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engineered flooring over concrete slab - nightmare! HELP

16 years ago

Here's the story. We're trying to install engineered flooring over a concrete slab floor in our home just north of Tampa, Fl. There was a crack that went the width of the slab and the slab was uneven so the installers chipped out and patched the floor and the crack. They layed down a glue down engineered floor the next day. There was some hollowness to the floor so we insisted that be fixed. Upon pulling up the section that was hollow the installers discovered the floor was now wet underneath. (Note: They said they used a moisture reader before laying the floor and it was fine)They pulled up the entire floor (and subsequently chipped some of the slab and made a mess of my house.) The moisture reader measured high where they had patched while we were there to witness it but they said it measure high the day before (while we were not home) in areas far from the crack and where they patched. Now the moisture reader is measuring off the charts only along where the crack was, but a 2 to 3 elsewhere. We can find no water pipe leaks and our water bill has remained steady so we have no idea where the moisture is coming from. The home was built in the late 70's. My question - is there any kind of engineered wood floor we can put down with a measurement this high? We've looked into floating floors and have a pergo in my daughter's bedroom that is fine but hubby hates the hollow sound. I'm also concerned that putting a moisture barrier down will entrap the moisture between the slab and plastic and we will get a mold problem Also, can there be a problem with the patching material the installers used? They said it is supposed to dry in 3 hours but I'm wondering, if the crack went all the way down the slab (4") could it take this long to dry?

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Comments (5)

forgotten
16 years ago
Without actually seeing the problem, I would have to say stop everything you are doing and bring in some expert that knows about concrete slabs. Curing of patching compounds is not an absolute, even if they used the correct material. Larger, deeper areas take days to cure. Dew point, or weather conditions can also have an effect when installing on slabs if windows and doors were open during the installation.

You may be able to correct the moisture problem by waiting and or using a good quality moisture barrier such as Bostiks MVP or a vinyl underlayment.
michele525
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for your advice...we'll call someone
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carolemed
16 years ago
We are having the exact same problem with a new slab which is below grade on one side. It is my understanding that this makes it "below grade". The calcium chloride test read 5.9 -- I don't know what that means except the flooring people said that was too high. The installer's hand-held reader comes out at at least 20%. I know the foundation has a French drain system as well as another 6 inch pipe all around.

In 4 places I duct taped down 2 foot squares of plastic and after 3 days there is no moisture under the plastic.

The flooring store says you can't glue down or float over this much dampness. They don't even think laminate would do. We are at a loss as to what to do. Can anyone help? (My dream floor was tile around the outside of the wooden floor. Naturally, the tile is already laid.)

carole
glennsfc
16 years ago
Good that you have an installer who employs use of a moisture meter and a flooring firm that does calcium chloride testing.

There are moisture retarders that can be installed. You or the flooring firm will need to research what they are and how well they perform in conditions that you have.

These MVR's come in liquid applied systems and some gluedown membrane types. There are too many for me to list here, so you will have to do the necessary footwork on your own. Or, maybe someone who has the list in a document library will cut and paste them for you.
floorguy
16 years ago
That new Mapei trowel on membrane and there 990 glue, are working great, for me, and the job I finally started laying wood in today.

Dependable has VaporSeal.
www.floorprep.com

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