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Started By
Message
Home Humidity, HVAC cycling, and LVP Flooring
Posted on 12/11/19 at 12:55 pm
Posted on 12/11/19 at 12:55 pm
So I am currently in the process or installing new floors in my home. The home is approximately 1900 sq ft and we are replacing about 1000 sq ft of flooring. I have currently removed all of the old flooring down to the slab. The slab has been exposed in the home now for 2-3 weeks while we are awaiting our new flooring to come in to install.
Over the last 1-2 weeks, my wife and I started to notice that our house has seemed to be very humid. We bought a cheap sensor which is now showing >80% humidity in the home. Prior to removing the old flooring, we did not really notice that the home was humid, but it is difficult to say whether or not it was there before and we just started to notice it because of the flooring being removed.
The flooring that we have chosen to install is Luxury Vinyl Plank - which is waterproof/resistant to moisture. However, I now have hesitations about installing new flooring while the house is so humid due to concerns of it being damaged, or moisture becoming entrapped between the flooring and the slab leading to mold issues.
I started to look more into our AC unit to see if this can be a cause. Our home is approximately 1900 sq ft with a 3.5 ton 14 SEER unit. A company performed a load calculation on our house and had recommended upsizing to 3.5 tons from 3 tons. This was done approximately 6 months ago. I started to time our cycles over the last week, and it seems like our AC cycles 3 times per hour, running for 7 minutes on and 15 minutes off.
My question is: could the exposed slabs in our home be causing this excess humidity and once the new flooring is installed then the home will be less humid? And that our AC might just not by cycling long enough because we’ve had relatively cooler weather recently, now with an exposed slab, so it hasn’t needed to run as long to maintain the home’s temperature?
Or could this be a problem with my AC being oversized and that I have to remove the excess humidity in our home before putting new flooring down and risking them becoming damaged by moisture?
Or would it not matter much about the flooring since it is LVP and should be resistant to excess moisture?
I am just not sure how I should proceed from here.
Any and all advice is much appreciated!
Over the last 1-2 weeks, my wife and I started to notice that our house has seemed to be very humid. We bought a cheap sensor which is now showing >80% humidity in the home. Prior to removing the old flooring, we did not really notice that the home was humid, but it is difficult to say whether or not it was there before and we just started to notice it because of the flooring being removed.
The flooring that we have chosen to install is Luxury Vinyl Plank - which is waterproof/resistant to moisture. However, I now have hesitations about installing new flooring while the house is so humid due to concerns of it being damaged, or moisture becoming entrapped between the flooring and the slab leading to mold issues.
I started to look more into our AC unit to see if this can be a cause. Our home is approximately 1900 sq ft with a 3.5 ton 14 SEER unit. A company performed a load calculation on our house and had recommended upsizing to 3.5 tons from 3 tons. This was done approximately 6 months ago. I started to time our cycles over the last week, and it seems like our AC cycles 3 times per hour, running for 7 minutes on and 15 minutes off.
My question is: could the exposed slabs in our home be causing this excess humidity and once the new flooring is installed then the home will be less humid? And that our AC might just not by cycling long enough because we’ve had relatively cooler weather recently, now with an exposed slab, so it hasn’t needed to run as long to maintain the home’s temperature?
Or could this be a problem with my AC being oversized and that I have to remove the excess humidity in our home before putting new flooring down and risking them becoming damaged by moisture?
Or would it not matter much about the flooring since it is LVP and should be resistant to excess moisture?
I am just not sure how I should proceed from here.
Any and all advice is much appreciated!
5
Posted on 12/11/19 at 1:21 pm to mkel10
How old is the house? Possible a vapor barrier was not installed under the slab? What kind of flooring did you remove?
We had significant humidity issues due to both oversized HVAC and poor construction/flashing/sheathing damage. It's worse, as you mentioned, in cooler weather when the HVAC isn't running. Humidity leads to mold pretty quickly in the south, and mold sucks. You want to get this under control ASAP. We ended up making a lot of repairs to the house that improve the envelope, but also added a whole-home dehumidifier and are VERY happy that we did.
We had significant humidity issues due to both oversized HVAC and poor construction/flashing/sheathing damage. It's worse, as you mentioned, in cooler weather when the HVAC isn't running. Humidity leads to mold pretty quickly in the south, and mold sucks. You want to get this under control ASAP. We ended up making a lot of repairs to the house that improve the envelope, but also added a whole-home dehumidifier and are VERY happy that we did.
This post was edited on 12/11/19 at 1:29 pm
Posted on 12/11/19 at 1:42 pm to shell01
About how much does it cost to install a whole home dehumidifier?
Posted on 12/11/19 at 2:16 pm to mkel10
We have this Ultra-Aire 98, $1700. Installation requires electrical, plumbing and ductwork; not sure of the cost because we did it ourselves.
Posted on 12/11/19 at 3:53 pm to shell01
Make sure the fan isn’t set to “on”. Our house was unbelievably humid for 3 weeks before we figured it out.
Posted on 12/11/19 at 4:09 pm to mkel10
Was your old flooring that you removed a moisture resistant barrier product?
A concrete slab is not a moisture resistant material so if a vapor barrier was not placed under the slab when poured, or if you have an older home, the vapor barrier under the slab will deteriorate over time allowing moisture to migrate up through the slab, so I think your assessment of the moisture source (high humidity) in your home is a a correct one.
Your HVAC should be sized correctly based on the load test conducted prior to installing the new HVAC but considering the time of the year and cool outside temperatures, you are not getting much run time to remove much interior moisture. If you had 80% in the home this past summer you would have noticed it, LOL, so I have to think the combination of exposed concrete and short run times on your HVAC is the source of your moisture issue.
Are you installing the LVT yourself? If so, one option would be to purchase or rent a couple portable de-humidifiers to get the moisture down to an acceptable level room but room for installation of the LVP, following the LVT manufacturer’s recommendations on acceptable slab moisture level for installation.
The suggestion of a whole house dehumidifier is a good recommendation. Though I don’t have one I plan to install one when I upgrade my HVAC in the next year or 2 - perhaps before then. Whole house dehumidifiers really shine in the humid Deep South in mild winters and fall and spring when HVAC don’t run for long hours. I gather from reading that whole house humidifiers are under-utilized in the humid Deep South. I also plan to go with the Ultra-Aire.
A concrete slab is not a moisture resistant material so if a vapor barrier was not placed under the slab when poured, or if you have an older home, the vapor barrier under the slab will deteriorate over time allowing moisture to migrate up through the slab, so I think your assessment of the moisture source (high humidity) in your home is a a correct one.
Your HVAC should be sized correctly based on the load test conducted prior to installing the new HVAC but considering the time of the year and cool outside temperatures, you are not getting much run time to remove much interior moisture. If you had 80% in the home this past summer you would have noticed it, LOL, so I have to think the combination of exposed concrete and short run times on your HVAC is the source of your moisture issue.
Are you installing the LVT yourself? If so, one option would be to purchase or rent a couple portable de-humidifiers to get the moisture down to an acceptable level room but room for installation of the LVP, following the LVT manufacturer’s recommendations on acceptable slab moisture level for installation.
The suggestion of a whole house dehumidifier is a good recommendation. Though I don’t have one I plan to install one when I upgrade my HVAC in the next year or 2 - perhaps before then. Whole house dehumidifiers really shine in the humid Deep South in mild winters and fall and spring when HVAC don’t run for long hours. I gather from reading that whole house humidifiers are under-utilized in the humid Deep South. I also plan to go with the Ultra-Aire.
Posted on 12/11/19 at 7:00 pm to mkel10
Turn you AC off for two hours and then Run your AC for two hours straight not on and off. It shouldn’t cycle on and off that much it will send out humid air from the moisture on the coil. Full disclosure this may not be 100% correct but my AC guy gave me this general advice and no no humidity issues. I had it cycling like you. Have it overshoot it’s set target. For example, if you set it 72 allow its overshoot to be 70 so it runs all the way until it hits 72 and then stop. Then it will get to 74 before it starts again.
Posted on 12/11/19 at 7:30 pm to mkel10
get a roll on a vapor barrier, Wakol PU 280 is a great product. 80% is pretty high even for south La inside you may have something else going on. Pop the battery out of the moisture meter you have re test go buy a second one they are like 8 bucks at walmart see if they measure the same side by side.
Posted on 12/11/19 at 7:47 pm to Cracker
Do I need a roll on vapor barrier if the flooring is LVP and is moisture resistant/has a vapor barrier already? Everything I’ve read and heard suggests LVP flooring does not require a vapor barrier.
Posted on 12/11/19 at 7:52 pm to mkel10
It maybe but the gap between the concrete and the floor material.
Mold can happen you are keeping the moisture out of the conditioned space and the ac can pull moisture into the space from the slab. It’s cheep insurance
Mold can happen you are keeping the moisture out of the conditioned space and the ac can pull moisture into the space from the slab. It’s cheep insurance
Posted on 12/11/19 at 8:23 pm to Cracker
I think we are going to have a flooring company do the install for us. If I apply the Wakol PU 280 myself over the slab, and a flooring company comes in afterwards and levels out the floors over the coat of Wakol PU 280 that I put down, will this decrease the effectiveness of the product?
Posted on 12/12/19 at 1:14 pm to mkel10
quote:
A company performed a load calculation on our house and had recommended upsizing to 3.5 tons from 3 tons.
If your system kept your house cool previously, this company did you absolutely no favors. Going to a larger system will only make your situation worse.
I can't really help on the slab issue. It could be just the time of year since the AC won't run much or it could be coming from the slab. Only way to know would be to wait for warm weather to return.
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