, because this term is becoming more commonly used.
According to F
141, resilient flooring is an organic floor surfacing material made in sheet
or tile form or formed in place as a seamless material of which the wearingsurface
is non-textile. The resilient floor covering classification by common usage
includes, but is not limited to asphalt, cork, linoleum, rubber, vinyl, vinyl
composition and polymeric poured seamless floors. Resilient in this sense is
used as a commonly accepted term, but does not necessarily define a physical
property.
Ask your Staticworx Customer Service Representative if GroundLock might be a solution for your moisture problem >
Floor Moisture Test Methods & Floor Moisture Problem Articles |
Get It! |
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Avoiding
Flooring Failure— Insist on Moisture Testing |
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Reducing Bond Failures Caused by Moisture Vapor Transmission |
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Vapor Barriers under Concrete Floor Slabs: Friend or Foe? |
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Guide to Floor Moisture Problems |
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An excellent PowerPoint visual presentation on Moisture Problems |
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Testing
for Moisture |
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ASTM F1869 - 04 Standard |
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Calcium Chloride v. In-situ Relative Humidity |
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The
hazards of improper ASTM concrete moisture/vapor testing and the pitfalls
of relying on just one type of ASTM test method Moisture Testing of Concrete Slabs
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Vapor barriers: nuisance or necessity? |
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The following standards can be found at www.ASTM.org |
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ASTM F1869 - 04 Standard Test Method for Measuring Moisture Vapor Emission Rate of Concrete Subfloor Using Anhydrous Calcium Chloride |
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Historical Standard ASTM E1907 – 04 Standard Guide to Methods of Evaluating Moisture Conditions of Concrete Floors to Receive Resilient Floor Coverings |
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ASTM D4263 - 83(2005) Standard Test Method for Indicating Moisture in Concrete by the Plastic Sheet Method Link to purchase ASTM Standard D4263-83(2005) |
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Why are We Still Having Problems with Moisture? Water is an essential ingredient in concrete, but uncontrolled excessive moisture can create a whole host of problems with concrete floor slabs. Some of the modes of distress include:
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