âHousing Recovery Gains Momentumâ
âWith home prices and household formations rising and household balance sheets healing, the ongoing housing recovery is expected to gain momentum next year even as several challenges remain, according to economists who participated in the recent National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Fall 2013 Construction Forecast Webinar. “The cards are in play for a decent…
âRecord High 291 Housing Markets Listed as Improving in Septemberâ
âA total of 291 metropolitan areas across the country now qualify as improving housing markets, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) for September, released today. This reflects a gain of 44 markets from August and marks the index’s highest level since it was initiated two years ago. The…
âResilient Flooring Adhesives: Working with the Right Productâ
âWith the popularity of LVT still high, resilient flooring shows no signs of slowing down. More customers looking to have resilient installed in both residential and commercial settings have brought new advances to the segment as manufacturers look to create products for every type of resilient floor, and for every type of setting. Question is,…
âReflecting on FCI and the Industryâ
âI began installing in 1976. I started in carpet, then when the economy slowed in the â80s, I decided to expand into other flooring categories. I went to as many training seminars as I could, and on-the-job training for tile, hardwood, and resilient vinyl. I remember when Floor Covering Installer first came out and thought,…
âConcrete Moisture Emission Vapor Testing: Different Tests, Different Results â Why is That?â
âThe two most popular concrete moisture vapor emission test methods are the ASTM F1869 calcium chloride dome test and the ASTM F2170 in situ relative humidity drill test. These are very different and distinct in methodology and results; they cannot be compared to each other. Both are quantitative result tests, though they measure different things….
“Self-Leveling Underlyment’s Evolving with New Technology”
â…Of course, no underlayment will function correctly if the substrate isnât properly prepped first. USG recommends shot-blasting or otherwise mechanically profiling the surface before the pour. âSelf-leveling underlayments are not a cure-all. These products wonât stop or eliminate active cracks or other problems. The product you put on top of the substrate will only perform…
Moisture Levels: Do Not Trust, Verify
âFor the installation of vinyl-backed sheet products, manufacturers recommend the moisture levels to be at 80% as required by the ASTM F2170-02 âStandard Test Method for Determining Relative Humidity in Concrete Floor Slabs using the in situ Probes.â The ability to achieve these numbers is becoming more difficult to obtain. There are several factors that…
2013 TCNA Handbook Addresses Concrete Slabs that Do Not Measure Up
“The vast majority of commercial tile installations, and a significant percentage of residential ones, are bonded directly to concrete slabs. This means when concrete workers are finishing slabs slated for tile, theyâre forming the tile installersâ substrate. The flatness of these slabs â the concrete installerâs workmanship, effectively â can be measured in different ways….
“Light Commercial Hardwood: Savvy Pointers to Avoid Costly Callbacks”
âParamount to a successful commercial hardwood flooring installation is in knowing how to avoid certain pitfalls normally associated with commercial installations that donât come into play as often in residential applications. There are quite a few of them, but I have selected five that could cause serious headaches and costly callbacks if not properly addressed….
“Underlayments â So Many Choices”
âThe extremely fast-paced schedules of todayâs jobsites demand products that can fix floor surfaces quickly, efficiently and in a cost-effective fashion. These surface coatings are sometimes called on to correct extreme variations in plane â while drying quickly and ready to receive tile in short order. Self-levelers or SLUs, as they are known, meet these…