When it comes to preventing flooring failures, it’s not always an issue of knowing best practices. Interruptions, schedule changes, or external pressure can throw a wrench into any installer’s priorities and force complicated decisions. And yielding to that pressure often eats into quality control.
To protect your work, let’s examine five common installation mistakes and how to avoid them.
- Skipping concrete substrate evaluation. Accurate concrete moisture testing takes time. ASTM standards say the Calcium Chloride (CACL) test needs 60-72 hours for an accurate reading, and Relative Humidity (RH) testing requires 24 hours.
When facing scheduling pressure, it can be tempting to eyeball the slab and note that it looks dry. But that doesn’t mean more moisture isn’t hiding underneath.
Surface-level moisture testing has significant limitations. Concrete moisture meters (ASTM F2659) can identify higher moisture near the surface, while calcium chloride tests (ASTM F1869) measure the rate of vapor emitted from the surface during the test period. Neither measures the moisture deeper in the slab.
This matters because, as the slab equilibrates, any excess moisture deeper down eventually rises to the surface…and if flooring is already installed, that moisture gets trapped underneath, potentially causing:
- Adhesive breakdown
- Floorboard warping
- Mold growth conditions
That’s why you need the full picture of how much moisture you’re dealing with.
Solution:
- RH testing with in situ probes will assess moisture conditions deep within the slab, not just near the surface. For slabs drying from one side, ASTM 2170 requires probes placed at 40% of slab depth.
- Improper floor covering acclimation. Just as concrete subfloors need time to dry, floor coverings need time to acclimate to their environment before installation. A simple moisture test confirms proper acclimation. If the floor covering is close enough to the jobsite’s Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC), it’s ready. Simple, right?
But sometimes, if a job’s behind schedule or you’re juggling several jobs at once, it’s tempting to think a couple days should be enough and skip the testing. But every project has its variables, and the flooring may require more or less acclimation, or some floorboards might have higher moisture content than others.
If your estimation is off, floorboards could expand or contract, leading to damage that causes flooring failure—which could also damage your professional reputation.
Solution:
- Confirm jobsite conditions beforehand so flooring can begin acclimation upon arrival.
- Use a moisture meter, like Wagner’s Orion 950, to confirm the flooring matches the jobsite’s Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC).
- Reserve extra time in the workflow for acclimation.
- Cutting corners while moisture testing. Even when you do test for moisture, small oversights can leave you with an incomplete picture. Attention to detail still matters.
For example, a cheap or unreliable meter can give questionable readings. Or testing too few of the floorboards when acclimating can cause you to miss important variations in moisture content.
And if there’s a change in ambient conditions (HVAC adjustments, open windows, etc.), you’ll want to test for any moisture changes in the flooring before proceeding.
Even with the best intentions, these oversights can sneak up on you. It pays to be mindful about your tools and testing process.
Solution:
- Choose a quality meter with a proven track record for accuracy and reliability.
- Test enough material to get a representative idea of the whole picture.
- Retest if conditions change.
- Ignoring manufacturer guidelines. When you’ve been in business for a long time, you can get comfortable. Sometimes it might be easy to assume you know the manufacturer specs, or to feel like your educated guess is enough to go on.
But if anything goes wrong—even if you’re not at fault—you must be able to show that you stuck to manufacturer guidelines. Otherwise, you could be looking at considerable repairs and voided warranties.
Solution: Always double-check manufacturer specifications for all flooring materials.
- Inconsistent documentation. Even if you test properly and proceed accordingly, if flooring later becomes damaged even though you did everything right…those moisture readings can’t help you anymore if they weren’t documented.
Without tracking and recording data, you could be paying for problems you didn’t cause. You’ll want that proof that you followed industry standards and manufacturer guidelines.
Solution:
- Create a data log for each project. Include date, location, technician, and all moisture readings.
- Back up data in a safe place. Some meters, like Wagner’s Orion 950, store data and generate automatic reports.
Moisture-related flooring failures cost over $2.4 billion every year. So what might seem like small shortcuts in the moment can turn into expensive setbacks later. Fortunately, taking proactive steps can keep you from becoming part of this statistic.
Jason Spangler is vice president of sales at Wagner Meters. He has more than 25 years’ experience in sales and sales management across a broad spectrum of industries. Call Wagner Meters today at (800) 634-9961 and ask for Jason or visit www.WagnerMeters.com.
