Week before last, I attended the Resilient Flooring Committee (called F-06) meeting at ASTM* Headquarters in Philadelphia. This committee is on the cutting edge when it comes to outlining methods and standards for testing moisture in concrete. I must say, it is impossible to not be impressed by such a smart group of hard working professionals striving to create good documents based on the best available science. The F-06 committee is the driving force behind developing the internal Relative Humidity testing of moisture in concrete (ASTM F-2170).  

Having studied the science behind drying and curing, I am always surprised by the amount of controversy surrounding the moisture testing of concrete. There are many millions of dollars in failures of coatings and floor coverings due to excessive moisture in concrete subfloors. Large commercial job failures are financially devastating for flooring contractors. How does the song go?  “Send lawyers, guns, and money.” It seems to me that it is easier to test the concrete for moisture than to figure out how to weasel out on a failed floor.

The fascinating part of this meeting was the discussion and balloting concerning a proposed new guideline for using electronic concrete moisture meters. Anyone knowledgeable about these meters realizes that while they are useful for finding building leaks (high readings for wet areas versus lower readings for dry areas), they do not actually measure the quantity of moisture in the concrete. In fact, the proposed guideline stated:

This meter is not intended to provide quantitative results as a basis for acceptance of a floor for installation of moisture sensitive floor finishes.

It was a spirited discussion and while the vote was close, the document was sent back for further revisions.  In case you were curious, I voted for further revision.  It seems that there is no pressing need for a prestigious organization like ASTM to produce a document which might be misinterpreted, or worse yet, mis-used by unscrupulous individuals.

All in all, it was two days well spent furthering my understanding of the concrete industry, and highly recommend becoming involved with ASTM to anyone interested in doing the same.

*ASTM = The American Society of Testing and Materials is an organization that helps groups of interested volunteers work to create documents that standardize test methods and procedures for concrete.  It is a transparent and open process for anyone who wants to participate.