Vinyl Flooring Over Concrete Moisture

There are a number of vinyl plank flooring options.

Vinyl flooring over concrete moisture.

Vinyl flooring can either be glued to the subfloor or it can float on top of it and either way moisture underneath it causes problems. Water damage problems may not be as common with sheet vinyl flooring as some other flooring products but they do happen. However when lv is installed over concrete there is a possibility that moisture under the floor whether it seeps down from above or is emitted from the slab can react with chemicals in the concrete to create high levels of alkali which can degrade the vinyl. A concrete floor seems like the perfect base for a vinyl floor installation.

Moisture weakens glue bonds and causes the edges to lift. A moisture barrier may or may not be needed to insure good adhesion of your vinyl floor so do your homework to avoid problems later on down the road. Therefore it s advisable to have a floor tested for moisture content prior to installing flooring or moisture barriers. 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.

Moisture will get through so even if you don t add an additional underlay you do need to seal the concrete. Because it doesn t include any gaps this type of vinyl flooring offers the most moisture resistance. If your concrete slab is prone to moisture consider this vinyl type. This vinyl type comes in a single sheet that is installed over the concrete floor.

Water damaged vinyl flooring problems are more common over concrete than with vinyl floors installed over wood substrates. Water is an inherent part of the hydration process of concrete. In other words simple moisture can t affect the lv but when it comes. This flooring has underlay attached.

However allowing excess moisture to leave the slab after it s poured is crucial to a successful flooring installation. Over wood the problem is usually a water leak flooding or the underlayment was too wet when installed. Armstrong flooring recommends the maximum moisture vapor emission for floating vinyl floors to be no more than 5 pounds per 1 000 square feet over a 24 hour period. A concrete floor with a too high moisture content can wreak havoc on a vinyl floor.

Once the slab is poured the excess moisture must leave the slab in order to strengthen the concrete bond. The flooring associate at the home depot canada suggested using vapour barrier with tuck tape to seal the concrete. For glue together and glue down floors it s between 8 and 12 pounds so be sure to check the moisture requirements for the product you purchase. If you ve noticed moisture appearing on the concrete in your basement or have some bare concrete in your home you d like to cover easily and cheaply vinyl plank flooring could be the thing you are looking for.