All Forum Posts by: Kurt F.

https://www.homestyler.com/#

Might get you by @Jay Belcher....

@Jon Duperron ....I think your 3 items are well defined.  I like DIY, but I know that there are very few tasks that are smart to do myself, probably leaving the rest as relatively dumb to do myself.  Your #3  starts to speak toward systems and scalability, which is the goal of many investors.         

There are some types of software out there...  I'm all in on Revit, so I've not used them. 

Try Draftsight...free for the 2D version.

Thank you so much you guys. Now, since the epoxy floor is already installed, removing it would be challenging. I was wondering if it is possible to put a vapor barrier underlayment right on top of it and then get a LVT as the finished floor?

So far you've witnessed what have essentially been two full-scale proof-of-excess moisture experiments, and are very possibly headed for a third.  Probably time to stop guessing. 

Honestly?  I would strongly suggest you have someone with some actual expertise look at the conditions in person -- could be a knowledgable GC, an architect, etc.  

You're hoping for a point-source problem -- leaky pipe or something -- and I do hope you can find one.  

But, I doubt that you will find one.  It's probably more or a general problem.  Per my previous post, I'm guessing your below-slab vapor retarder condition is lacking to non-existent.  Probably most of your entire slab area is taking on moisture from below...

So...

How far below grade is the finished floor level?  If it's not much below, you can follow @Mike H. 's advice. 

If it's deeper and modifying exterior perimeter conditions won't help, then it's on to dealing with the problem from the interior.  

You may need to prepare for the possibility that your new epoxy floor will fail.  I know that @Account Closed is correct -- above a certain mositure content, the floor should not have been installed.  

If the epoxy fails, and I hope it does not, one solution is the range of "3D" subfloors that exist.  These created a slightly raised floor above the slab surface that allows a drying space, and the finished flooring material stays dry.  A quality version might be 2 bucks / SF just for the subflooring.  And, you lose a little ceiling height.  And, you need to consider wood walls already in place.  And...   But, it works for some people in some cases.

May very easily have nothing to do with a "leak".

Concrete is porous, and air, water, water vapor, etc., will travel through it.  A standard demonstration related to this is dropping a chunk of concrete into water -- it will bubble for a pretty long time as it takes on water, then when you take it out the reverse occurs.

Can't really tell -- are you saying this is new construction?  Or a new slab poured in an existing house? How old is the slab?  Often, a slab is not given a chance to dry out from the moisture that results from the initial placement process.  Construction itself can create a lot of moisture.   

Beyond that possibility, it sounds like your have either no below-slab vapor retarder, or the wrong type, or one that has failed.  Below slab treatment is critical, and so often done wrong.  

Also unfortunate -- your contractor's sealing efforts may have made the problem even worse, since it essentially eliminates dry-out for a slab...  once water IS in the slab from whatever source, it can only evaporate upward.  l sometimes think that these sealers work just long enough to give the flooring contractor a decent amount of getaway time.

There are some solutions, but very often in these situations there are flooring types and/or conventional install methods that just aren't going to work .  Sorry that there may not be an easy answer.

Good response as well...  plus, while you keep a cool head, there is nothing stopping you from taking breaks while on your way to completing a degree.  This makes parents quite panicky, but if for whatever reason you get burned out, a break can do wonders.  Not a 2 or 3 year break, mind you.  Like a semester off, with the full intent to return.

While I do have a Masters degree, I'm not much on credentialism.  Be very careful not to glorify degrees and diplomas.  A degree is not a plan in itself.

 I'd agree with this...  it does depend how you define "lease".  Because for example, although separate from actual contract language, with a pre-1978 rental you have to hand the tenant the EPA pamphlet -- so right there you can add 19 pages to the Lease.....er, Lease Packet...?

Or is it a Lease Novel? 

 Pretty wordy contracts.  Mine is 10 pages right now, but God willing I know I can double that! Maybe triple!

Steady, now.

Painting wood floors is not necessarily somehow anti-historical, and would not necessarily be inappropriate.  Expensive species such as Oak, Maple, Hickory, Walnut, etc., were typically naturally finished.  However, many circa-1900 midwest houses, as an example,  originally had painted, Southern yellow pine floors -- faux and decorative floor paint techniques were not at all uncommon in lieu of more expensive materials.