Just lost a full day's pay on a glue-down vinyl job in Tempe

I didn't check the slab moisture with a meter first, assuming the builder's word was good. The adhesive never cured right over the damp concrete, and I had to pull up 800 square feet the next day. What's your go-to method for a quick, reliable moisture check before you even unload the truck?

3 comments

3 Comments

taraw1620d ago

My cousin runs a crew out of Mesa and he swears by taping a garbage bag down overnight. He had a slab that read fine with a meter but the plastic showed moisture pooling under it by morning. Saved him from a full tear out on a school gym floor once. Funny how the cheap tricks sometimes beat the expensive tools. Have you ever tried the plastic sheet method?

kim_nelson1mo ago

Well, my go-to method is a lesson I learned the same way. I keep a basic calcium chloride test kit in the truck for a quick check right on the spot. It's saved me from trusting a sunny forecast or a builder's guess more than once.

taylor.jordan1mo ago

That's smart, @kim_nelson. Reminds me of a time we had to delay a pour because the kit showed way more moisture than the surface felt like. Boss wasn't happy, but it beat a callback for cracks later.