ᐅ Installing click-lock vinyl flooring despite possibly excessive residual moisture
Created on: 21 Nov 2023 10:49
J
jrth2151
Just as a preliminary note:
Yes, I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone myself, and yes, I know that a CM measurement has to be done, as it is the only truly reliable method to measure residual moisture.
And yes, I know we like to educate each other here in the forum, but please put that aside for a moment and follow my explanation.
Our calcium aluminate screed (alpha-hemihydrate) was installed on 26.07.23. The windows remained closed for three days afterwards, and the house was not entered. After that, we started ventilating several times daily with burst ventilation. We always monitored the hx diagram to achieve the lowest possible relative indoor humidity matching the outdoor conditions.
After three weeks, the functional/maturity heating began. The flow temperature was gradually increased and then maintained at 50°C (122°F) for a total of 14 days. Afterwards, the temperature was slowly reduced to 21°C (70°F).
Then I measured residual moisture with an electric moisture meter (yes, inaccurate) and got a reading of less than 0.2%. So at least the indicators look good so far.
We then had no heating for about four weeks but continued ventilating optimally according to the hx diagram. Since last week, the heating has been running again at 21°C (70°F).
That’s the background information.
The issue:
We have to move in before Christmas because we have already terminated our rental contract and the loan repayment has started. That means we can hardly afford to wait any longer anyway. It would practically be impossible.
At the end of next week, we will be installing floating click vinyl flooring—Wineo 600 rigid. Now let’s assume I don’t do a CM measurement. What is the worst-case scenario? Does anyone here have experience with this? We would leave off the baseboards until a few weeks later and only cover the essential rooms such as the bedrooms and open-plan kitchen/living area.
And again, I wouldn’t personally recommend this to anyone, but unfortunately, we really have no other real choice now…
Yes, I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone myself, and yes, I know that a CM measurement has to be done, as it is the only truly reliable method to measure residual moisture.
And yes, I know we like to educate each other here in the forum, but please put that aside for a moment and follow my explanation.
Our calcium aluminate screed (alpha-hemihydrate) was installed on 26.07.23. The windows remained closed for three days afterwards, and the house was not entered. After that, we started ventilating several times daily with burst ventilation. We always monitored the hx diagram to achieve the lowest possible relative indoor humidity matching the outdoor conditions.
After three weeks, the functional/maturity heating began. The flow temperature was gradually increased and then maintained at 50°C (122°F) for a total of 14 days. Afterwards, the temperature was slowly reduced to 21°C (70°F).
Then I measured residual moisture with an electric moisture meter (yes, inaccurate) and got a reading of less than 0.2%. So at least the indicators look good so far.
We then had no heating for about four weeks but continued ventilating optimally according to the hx diagram. Since last week, the heating has been running again at 21°C (70°F).
That’s the background information.
The issue:
We have to move in before Christmas because we have already terminated our rental contract and the loan repayment has started. That means we can hardly afford to wait any longer anyway. It would practically be impossible.
At the end of next week, we will be installing floating click vinyl flooring—Wineo 600 rigid. Now let’s assume I don’t do a CM measurement. What is the worst-case scenario? Does anyone here have experience with this? We would leave off the baseboards until a few weeks later and only cover the essential rooms such as the bedrooms and open-plan kitchen/living area.
And again, I wouldn’t personally recommend this to anyone, but unfortunately, we really have no other real choice now…
No idea if this is an option for you, but we just lived on the screed floor for the first few weeks. Not because of moisture or necessity, but simply because we wanted to move in and didn’t have time to lay the final flooring yet.
Without children, it’s not that bad; the only thing that really suffers are the socks (they wear out quickly). With a pet, it probably wouldn’t work well either, as their paws could be affected.
Without children, it’s not that bad; the only thing that really suffers are the socks (they wear out quickly). With a pet, it probably wouldn’t work well either, as their paws could be affected.
xMisterDx schrieb:
I would probably still go ahead and install the baseboards... people often underestimate the effort, and once the furniture is in place, no one wants to move it a meter away from the wall just to fit baseboards. If you leave a 10-15mm (0.4-0.6 inch) expansion gap, nothing should happen, right? Thanks for the tip! I’ll probably do the one wall behind the wardrobe, but all the other furniture can be moved easily. Bed, sofa, dressers, etc. can be shifted quickly with two people.
Lotti88 schrieb:
No idea if this is an option for you, but we just lived on the screed floor for the first few weeks. Not because of moisture or necessity, but simply because we wanted to move in and hadn’t had time to install the flooring yet. That’s not a bad idea either, but you really have to be able to handle it. Unfortunately, I’m not very good at living in chaos, and at the start, that’s inevitably the case. I need my order to feel comfortable. During my last moves, it got so bad that I would start assembling all the furniture in the evenings and only stop when everything was done. That won’t be possible with the house now, but just living on the screed would probably be too much for me. Based on all the information I gathered so far, I wouldn’t consider the risk too high anymore anyway.
But thanks for the tip!
P
Pinkiponk24 Nov 2023 13:20jrth2151 schrieb:
And again, I wouldn’t personally recommend it to anyone, but unfortunately, we really don’t have much choice anymore… Maybe a silly question, but why don’t you have any more options? I ask because I once—temporarily in the kitchen and bedroom—simply laid down that familiar brown kraft paper on an unfinished floor and was able to live quite comfortably on it for a few weeks.
Pinkiponk schrieb:
Maybe a silly question, but why don’t you have a choice anymore? I ask because I once – in the kitchen and bedroom – simply laid that well-known brown craft paper over a floor that wasn’t ready yet during a transitional phase and managed to live with it quite well for a few weeks. This brings us back a bit to the “waiting for the screed to dry” idea, which I’ve already addressed a bit earlier.
On top of that, from the beginning of next year we will both be busy with work and travel a lot, so we won’t have the time to move furniture around and lay the floor. I have saved all my vacation days this year so that I can take time off starting next week until the end of the year. During that period, I want to get the major tasks done (install the flooring, varnish the staircase, buy and assemble furniture, clean, understand the heating system, finish setting up the technical installations, and so on). My partner is helping me as much as she can, but she is finding it mentally challenging to handle such a huge amount of tasks. That’s okay though, because she is great at doing other things for us.
If the risk had been very high and the moisture test on the screed had shown a lot of moisture, we might have accepted the delay, but I think it’s fine as it is now.
And a very, very small part of it is that we would like to spend Christmas at home this year. Just to finally relax after the construction stress of the past two years. Building a house while managing a stressful work life is not to be underestimated, both physically and mentally.
X
xMisterDx24 Nov 2023 17:50Who really feels like dismantling their kitchen after just a few months because they want to install the flooring? Especially since tiles are generally the best choice for kitchens anyway... I didn’t want to admit it at first, but now I’m grateful every day that there are tiles and not vinyl, where every dropped fork at the wrong angle immediately leaves a mark.
Of course, you can end the baseboards at the cabinets. But it’s always visible... and if you move a piece of furniture 20cm (8 inches) left or right, you have to patch it up, and the joint will still be clearly visible 😉
I’ve already talked to many people about this, and the consensus was unanimous: Do as much as you can before you move in... once you’re living there, you won’t get anything done... and that’s usually how it goes.
Of course, you can end the baseboards at the cabinets. But it’s always visible... and if you move a piece of furniture 20cm (8 inches) left or right, you have to patch it up, and the joint will still be clearly visible 😉
I’ve already talked to many people about this, and the consensus was unanimous: Do as much as you can before you move in... once you’re living there, you won’t get anything done... and that’s usually how it goes.
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