Flooring
CSI Division 09, Finishes
The finished floor surface installed over a building's structural floor or [[concept-slab-on-grade|slab-on-grade]], such as carpet, resilient (vinyl), tile, or wood, selected for the space's use and installed over a subfloor that has to be flat, clean, and at the right moisture level for that specific flooring type.
Why it matters
Different flooring materials have very different moisture sensitivity, and installing moisture-sensitive flooring over a concrete slab that hasn't cured long enough or hasn't been tested for moisture content is one of the most common, expensive flooring failures; the flooring can bubble, delaminate, or grow mold long after the rest of the project looks finished.
On a real project
Before installing moisture-sensitive vinyl flooring over a new concrete slab, the flooring contractor tests the slab's moisture emission rate and confirms it's below the flooring manufacturer's maximum threshold before proceeding with installation.
Who this matters most to
A specialty flooring crew installs the finished floor, but a Quality Control Manager often requires moisture testing on a new slab before flooring installation is allowed to proceed, since a flooring failure traced back to slab moisture is expensive to remediate after the fact. A Facilities Manager deals with the long-term maintenance and eventual replacement of flooring long after the original installation.
Where this goes wrong
A flooring contractor installs vinyl flooring over a concrete slab that was poured only a few weeks earlier, skipping the moisture testing step to keep the schedule on track. Residual moisture still trapped in the curing slab migrates up through the flooring over the following months, causing it to bubble and delaminate across large sections that then have to be torn out and replaced.