Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Jan 26, 2012 7:38 pm We put down floorboards over a concrete slab a t the rear of our house (which I think may have been an old garage at some point before we bought the house but converted to a living area) about five years ago. I don't think the company used a water proof membrane and now the boards have lifted. The insurance company planned to replace the floor but when they removed the old boards they found the slab was very wet (35%) and couldn't lay the new boards. We had a leak detection service out and there are no pipes broken and drainage is OK. We had archicentre out and they think the slab did not have a membrane and moisture has come up from the ground, and it could be fixed with a sealer, then plastic sheets and then lay the wood on battens (the slab is not level). This would protect the slab and also prevent further moisture damage. However the flooring company are refusing to lay the floor on battens and say that it isn't done this way anymore, also the walls are not perfectly straight so they will not complete the job. We are stuck living on a dirty concrete slab. The flooring company think we should pull down the back of our house but this is too expensive and we have just renovated our bathroom which is next to this slab. Any suggestions on how we can lay the floor, and prevent further moisture damage would be fantastic. Thanks for your help. Re: Moisture damage to floor, wet slab, advice please !! 2Jan 28, 2012 8:08 am The hard truth is that doing what you want ( the cheapest option ) is a bit like painting over rust - it'll look good for a while but then the rust comes back worse than before. Sealer over the top of the slab will protect it from water coming up from below only to a degree - it may for a few years but in the end I bet you will be back to square one particularly if you want to lay timber flooring over it. Are there stud walls sitting on the slab as well ? Stewie Re: Moisture damage to floor, wet slab, advice please !! 3Jan 29, 2012 12:19 am Rising dampness caused by a missing membrane is a common problem overlooked by folk who enclose carports/garages with out checking first. Unfortunately any easy-fix will not last, as the previous poster said. Any sealer you apply will be breached by the fixing of battens. Eventually it will sweat, get mouldy, stink and warp the boards again, so you will have thrown good money after bad. To avoid on-going problems I suggest pulling up the concrete floor, laying a membrane and mesh then relay the concrete floor -- level this time. AFTER you have done the above, wont furniture cover the majority of areas where your walls aren't 'straight'? Arfur Re: Moisture damage to floor, wet slab, advice please !! 4Jan 31, 2012 10:50 am Thankyou for your replies. They have been helpful. these look like missing batts. Go up and take a look. But yeah moisure meter is a completely different tool 4 9456 I thought this would be a popular question but I haven't been able to find any similar posts. Perhaps I'm wording my searches wrong? When you have car insurance and the… 0 6615 |