Acceptable Moisture Content In Concrete For Vinyl Flooring

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Acceptable moisture content in concrete for vinyl flooring.

When you install hardwood laminate or vinyl flooring over a concrete subfloor one of the most important steps to take to ensure the lasting beauty and stability of your floors is moisture testing. Ensure by testing that dry flooring is applied to dry substrates. If the levels are suitable at that time flooring may be installed. Moisture particularly in a concrete slab can come from a number of sources.

Acceptable moisture levels in concrete according to astm standard when testing via astm f2170 the rh level of a concrete slab needs to be at or below 75 unless the flooring system manufacturer provides alternate guidelines. What are the acceptable moisture levels in concrete. Moisture prior to installing rubber and or vinyl flooring. Concrete slabs and floors can be excellent subfloor surfaces for tile and other floor coverings but too much moisture in the concrete can cause problems with flooring installations.

Installation should involve thoroughly preparing the concrete subfloor and checking for any water sources that might infiltrate the vinyl. Therefore it s advisable to have a floor tested for moisture content prior to installing flooring or moisture barriers. Testing concrete common testing methods for moisture. The typically accepted concrete moisture testing methods for installing flooring are the calcium chloride test and the in situ relative humidity test.

Before you lay the first plank you must ensure that the moisture level in the concrete subfloor is low enough that it will not affect your flooring. If the slab does not have an adequate moisture barrier underneath moisture can wick up from ground sources in a continuous cycle.