Wet Concrete Under Vinyl

A concrete floor with a too high moisture content can wreak havoc on a vinyl floor.

Wet concrete under vinyl.

A concrete floor seems like the perfect base for a vinyl floor installation. So moisture came up through the cracks in the slab and caused the vinyl flooring to mildew. If you don t have all the tools or you want to be 100 sure you don t waste any material invite a friend over to help you. I just finished a major remodel of my house which included finishing the basement.

We had vinyl flooring over a concrete slab a slab which cracked all the time because it wasn t poured as thick as code required. The hoa had a water leak company come out today to test all my plumbing and water sources but no leak was found. There was however sweating on top the underlayment that rested on the concrete floor but under the underlayment was not wet but had very cold concrete much colder than other areas of the floor. Vinyl must be laid with heat or solvent welded joints to be fully watertight.

So it does happen. Also it is important to take time and prepare well before you start assembling. We installed luxury vinyl plank flooring over the concrete in the basement some new concrete and some old. We ve had a lot of rain lately and yesterday the entire floor was damp.

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. Installations in wet rooms should also include measures to ensure that the seams and perimeter of the floor are well sealed to prevent moisture getting under the luxury vinyl onto subfloor below. It is also suitable for use in showers. Tuck under trim but not cabinets.

For this reason installations over concrete should always include moisture testing and moisture control measures for the slab. How to remove moisture from underneath vinyl flooring. It is available in sheet and tile form but only sheet vinyl is permitted under e3 as1. Over wood the problem is usually a water leak flooding or the underlayment was too wet when installed.

Water damaged vinyl flooring problems are more common over concrete than with vinyl floors installed over wood substrates. Where vertical door frame molding casing touches the floor trim a bit of the molding away with an undercut saw or jamb saw so you can tuck the flooring under the trim hiding the expansion gap at the wall. Water damage problems may not be as common with sheet vinyl flooring as some other flooring products but they do happen. Vinyl is an impervious water resistant material that is ideal as a wet area floor finish.

When you step it leaves a small pu.