3 times this week I've been asked, is that floor dry to lay on or how long will it take to dry out. Giving the answer it looks dry or it will be dry in so many hours is not good enough so it's time to get a bit of equipment. For those of you that have them, what would you recommend. The majority of my work is carpet so it's not needed a great deal but getting a bit more wood and one particular job of laying some safety floor in a gym changing rooms, they are closing it for as long as I say the floor needs to dry out so its important I have something good. Planning to spend about 400
@ merit. You mean what it's for? @ Tom. What did you pay. I want something that's quick and easy to use.
@ matt. Can you tell me the differences between the 3 in the trade shop. All around £3-350 cmex 2, cme 4, meh 3 .
theres two definitive types mate Those that tell you if its damp, and the ones that tell you just how damp (rh% etc) at £400 you'd easily manage to snag a Protimeter MMS on evilbay Or maybe just get yourself a digi hygro box (around £100 each) but depends on the size of jobs your doing, as you need to have at least a couple boxes to get avg readings etc My personal setup is an MMS with blank hygro boxes at £25 each (so ive got 6 boxes for the price of 1.5 digi ones) and its not a problem if some big footed labourer gives one the boot compared to the £100 a pop digi ones lol Horses for courses mate
@ coolevilangel. Hi mate. Can you not get one that does both? I was hoping to have one that I placed on, it scanned and gave the accurate reading. Not possible?
I see you we're discussing this with matt, Tarkett is 2011 on the forum. So tramex is fast and with the probe it does it all, correct?
So am I right in thinking you have to drill into the concrete to use the probe for the rh reading with the tramex.
simple answer, no not possible mate The yanks have one that reads instantly if i remember rightly, but we cant get it over here... The mms does everything, it has a sacan mode and it reads in rh% BUT You cant get anything here in UK that tells you instantly how damp (rh%) etc readings normally take place over a 72hour period (unless you get constant readings over a 24 hour one)
Oh ok. I thought the new ones had scan mode which gave an accurate rh reading without having to drill into the concrete and use the probe.
you can also get the blank hygro boxes for the tramex too mate They are a non invasive test (so no drilling into mrs smiths u/floor heating!) lol
And why can't we get it? I know someone out in the states, could I get one from him or is the reading different to here?
scan mode only tells you if the floor is damp mate You then need to perform a seperate RH test to find out how damp it is
Its a drill method so its invasive dont think it will conform to BS mate Total pita as i know they would sell like bleeding hotcakes!
So basically it's a case of scan for damp and then drill and use probe or leave the boxes down and come back after 72 hours?
Concrete needs to have been down 4 weeks minimum, find the dampest areas and do a few invasive or non invasive tests leave minimum of 72 hours to take readings both tramex and protimeter do decent meters.
The 1 hour test equipment mike is on about is called a Rapid RH. We can get them in the u.k but cost something like £25 per test as the actual probe you insert into the floor cant be recovered. Ok so a quick break down on tramex v protimeter. Both meters have a scan mode. You should use the scan mode to find teh wettest area of teh concrete and when you have found this area you should then set up a hygrometer test. A hygrometer test being either a none invasive test hood or by drilling teh subfloor for a plug test. (The hygrometer test is the only recognized BS test and takes 72 hours) Even tho both meters have a scan mode the tramex in scan mode will give a very accurate reading in MC (NOT RH so does not meet BS) that is a European standard. The tramex is giving you a proper reading tho. The protimeter in scan mode does not give any type of recognized result and is purely a indicator. Both meters can do a RH test but you need to plug a hygrometer probe in that takes 72hours to BS to read. Going back to the Rapid RH (1 hour test). What people dont realize is the tramex Iprobe is actually the same probe the rapid rh uses and the tramex will give you a accurate RH test in 1 HOUR ! However, BS standards say the test should take 72hrs so even tho the tramex can give a RH reading in 1 hour, basically it does not meet british standards. Daft but the problem is BS standards wont be changed to accommodate for what the tramex can actually do as that would mean BS standards would be massive if it had to make allowances for all products out there.
