Testing Basement Floor For Moisture

Then a step by step process for addressing each problem is presented along with several detailed approaches to solving the problem.

Testing basement floor for moisture.

This is a relative scale. The floor covering must be removed. To test your basement for moisture tape a piece of plastic or tin foil onto the basement floor. Concrete slabs are naturally breathing elements of a home readily taking in moisture and air expanding and contracting and shifting with nature.

Standing water on floor. However if you have moisture under. Water trickling out of walls. If you get moisture on the exposed surface then the problem is condensation.

When testing the moisture content in non wood materials such as concrete a relative scale of 0 to 100 is often used where 0 is bone dry and 100 is saturated. Plastic sheet moisture test. For those slabs with a pre existing floor covering an extra step is involved to test for moisture. A third option a simple diy test can indicate the presence of excess moisture either on the slab surface or in the room s air but it cannot measure.

It is not however the best test if you are planning to put an epoxy coating on the floor. Only then can you test properly for moisture using the following test methods. If there are any mortars grouts or adhesives they must be removed and ground down to expose a clean section of concrete. This is a low cost low tech moisture test that can be useful for determining if you have moisture in a garage or basement floor.

Seal around the edges and leave it for several days. A second direct test astm f 1869 standard test method for measuring moisture vapor emission rate of concrete subfloor using anhydrous calcium chloride was standardized in the 1990s by the subcommittee on practices of the committee on resilient floor coverings. This page briefly describes moisture sources moisture movement mechanisms and typical basement moisture problems. The insulation and ventilation in your finished basement will correct the problem.

How to test a concrete floor for excessive moisture. How and why water comes up from the basement floor can vary so investigative work is needed before panicking.