Concrete and moisture (click here for article)

One of the most common causes of floor covering failure is moisture in the slab.  It affects all types of coverings, including carpet.  The porous nature of concrete makes it imperative that we know what the moisture content is in the substrate we are covering and what the potential for failure is years down the road.  The attached article gives us some testing methods and some background for determining the suitability of the concrete we are trying to cover. 

Wood Floors and Moisture (click here for website)

There is a lot of confusion about moisture and wood floors; especially here in the desert Southwest.  Do we acclimate?  Do we not acclimate?  How long?  Do only solid wood or solid and engineered wood floors need to be acclimated?  What is acclimation?  Does putting the flooring in a hot garage for a couple of days count as acclimation?

Also, what amount of moisture should the floor contain prior to install?  Should it be as dry as the room it is going to be installed in or should it contain a certain % of moisture?

Read the info at the attached website.  It may be of help it answering the questions noted here.

What's up with formaldehyde? (click here for info)

With all the awareness in todays's world, formaldehyde is becoming a concern by consumers.  Really this isn't the big problem many would make it out to be.  Formaldehyde is found in the environment and occurs naturally.  There are many sources found in every home or commercial building, including pressed wood, plywood, cigarette smoke, furniture adhesives, cabinets, and wood flooring.

If you removed all the formaldehyde from the wood flooring in a home, you would not ever come close to making a dent in the total amount found in the average living space.  Check out the attached link for some good solid info.  It should put to rest most concerns about floor covering and formaldehyde.

Why a blog?

After over 37 years in the flooring industry, I have discovered most people in the industry are flying by the seat of their pants when it comes to the technical side of the products they sell, install, specify or market.  In years past the manufacturer reps were a great resource for most of the tech knowledge you needed.  Many still are.  But, a recent trend has been to let the mill tech services people handle that and the reps just sell product.  Plus a lot of the 'old school' reps have left the industry and some of the new ones just don't have the experience to answer the questions authoritatively.   Another trend has been the mill's cutting their staffing of tech services departments thus making good usable info even harder to get.

Which brings us to this blog.  I want to compile good, solid, usable tech info that the dealer can refer to before he bids a job; retail or commercial.  I want the dealer/contractor to be able to refer to this blog and at least get some direction regarding the product he is bidding, including installation requirements, MSDS info, moisture requirements, etc. etc.