Method for installing a flooring surface on a concrete slab or deck base coated with a sealing material

Abstract

A method for installing a flooring surface on a concrete slab or deck base coated with a sealing material to seal the surface and limit the passage of moisture therethrough comprising pouring concrete to create a poured concrete slab or deck base or obtaining a pre-cast concrete slab or deck base, allowing the concrete slab or deck base to cure, cleaning the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base, testing the cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base to determine at least one of its pH, relative humidity, and vapor emission level, applying a layer of a sealing material , curing the sealing material to form the coated, cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base, and installing an athletic, commercial, or residential flooring surface on the coated, cured or partially cured concrete slab or deck base.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims priority from provisional application Ser. No. 61 / 831,378, filed Jun. 5, 2013.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to a method for installing a flooring surface on a concrete slab or deck base coated with a sealing material to limit the passage of moisture therethrough.[0003]Concrete slab or deck bases are porous. There are many micro-capillaries within a concrete slab that allow for penetration of moisture and hydrostatic pressure through the concrete slab or deck base to a flooring surface placed on the concrete slab. This moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetration are major causes of damage and ruination of flooring in the athletics, commercial, and residential flooring industries, costing over a billion dollars annually.[0004]Concrete slab or deck bases exhibit great vulnerability with respect to relative humidity, pH, hydrostatic pressure, and efflorescence. Further, it is often not feasib...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a method for installing a flooring surface on a concrete slab or deck base that has been previously coated with a sealing material. The method includes steps for preparing the concrete surface, cleaning it, testing its pH, humidity, and vapor emission level, applying a layer of sealing material, curing it, and installing a flooring surface. The technical effects include improving the appearance and durability of the flooring surface and preventing moisture damage to the underlying concrete surface. Additionally, the method may include using a pre-coat or second application of sealing material and / or a flooring adhesive to further improve the stability and adhesion of the flooring surface.

Problems solved by technology

This moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetration are major causes of damage and ruination of flooring in the athletics, commercial, and residential flooring industries, costing over a billion dollars annually.

Concrete slab or deck bases exhibit great vulnerability with respect to relative humidity, pH, hydrostatic pressure, and efflorescence.

Further, it is often not feasible to wait for a concrete slab base to reach optimal conditions with to relative humidity, pH, hydrostatic pressure, and efflorescence before a wood, polyurethane, urethane, polyvinylchloride, vinyl, carpet or padded flooring surface is installed above the concrete slab base, depending on project specifications and completion timelines.

Suspended wood flooring surfaces used in the athletics industry warps, bends, bows, and / or rots when moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetrate through the concrete slab or deck base and are absorbed by the wood, resulting in a failure of the suspended wood flooring surface.

When wood flooring surfaces used in the athletics industry are directly adhered to the concrete slab versus suspended, the wood flooring surface often delaminates from the concrete slab base, causing buckling of the wood flooring surface.

As the moisture continues to penetrate the directly adhered wood flooring surface, it too will ultimately warp, bend, bow, and / or rot, resulting in a failure of the flooring surface.

These flooring surface failures are not only costly to repair, they are also potentially the cause of serious injury to those who step, plant, and / or push off of areas of failure.

This buildup of moisture and pressure creates loose areas and bubbles that require costly repair and require full flooring surface replacement as the condition worsens.

Moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetration also cause problems in commercial and residential flooring industries.

Costly repairs are necessary in these instances, and eventual replacement of the tile flooring surface may be needed as the moisture penetration issues worsen.

Injury is also a very real possibility in these contexts, as those walking or running over failing areas may suffer falls and related injuries, such as breaks and sprains.

Residential and commercial carpet flooring surfaces experience rippling, rot and / or ruination of the carpet and padding flooring surfaces where moisture penetrates through the concrete slab and builds below the carpet and pad.

In addition to cost concerns, in residential and commercial office settings, there are health concerns related to mold growth below and within the pad and carpet.

In these instances, one may not only encounter significant cost of replacement, but also significant expenses relating to mold abatement and healthcare.

Methods incorporating these products have potentially negative health and environmental impacts, are very costly to implement, do not exhibit optimal performance, and have significant drawbacks in terms of application and usage.

Urethane, vinyl, and epoxy formulated products have varying levels of VOC's that are harmful to both individuals and the environment.

Further, liquid and solid waste containing urethane, vinyl, and epoxy formulated products often requires disposal in dedicated landfills with accompanying disposal fees.

These urethane, vinyl, and epoxy products also have a limited pot life, or working time, and greater waste is generated when these products are selected to prevent moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetration from a concrete slab or deck base.

Additionally, urethane, vinyl, and epoxy formulated products are very expensive and the cleaning solvents required for tools used to apply these products can be equally expensive.

Unit costs for methods incorporating these products are 50% to 80% more expensive than those used in the method proposed herein.

There may also be additional costs incurred in connection with disposal of these products as discussed above.

Further, urethane, vinyl, and epoxy formulated products are very brittle.

As the concrete base slab cracks from expansion, contraction, and ground movement, these products crack, thereby creating a route for moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetration and loss of the concrete slab or deck base seal.

In instances where the flooring surface is anchored to the concrete, the brittle nature of these products may result in compromise to the seal around the anchor as the anchor is installed.

In addition, urethane, vinyl, and epoxy formulated products have a short pot-life, or time of workability, often of less than thirty minutes.

Once the urethane, vinyl and epoxy formulated products' components are mixed, they have to be immediately applied or they become waste.

However, this type of plastic vapor barrier is not always successful in preventing moisture and hydrostatic pressure penetration from entering the poured concrete.

In addition, this plastic sheeting does not prevent the moisture and the concrete from penetrating out of the concrete through the capillaries and negatively interacting the flooring surface, either directly or not directly adhered to the concrete.