When Graham Caldwell of Karndean International agreed with his wife Jeannette that the time had come to have a new kitchen installed, little did he know what problems were lurking under his kitchen-family room floor!
The renovation included a completely new Karndean vinyl tiled floor covering in the family room and adjoining kitchen area; a total of 60 square metres of Da Vinci “Celtic Slate” tiles. The kitchen installation company had already pulled out the old appliances and cabinets by the time Mike Farrelly from Farrelly Flooring & Installation of Langwarrin arrived to start the pull-up and were scheduled to return three days later (after the weekend) for the new build – if this slot was lost, then Graham and Jeannette would have to wait without a kitchen for another two weeks!
Imagine the shock when the original PVC tiles were removed, revealing a major damp problem in the slab that had crept almost to the kitchen area in one direction and the patio door in the other which was traced to a 10 year old extension which incorrectly butted the new slab to the existing slab without overlapping the damp course membranes. A quick prod with a chisel reveled ‘ground zero’; the flooring work was stopped immediately and the time frame started to look grim.
Oxtek to the Rescue: Graham’s first reaction was to use traditional moisture barrier after first grinding off the top screed, but knew that the work involved plus two coats spaced 24 hours apart, then re-screeding and installation meant a delay of at least 6 days.
Graham had the forethought to contact Terry Lucas of Oxtek because he recalled seeing frequent industry advertising about new technology for fixing up damp floors, but beyond that knew nothing about it. Terry’s site inspection confirmed Graham’s worst fears, but with one big benefit. Terry explained how “X220 Moisture Fix” could knock off at least three days from the timetable and, if grinding could take place on the Saturday and Graham was prepared to apply the X220 Moisture Fix himself on the Sunday, then he would be back on schedule. Jeannette Caldwell exclaimed that Graham was no natural handyman and Graham admitted that it was well known that his practical flooring skills were nil and that if he could do it, then anyone could do it too.
One of the prime benefits of X220 Moisture Fix is that it is not a 2-part epoxy system and comes ready to use with no mixing, is zero VOC environmentally safe, non toxic, non flammable and odourless and can be simply poured and broom spread across the slab by unskilled labour, yet be dry within 24 hours. Graham’s eyes lit up and he cancelled any social plans for the weekend!
How X220 Moisture Fix Works: After the old floor prep material was mechanically removed to expose a clean sound parent concrete substrate, Terry suggested to cut a 50mm x 50mm trench at the joint line and fill this with an Ardex joint and crack repair system, using Ardex Moisture Barrier mixed with sand and Ardur Rapid45. This is a fast and effective guaranteed way of eliminating any further moisture ingress up through the joint cavity and steer it sideways where the Oxtek X220 Moisture Fix will do the rest, ensuring a permanent solution to Graham’s problem. Terry was also thankful for the help of Aaron Martin (National Business Manager Flooring) of Ardex, for his input and help with working together to provide Graham and Jeannette the most cost and time saving solution with absolute minimum disruption to their normal daily life overcoming their problems in the most effective way.
Then Graham spent only one hour of his time on Sunday applying the X220 Moisture Fix by pouring two square metres at a time and simply using a soft broom to spread it evenly to absorb into the slab.
The liquid state of X220 Moisture Fix deeply penetrates and forms a non destructive colloidal gel which provides a permanent moisture and vapour barrier that withstands hydrostatic pressure – in Graham’s case moisture now diverted sideward in his slab will immediately be locked up and blocked from influencing the bond between the substrate and the floor tiles.
On the Monday floor preparation was resumed using Ardex K15 self-leveling compound,then the next day the Karndean floor tiles were installed using the approved adhesive system. The kitchen installation company arrived on the Wednesday without realizing that Graham, with the assistance of new technology X220 Moisture Fix, had saved explaining to his wife why she might have had to go another two weeks without her new kitchen!
