concrete moisture causing a disaster

10 years ago

Hi! I am currently trying to decipher what happened to my floors! We have metallic epoxy floors and noticed raised "bubbles" back in December. The floor was installed in May last year. We also noticed a long "ridge" in another spot as well.
back story: heres what is under my epoxy. two layers of concrete overlay 16 mils each that had been stained, a densifier was applied as well. after the second over lay and stain attempt, within 24 -48 hours a gray epoxy primer was applied followed by a metallic epoxy. No moisture testing was done at all throughout the project the first epoxy sealer application went wrong and the company over worked the floor with a grinder so another epoxy coat had to be applied. The company is not taking responsibility even though I found out tests were required by the manufacturer of the epoxy... how hard is to prove moisture in my floor? I popped one of the bubbles and water came pouring out!

Featured Answer

glennsfc

10 years ago

A certified flooring inspection firm will have the necessary testing equipment to give you relative humidity readings for the slab. Then, based on those findings, you're good to go.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

shalonablack
Original Author
10 years ago
I have looked into this, so far i have been quoted $842. yikes! What if test results come back with no apparent moisture issue? Does that negate the fact that I have water filled bubbles as proof of moisture?

Thanks for your response!
Related Professionals
Lawrenceburg Flooring Contractors · Virginia Beach Flooring Contractors · Fort Dodge Flooring Contractors · Stockton Flooring Contractors · Lake City Tile and Stone Contractors · Macon Tile and Stone Contractors · Springfield Tile and Stone Contractors · Rolla Tile and Stone Contractors · Abilene Tile and Stone Contractors · Fall River Tile and Stone Contractors · Lewiston Tile and Stone Contractors · Durango Tile and Stone Contractors · Redding Tile and Stone Contractors · Stamford Kitchen Remodelers · Watertown Kitchen Remodelers
glennsfc
10 years ago
Well...yes and no. Your empirical observation of liquid water coming from the pierced bubbles is one thing, but not scientific. The slab testing is more scientific, as it will give you data from which the presence of moisture can be determined and in what quantity.

I am not a concrete professional, so I hope someone with concrete experience will come in with some concrete professional advice for you (word repetition intended).

Best of luck.
shalonablack thanked glennsfc
shalonablack
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you! I found another quote! $525 lol.. its coming down lol
glennsfc
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
What they do is to drill holes in several places in the slab and insert a special device which reads relative humidity. Contractors working hundreds of thousands of square feet of concrete work in new commercial construction projects use this type of testing method technology. If I was still doing work over concrete, I would surely add testing to a new flooring quote as protection for both myself and the customer.

That said...you also will need to discover the source of the moisture and take whatever steps necessary to fix the problem. However, the flooring contractor assumed responsibility for assessing the jobsite conditions before starting any work.
User
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
so you are shopping for a price in the "aftermath" to get a good deal on Moisture testing, so you can use it against the installer, did you find a good price for the initial install and maybe got the price but not the hoped for quality illtelluwhat, quality comes at a cost and a pro epoxy refinisher would have insisted on a moisture reading.. file a complaint with youre citys building dept. show them the contractors license and insurance information , surely you have all that in writing.