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.
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
- Avoiding
Flooring Failure— Insist on Moisture Testing
by Terry Nali, Coordinator
INSTALL Twin Cities and IFMA MSP Member - Reducing Bond Failures Caused by Moisture Vapor Transmission
By: Robert R. Cain - Vapor Barriers under Concrete Floor Slabs: Friend or Foe?
by Steve Ragan - Calcium Chloride v. In-situ Relative Humidity
Which moisture test method is better? Here’s what one moisture expert has to say. - Testing
for Moisture
Designation: F 2170 – 02
Standard Test Method for Determining Relative Humidity in Concrete Floor Slabs Using in situ Probes1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation F 2170; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of Original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval. - The
hazards of improper ASTM concrete moisture/vapor testing and the pitfalls
of relying on just one type of ASTM test method
by Peter Craig and George Donnelly - Vapor barriers: nuisance or necessity?
By Craig, Peter A.
Publication: Concrete Construction
Date: Monday, March 1 2004 - American Moisture Test Kit - Instruction Guide
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
- ASTM F2170-03
Standard Test Method for Determining Relative Humidity in Concrete Floor Slabs Using in situ Probes1
Link to purchase ASTM Standard F2170-02 - ASTM F1869 - 04
Standard Test Method for Measuring Moisture Vapor Emission Rate of Concrete Subfloor Using Anhydrous Calcium Chloride
Link to purchase ASTM Standard F1869 - 04 - Historical Standard ASTM E1907 – 04
Standard Guide to Methods of Evaluating Moisture Conditions of Concrete Floors to Receive Resilient Floor Coverings
Link to purchase ASTM E 1907 – 04
This guide includes both quantitative and qualitative procedures used to determine the amount of water or water vapor present in or emitting from concrete slabs and criteria for evaluating the moisture-related acceptability of concrete slabs to receive resilient floor coverings and related adhesives. - 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)
