Case Studies

Is My Concrete Suitable for Flooring Installation?

Housing Development in Emeryville, CA

Setting: A 3,000-square-foot housing development near Berkeley, California consisting of six housing units and a community room.

Problem: The problem began early on. During construction, the flooring subcontractor conducted routine moisture vapor emission tests on the concrete slab and deemed it "unsuitable" for flooring treatment. Months later, IFTI was called to determine whether the concrete was still unsuitable for flooring installation, and if so, what could be done about it.

Testing & Findings: IFTI performed a series of moisture and alkalinity tests throughout the building and found a relatively high static moisture condition, a relatively moderate dynamic moisture condition, and a relatively low-to-moderate alkalinity condition in the concrete. These were not exactly "suitable" conditions for flooring installation!

Solution: IFTI recommended a choice of two options.

1. Let the slab dry on its own. This requires keeping the affected areas at a stable climate with lots of good air circulation, and continuously checking the slab until it becomes dry enough (according to the flooring manufacturer's specified levels) to install the new floor covering.
2. Speed the process along. The first step is to shot-blast the concrete, then repair the joints and cracks. Next, apply a moisture-suppressing membrane to reduce vapor emissions down to the flooring manufacturer's specified level. After these steps have been taken, the concrete slab should be ready for its new flooring installation.

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