Moisture Testing

[rgfloor]

I ran across something that puzzles me. A company advertises a product to retard moisture. They recommend moisture testing to be done first, then they say to do CalChloride tests afterwards.
Here is the quote "After application of a moisture retarder, additional calcium chloride tests should be performed and results provided to verify the floor meets the manufacturer’s specified moisture emissions rating. When moisture tests are lower than the manufacturer’s tolerance, a successful installation will proceed"

What puzzles me is that to do tests to ASTM standards, you grind off everything you put onto the floor. How then is the moisture retarded?

[Peter Kodner]

I'd put that question to them.

[Curt Durand]

rgfloor & Peter, My thoughts are that the running of a VET on top of the sealed surface would possibly let you know what the VE would be after the sealing - makes sense. The normal VET testing tells you how much moisture emits through the unsealed concrete and a test on the sealed surface after would tell you how much emits through the sealer or how simply successful you were. ASTM was not mentioned in your quotes from the company and the use of VET testing may be a really good predicter of sealing success.

[Peter Kodner]

I see that, but as a moisture tester would you attest to something not conforming to the ASTM protocol? Seems a Catch 22 to me.

[Tandy Reeves]

Curt is correct this is not a ASTM test. It is a test to determine how much moisture is coming through the sealer not the slab. Therefore ASTM protocol does not apply. Much cheaper to do the CC test than to put down a floor and it fail.

[hookknife]

The problem is some so called moisture treatments are garbage, that being said, look to reputable companies for your solutions, one for example will be Ardex moisture system, it is a 2 part epoxy system that is done once, and is good for up to 20 lbs of vapor emmisions( I actually use floorseals MES system) all the 2nd test will prove is if you installed the system correctly or not, some systems will require several coats to accomplish the same as one the the higher end products, my suggestion would be to use the best from the start and forget all the BS associated with the "cheaper companies".