Flooring Installation Delayed For Slab To Dry

Laminate flooring is a good alternative to wood flooring in basements.

Flooring installation delayed for slab to dry.

People then proceed to restore their room and add new flooring. When inexperienced contractors dry the walls and contents concrete floors are often assumed to be dried. If it s left uncovered water vapor can rise through the slab and evaporate away at the surface. For best results several areas of each room should be tested for excess moisture.

If the testing indicates a wet slab document the results and delay installation of the flooring until corrected. Too much humidity is most likely to be a problem for a newly installed slab but it could also be an issue for existing slabs too. Add about 10 to that number to account for any possible mistakes and warped boards. The slab can be tested to check the moisture levels and determine whether there is too much moisture to install the subfloor.

Prior to installing the flooring we did our due diligence by performing a relative humidity rh test on the concrete which involved inserting an rh probe to a depth of 40 in the slab. However many homeowners are disappointed to discover that solid wood flooring cannot be installed on a concrete slab. More time was needed for the concrete to dry. When conducting slab moisture testing conduct tests in several areas regardless of the age of the slab.

Therefore it s important to allow concrete to dry out before you install flooring on a newly poured slab. Determine how much flooring and materials will be needed. If you have a vinyl floor you may be able to install your flooring directly on top of it. Remove any carpet or other flooring.

Multiply length times width of the room. If tests indicate too much moisture is in the slab do not install hardwood floors. The results indicated the floor was too wet to safely install flooring. Not too soon after they start to have problems with the new flooring and claim it is defective.

The use of an electronic concrete moisture meter to determine slab moisture emission is not reliable nor recommended. Typical ceramic tiles are a common sight in many homes but some homeowners choose to install parquet flooring as an alternative. The concrete slab needs to be dry before any flooring can be installed. However proper concrete floor water damage repair presents unique challenges.

Laminate flooring is also fairly easy to install. Supplied with accurate knowledge of a slab s rh condition the general contractor and flooring installer will know whether to allow for more drying time to reach adhesive flooring specifications or to choose a different flooring adhesive flooring product which is compatible with the slab s current conditions. How to glue solid parquet flooring directly to a concrete slab. For a standard four inch thick concrete slab this takes four to five months to happen naturally.