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Cement


Airehead

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1 minute ago, Airehead said:

Not an issue at my house.

what typically goes between ground and cement or maybe cement and flooring to stop ground water from leaching in?

That varies a lot pending frost levels, water levels and building codes.  Sometimes closed cell foam, sometime moisture barrier, sometimes nothing. 

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Just now, team scooter said:

The trick is to keep water away from your foundation before it seeps in. When the lake level was high at my house, the sump pumps running non stop was the only thing that prevented me from having a flooded basement.

Yep.  Perimeter drainage and sump pumps.  

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32 minutes ago, Airehead said:

Not an issue at my house.

what typically goes between ground and cement or maybe cement and flooring to stop ground water from leaching in?

Depending on where your problem is I have seen companies use thick plastic or water proof tarps for between cement and ground. BUT inside between floor and cement is special padding with a one way breathable layer so carpet or hardwood flooring does not have a problem

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9 hours ago, Airehead said:

Not an issue at my house.

what typically goes between ground and cement or maybe cement and flooring to stop ground water from leaching in?

I have water leaking in through the cinder block walls in my basement and the guys who rebuilt my house told me to get DRYLOK Extreme and paint them with it.  I don't think it's meant for surfaces you walk on, but it's recommended for cement pools, too.

I costs about $160 for 5 gallons and I was told that much should take care of my basement walls.

I didn't do it last year because I had to wait for the ground around the water lines to settle - water was coming in a lot along the pipes until it did - and want to wait for warm weather, so I can open the basement windows and doors, but I will do it this Summer. I need to apply some concrete sealer in a couple major cracks first.

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We had that very problem in the building of my previous employer. We used the professional carpet tiles for many years. They seemed to work to a point. Where there were entry mats on top of the carpet, or plastic mats under desks for the chairs, the moisture would still collect. When it came time to replace, they decided to do a standard roll carpet because it cost 1/3 as much. They then put the rollerblade chair wheels on chairs and tossed the plastic mats. They figured if the carpet lasts half as long as the carpet tiles, they are still money ahead. 

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5 minutes ago, groupw said:

We had that very problem in the building of my previous employer. We used the professional carpet tiles for many years. They seemed to work to a point. Where there were entry mats on top of the carpet, or plastic mats under desks for the chairs, the moisture would still collect. When it came time to replace, they decided to do a standard roll carpet because it cost 1/3 as much. They then put the rollerblade chair wheels on chairs and tossed the plastic mats. They figured if the carpet lasts half as long as the carpet tiles, they are still money ahead. 

Where there is broadloom carpet there is no issue. Apparently the moisture goes through and evaporates. Where there is vinyl backed carpet tiles or vinyl cafeteria tiles there is a mess. Glue seeping up from the tiles and not drying, etc…

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10 hours ago, team scooter said:

The trick is to keep water away from your foundation before it seeps in.

This is the key.  :nodhead:

If you have a slab on grade and water/moisture is coming up through the slab, then the water below the slab is under pressure and seeking the path of least resistance.  Which tells me there must be a fair amount of water under the slab because, while concrete is porous, it's not easy to push water/moisture through.  It's easier for water to evaporate into open air than through a slab than into a building.  The dynamics are a bit more complicated than that, but without getting psychometric charts, blah, blah, blah that's the essence of what's happening.

I'd suggest looking for the source of water, and looking for a place to move it to.

For example, if your school backs up to a hill and the water is rolling down the hill to collect under the slab, then dig a small drainage ditch or install a perforated pipe between the base of the hill and the school.  Or, install a perforated pipe around the slab - or around the problem areas of the slab - to capture the water before it gets under the slab.

The next trick so to take the water you collect and put it someplace where it won't come back, and where it can drain away.  This could be a retention pond, a lower area of the property, or onto the property of a neighbor who is a jerk.  Worst case, you may have to collect it and pump it away.

Some people will install dehumidifiers to drag the moisture out of the air, which appears to help with or solve the problem.  What it really does is takes the objectionable moisture out of the air, but it lowers the humidity inside the building.  This essentially makes it easier for more moisture to migrate through the slab because the dehumidifier increases the moisture difference between the space below and above the slab.  The greater the difference the more moisture will travel through.

The real wizards set up a dehumidifier and then let it empty into the french drain between the slab and the walls.  Which allows the water to seep back under the slab before it reaches the sump....  And if does reach the sump it allows the water to seep back under the slab while the sump pump isn't running...  The dehumidifier never removes any water, just keeps sending it around and around.

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