Charlie: Shirley lives over in Acres Homes. She wants to know how to rid the moisture from her laminate flooring. She bought some laminate wood. The installers say the moisture is high. They said it can’t be higher than 3.5. Hers is 4.0 to 5.5. What can she do about this, Tom?
Podcast: Play in new window
Tom: She can’t do anything. It’s really not that bad. I’m surprised they’re taking it down to 3.5. It must be the manufacturer of that particular floor.
Charlie: Maybe so, yeah.
Tom: Because usually around 7% is pretty typical, five to seven on any slab in Houston. There’s not much you can do except what you do is, and any good floor company will tell you, pick another floor that will meet that. You can’t reduce it, because it’s going to fluctuate throughout the year.
Charlie: There isn’t any kind of moisture barrier to put down, but then I guess you’d have a problem there.
Tom: Well, if it’s a … No, if it’s a laminate floor that floats, you put the plastic down and the foam and then you put the floor on top. That is the moisture barrier. But it’s on the floor design. If the floor manufacturer says you have to reach this and you can’t exceed it, then if you can’t do that, you have to choose a different floor.
Charlie: Or you can choose that floor and know that you have no warranty, so Shirley.
Tom: Yeah, no, don’t do that.
Charlie: How do you feel-
Tom: That’s another thing, so.
Charlie: The question is do you feel lucky?
Tom: Yeah, exactly.