Hardwood Floors August/September 2018

AT THE SITE

KNOW WHAT’S BELOW: THE CHALLENGE WITH WOOD LOOK “WATERPROOF” FLOORING

I have had a spate of calls recently about wood oor issues with brand-new oors not living up to what they are advertised to provide. Digging deeper with both homeowners and contractors, it turns out that these problems aren’t actually with real wood oors, but are occurring with “wood like” oors, either laminate or LVT, which tout being 100 percent waterproof. Wood-like or wood-look products install much like real engineered wood oors, so the extra work o ered to the professional wood oor installer is a positive thing if they educate themselves on the di erences between the ooring and make sure they read all instructions. at last part is easier said than done. I visited several big box stores where the waterproof oors were being promoted. Not one could o er me a printout of the installation instructions or had any real-world knowledge of how to install them. I was able to get what I needed by calling the manufacturer’s tech support or cha ing with an online person. Here is one of the most egregious examples of throwing both the homeowner and the installer under the bus: 1,800 square feet of ooring installed in a home on a golf course in south Florida. e home is concrete slab on grade. e oor is a click pro le oating product. Because both parties were assured that this ooring was 100 percent waterproof, no moisture testing was done on the concrete and no vapor barrier was used. (Keep in mind, the backing on this product is a layer of cork.) Within two months, there was standing water in the kitchen, the ooring was delaminating, buckling, and the whole house smelled of mold. e original ooring in the home was carpet. I spoke with a tech support person about the issues with the oor and he told me to read the installation instructions and that moisture testing is required and a vapor barrier should be used if the moisture is higher than what they recommend. I was able to track down a PDF le of the installation instructions and found some very interesting information. ey do say to check for moisture using the CMmethod

Photo courtesy of Bob Goldstein.

FIGURE 1: Waterproof flooring with closed cell foam backing; HDF core.

(ASTMD4263) be er known as the plastic sheet test. It further states that a reading of 2.5 percent is acceptable. is confuses me as this type of test doesn’t give a quantitative number; it’s either wet or dry, so what tool was, or is, used to get the 2.5 percent? We should all be familiar with ASTM F1869 Calcium Chloride testing and ASTM F2170 in-situ probe tests. Both provide go/no go numbers; CC 3 pounds or less, in-situ probe, 75 percent RH or less for wood and related oors. So, if you get a number above the manufacturer’s recommendation, there is usually a remedy such as using 6 or 8 mil plastic sheeting under the oating system. Nowhere in the instructions is moisture mitigation mentioned. e bo om line is that 100 percent waterproof oors are a myth. I looked at several brands with varied construction, all claiming to be waterproof, one made with MDF core (medium density berboard) with a sheet of closed cell foam glued to the back. How is this supposed to stop

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