MOISTURE MITIGATION DENVER · COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL

Concrete Moisture Mitigation in Denver, Colorado

Moisture mitigation work starts with testing the slab, because vapor drive is what pushes coatings and flooring off from underneath. We handle testing, diagnosis, and mitigation across the Colorado Front Range, whether the slab is new or the floor has already failed once.

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Moisture mitigation and the quiet killer of floors

Concrete holds and moves water vapor. When that vapor is too high, it pushes coatings loose, delaminates flooring, and grows mold under the surface. It also remains the most common reason a good coating fails. We measure it before anything goes down, using calcium chloride and relative humidity probe testing, so you know the real number instead of hoping.

Moisture mitigation starts with testing

We test the slab to ASTM standards and read the results, then install the right moisture vapor mitigation system for the number we get and the floor going on top. If a floor has already failed from moisture, we diagnose the cause and fix it so the replacement lasts. We document every step, which matters when a flooring or coating manufacturer wants proof before honoring a warranty.

Who we do this for

Why All West Surface Prep

We have prepped and coated floors across Colorado since 1990, so we have seen what moisture does when nobody addresses it. We test honestly, then mitigate to the actual reading, so the documentation holds up later. Because we also install the coating, one crew handles both the mitigation and the finish, then stands behind the result.

What is moisture mitigation work?

Moisture mitigation means applying a system to an existing slab so water vapor moving up through the concrete cannot destroy the flooring above it. Usually it means an epoxy-based vapor barrier rolled onto a prepared slab, which the spec calls for once testing shows readings above what the flooring or coating manufacturer allows.

Waterproofing will not do this job, and neither will a drainage fix. It manages vapor emission through a slab, which is a different problem from liquid water intrusion.

Why do slabs fail flooring?

Concrete holds water from the day it is placed, and a slab on grade also draws moisture from the ground beneath it. That vapor moves upward and, if the flooring above is impermeable, it collects at the bond line.

The result shows up weeks or months after installation. Adhesive turns to liquid, then squeezes out at the seams. Vinyl plank lifts. Epoxy blisters and releases in sheets. Wood cups. The floor looks fine at handover and fails after everyone has been paid, which is exactly why this is the item most often skipped and most expensive to skip.

How is slab moisture tested?

Two tests dominate. Relative humidity testing places probes in holes drilled into the slab and reads the moisture condition at depth, which is the method most manufacturers now specify. Calcium chloride testing measures vapor emission at the surface, so it reads the top of the slab rather than the depth.

Manufacturers state a maximum in their data sheet, commonly expressed as a percentage relative humidity. A floor installed over readings above that limit is installed outside warranty, whether or not it fails. Testing before mobilization costs a fraction of what a failed floor costs to tear out and redo.

What does a moisture mitigation system involve?

The slab is prepared first, because a vapor barrier bonds to concrete and will not hold on a contaminated or closed surface. That means shot blasting on large open areas or diamond grinding on smaller and detailed areas, profiling to the CSP the manufacturer specifies. Both sit under concrete surface preparation.

The barrier goes down in one or more coats, since the reading and the product set the number. Where the floor also needs flatness correction, underlayment goes over the cured barrier rather than under it.

After that, the finish system installs normally, whether that is epoxy, a polyaspartic coating, or flooring installed by others.

Who pays when a floor fails?

This is the practical reason to handle moisture up front. When a floor delaminates, the flooring contractor points at the slab, the concrete contractor points at the flooring, and the owner is the one with a closed building and a torn-out floor.

Documented moisture testing before installation settles that argument before it starts. AWSP tests, documents the readings, and specifies against the manufacturer data sheet, which means there is a record rather than a set of competing opinions.

What does moisture mitigation cost?

A vapor barrier system prices by square footage, by how many coats the reading requires, and by what preparation the slab needs first. It is a real line item and it is the one most often value-engineered out of a bid.

The comparison worth making is not barrier versus no barrier. It is barrier versus tearing out an installed floor, disposing of it, re-preparing the slab, installing the barrier anyway, and buying the flooring a second time, in a building that has to close again to do it.

Testing is inexpensive relative to either number. If readings come back within the manufacturer limit, no barrier goes in and everyone proceeds with documentation showing why. That documentation is worth having on its own.

AWSP serves Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, South Dakota, and Arizona from Commerce City. See the Colorado service area or return to All West Surface Prep. Call (303) 573-7737, Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm Mountain Time.

Internal slab humidity gets measured under ASTM F2170, using probes set into the slab rather than a surface reading.

Moisture mitigation FAQ