Concrete moisture testing?

I received a call yesterday from a guy who is eager for me to expand into concrete moisture testing. He apparently has work lined up for me next week. He said that all I have to do is pass an on-line course and buy a hammer drill. He was saying that this is a HUGE market. Interestingly enough, I’ve never heard of such a thing. I asked him why anyone would want the moisture in their concrete tested and he didn’t have an answer for me. As a Home Inspector, I can’t just go and drill holes all over the place. I was curious if anyone else has heard of this and what the purpose would be. Apparently the sales guy didn’t know.

This is the web site: http://www.floortest.com/

It sounds like a scam to me.

sounds like a structural engineering thing, not so much home inspection…I have never heard if it.

Curtis,

This service is moisture testing of concrete floors in commercial buildings, like Walmart, that intend to place tile, wood, etc. on the floor. If flooring is laid on concrete that is not completely cured the moisture in the concrete will cause the flooring to debond from the concrete.

There is a large liability associated with the company or “independent inspector” that certified the floor was cured properly and the moisture levels were low enough to lay flooring. Some of the companies that offer this talk about “independent” inspectors. That translates to you may be liable for future floor failures if the failure was linked to your testing.

Moisture is only one of several factors that may cause flooring failures. Google “flooring failures on concrete” and educate your self on this issue. This type of testing is usually performed by engineering testing companies and failures are investigated by forensic engineering firms. IMO these new start up companies are trying to cash in on this leaving you the “independent testing company” liable for failures. If you do your home work on these companies most probably work out a temporary office with a box of letterhead paper and a cheap website. Legitimate companies have a staff of forensic engineers, chemist and a testing lab equipped with high dollar instruments.

If it sounds to good to be true, its probably not.

Thanks for your opinions. The whole thing seemed fishy to me right from the start. The guy promised me the world but only required a minimal amount of work from me. I was going to pass on this offer because, frankly, I don’t need the extra work. But being hired as a scape goat certainly doesn’t sound like fun. The offer is open for anyone else who wants to get in on this amazing deal! :wink:

Yes Randy is absolutely correct. Any damage to the floor after you clear it as OK is not worth the headache.

Read this Article. Peter Craig used to work for a Concrete Supply Vendor Near me years ago.

http://www.jdtechnical.com/MoistureTesting_ConcreteSlabs_PAC_Article.htm

:slight_smile:

Marcel, the link doesn’t seem to work in my area. Yahoo tells me the link is forbidden for me.

I edited, try that one. :slight_smile:

Curtis, it’s called a Schmitz hammer and it’s a specific inspection. High quality equipment is expensive and requires expertise in interpreting the results. The people who get hired for this kind of investigation are engineers with specialized training.

This guy is bull****ting you.

There were red flags going up right from the beginning with this project. After reading the article and the other information provided here I can clearly see that the profits made in this are not worth the liability associated with it. I think I’ll stick to what I’m currently doing.

Kenton, am I missing something here? The OP is talking moisture not PSI of Concrete. :slight_smile:

http://www.humboldtmfg.com/images/products/h-2975.jpgClick to Enlarge
Schmidt Hammer, Type N

The Original Schmidt® Hammer, Type N, is designed for non-destructive testing of concrete items 4" (100mm) or more in thickness, or concrete with a maximum particle size less than or equal to 1.25" (32mm). It is designed for testing concrete within a compressive strength range of 1,450 to 10,152 psi (10 to 70 N/mm2) and impact energy of the test is 1.6 ft-lbs (2.207 Nm). The (Type N) Schmidt hammer is pressed against the concrete structure and the rebound values are displayed on a mechanical sliding scale. These values can then be correlated to compressive strength by using the conversion table chart affixed to the hammer. The Original Schmidt Hammer is known for its durability and accuracy.