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Corporate Headquarters:
Staticworx®, Inc.
124 Watertown Street
Watertown, MA 02472

Phone: 617-923-2000
Fax: 617-923-2009

US Mail Address:
PO Box 590069
Newton, MA 02459

Manufacturing and Warehouse:
Staticworx®, Inc.
Hwy 41
Calhoun, Georgia

West Coast Distribution Center:
Los Angeles, California

West Coast Flooring Installation:

Phone: 949-933-0177

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.

Picture of curling tiles due to moisture problems in concrete (courtesy of Donnelly Inspections)

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:

ASTM F1869 Moisture Test Kit

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 wearing surface 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.

Pertinent Articles


Moisture ESD Flooring Studies	Get It!
Avoiding Flooring Failure— Insist on Moisture Testing by Terry Nali, Coordinator INSTALL Twin Cities and IFMA MSP Member http://mcmorrowreport.com/articles/floorfail.asp
Reducing Bond Failures Caused by Moisture Vapor Transmission By: Robert R. Cain http://www.concretenetwork.com/bob_cain/
Vapor Barriers under Concrete Floor Slabs: Friend or Foe? by Steve Ragan http://www.graniterock.com/tnvaporbarriers.html
A GUIDE TO FLOOR MOISTURE PROBLEMS By Loss Mitigation Services Inc. www.lmsrestoration.com
An excellent PowerPoint visual presentation on Moisture Problems by *B. Lee Lawrence, P.E.* Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. 13581 Pond Springs Road, Suite 107 Austin, Texas: http://www.foundationperformance.org/pastpresentations/ LawrencePres_18Aug04.pdf
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. Link to ASTM site to purchase: 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 this ASTM standard F1869 - 04
Calcium Chloride v. In-situ Relative Humidity Which moisture test method is better? Here’s what one moisture expert has to say. http://www.moisturetesting.com/ calcium_chloride_vs__in-situ_relative_humidity.htm
An informative article by Peter Craig and George Donnelly about the hazards of improper ASTM concrete moisture/vapor testing and the pitfalls of relying on just one type of ASTM test method. Moisture Testing of Concrete Slabs – When 3 pounds is not 3 pounds: 5 Reasons why moisture testing of concrete fails to reveal a moisture problem Curing, sealing, or bondbreaking compounds Adhesive residue from previous flooring HVAC system operation Redistribution of moisture Below-slab vapor retarder Read their article at this link http://www.moisturetesting.com/ When%203%20lbs%20is%20not%203%20lbs.pdf
Vapor barriers: nuisance or necessity? Where a moisture-sensitive floor covering or coating is... By Craig, Peter A. Publication: Concrete Construction Date: Monday, March 1 2004 http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing/ nonmetallic-mineral-product-manufacturing/768681-1.html
American Moisture Test Kit - Instruction Guide http://americanmoisturetest.com/technical1.htm
The following standards can be found at www.ASTM.org ASTM F2170-03 Standard Test Method for Determining Relative Humidity in Concrete Floor Slabs Using in situ Probes1 Link to ASTM site 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 this 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)
Why are We Still Having Problems with Moisture? Good practices and excellent products are only the beginning to the solution By Howard Kanare Water is an essential ingredient in concrete, but uncontrolled excessive moisture can create a whole host of problems with concrete floor slabs. Some of the modes of distress include: Adhesive breakdown of adhered finish floor coverings Debonding of coatings Osmotic blisters of epoxy systems including coatings and epoxy terrazzo High pH (alkali) attack of floor finishes Microbial growths Flooring expansion, such as cupping of wood strips or planks Reactions between incompatible floor patching/leveling materials Read the full article at Concrete Construction Online

Moisture barrier, Moisture problems, Floor failures , Alkalinity, Moisture test kit, Moisture testing, Resilient flooring failures, Vapor barrier and Moisture mitigation.

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