Drying floors

[baldkev]

Hi guys,
I need some ideas

Im on a project at the mo, bungalow with loft conversion, extension and full refurb downstairs.

The roof is covered by clear tarps, but we had some leaks due to tarps being worn / damaged ( now fixed )

The concrete floor where the extension joins the existing house is damp because until very recently I didnt have a flat roof over the extension ( now on ). I need to dry the concrete out for the underfloor heating to go down next thursday, but, a dehumidifier might not work because the building is not fully sealed. A heater wont touch the room because the heat wont be able to build up.

I could try a flame gun? Ive got a propane bottle and small burner....

There are no windows, just plastic covering them in.

Any ideas?

 

[Spectric]

Just use some big fans, the movement of air across the floor will dry it out and if warm air all the better. What sort of underfloor heating, wet or electric ?

I am going to be fitting underfloor heating in our kitchen, only because having done the ultilty we now have a difference in floor heights after getting the ultility floor level, so rather than just a lot of self leveling compound to raise by 22mm I thought using Profix panels and 12mm pipe will require a lot less compound.

 

[baldkev]

Just use some big fans, the movement of air across the floor will dry it out and if warm air all the better. What sort of underfloor heating, wet or electric ?

I am going to be fitting underfloor heating in our kitchen, only because having done the ultilty we now have a difference in floor heights after getting the ultility floor level, so rather than just a lot of self leveling compound to raise by 22mm I thought using Profix panels and 12mm pipe will require a lot less compound.

Hi,
Good point, a fan or 2 would help....

Its a piped ufh system, laid in plastic trays which are self adhesive, so the floor should be dry for the trays to stick to it.... it's possible to screw the trays as well if necessary, but more work. The pipes get a liquid screed over the top, such as mapei ultraplan or similar. Its a low profile system, so total thickness will be around 20 to 25mm, allowing for unlevel existing floors

 

[Spectric]

You may not have an issue, the system I am looking at also uses plastic trays that are self adhesive and are stuck to the floor, in the product blurb they say you must prime the floor with PVA having made it dust free.



In this case so long as you remove excess water then priming it will make it wet anyway so problem solved.

 

[baldkev]

You may not have an issue, the system I am looking at also uses plastic trays that are self adhesive and are stuck to the floor, in the product blurb they say you must prime the floor with PVA having made it dust free.



In this case so long as you remove excess water then priming it will make it wet anyway so problem solved.

Thanks Spectric, but be careful there.... you need to check the screed specs..... i primed the floors with sbr previously ( after hoovering ) and the screeders raised an issue with it. After talking to a tech department, it seems they require the floors painted with an acrylic primer as sbr will form a film over the floor, which can be lifted fairly easily and apparently the screed sometimes doesnt bond correctly on sbr..... but they did say i can go over the sbr with the acrylic, which i kinda thought defeats the object of not using the sbr.

On a google search, the only stuff i could come up with in reference to sbr and screeds was that sbr can be used to seal screeds for tiling ( although i always use a decoupling matt now, regardless of screed type )

 

[baldkev]

And yep, similar kit to ours. I guess the primer will have gone off long before you try sticking the trays though. From what i can see, the primer kind of guarantees the surface is stable or at least, any remaining dust is bonded down too, giving a fresh surface to grip to

 

[Spectric]

Any reason for using 10mm PERT rather than PEX pipe? Just wondering as my potential supplier advised 12mm PEX.

 

[Spectric]

Taken a look at the floor primer I use, it is Primaplus by tilemaster and is not a PVA. It is blue in colour and is a styrene polymer.

 

[baldkev]

The plumbers specified the system, probably through their supplier, Grant. The aim was a low profile system because there's about 40mm above the old linings to lintle height, so we could put in the ufh and engineered oak and still fit full height doors

 

[Bingy man]

Re drying floor - natural fresh air and fans is the way to go . Using a propane torch will only dry the surface of the floor but will produce water vapour which will eventually fall to the floor, I’ve tiled multiple floors and I’ve always used a primer ( blue in colour) dries clear . I’ve used the same product on walls and especially new plaster-never had any issues with tiles lifting. Floor just needs to be dry and dust free .