Water Under Vinyl Flooring Concrete

A concrete floor seems like the perfect base for a vinyl floor installation.

Water under vinyl flooring concrete.

The locking joints will keep water from going thru and you need to silicone the 3 8 gap at the edge by the wall to prevent any water from getting under the laminate. For installation of vinyl flooring you need a smooth even surface for the underside of the flooring to achieve the best contact for adhesion. Also it is important to take time and prepare well before you start assembling. Once the slab is poured the excess moisture must leave the slab in order to strengthen the concrete bond.

So it does happen. The result was water damaged vinyl flooring. 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. But it s safe to say that next to tile vinyl flooring for basements.

The steps in this guide on how to install vinyl plank flooring on concrete are quite easy to follow. 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. However allowing excess moisture to leave the slab after it s poured is crucial to a successful flooring installation. If you have more water than that in your basement you shouldn t be finishing it in the first place.

For this reason installations over concrete should always include moisture testing and moisture control measures for the slab. So was this a manufacturing problem. Generally speaking vinyl flooring won t be damaged by normal amounts of water on its surface and it shouldn t be damaged by occasional dampness on the concrete slab below. So moisture came up through the cracks in the slab and caused the vinyl flooring to mildew.

Water is an inherent part of the hydration process of concrete. 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. Unfortunately many people are under the misguided belief that wood or laminate may be a problem with water but water damaged vinyl flooring no way. Moisture weakens glue bonds and causes the edges to lift.

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.