Water under vinyl plank in basement

[Papa bear]

I had storm water back up through a floor drain in a basement on a rental. The floors are a glue down luxury vinyl plank product laid over concrete.

Has anyone dealt with getting water out from under the planks?  The glue has already been compromised so I can pull up a few planks. I won’t be able to fully pull/repair until August 1 as the space is used as a bedroom and is occupied.

I have a dehumidifier running and a fan running now. Since this isn’t lock and click, will the planks dry through their joints? What else should I be looking at?


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[lthenderson]

No experience but I'm curious if anyone has an answer. Thus far, I've only put ceramic tile or removable carpet square tiles on basement floors, the latter so it can be removed and dried thoroughly if it ever got wet. Do you know how come the glue didn't prevent water from getting underneath?

[Papa bear]

Not sure about the glue.  I normally use floating LVT, so this is my only glue down. 

The concrete seems saturated under it, but it doesn’t seem to have any standing water.  A few of the boards are lifted and feel “squishy”

I’ll update on Sunday after I go back over there.  I had them crank the AC, the dehumidifier should be running 24/7, and I’ve got the edges propped up with a fan going.  I’m hoping I don’t have to glue down the entire floor again.  And I hope this doesn’t get mildewy. 


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[Papa bear]

Just left the rental, it’s very dry in the basement.  The concrete still seems a tad damp under the floor, but there is no standing water, the LVT went back together with no problems, and any of the “squishy” or buckling has gone down and it’s flat.

I’m going to leave the dehumidifier running over there full bore and will readdress the floor when the tenants move out next month.  I may only need to glue down a few small areas. 

As for now, the room looks back to normal.


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[lthenderson]

Since it is LVT, I would think the only issue besides the glue failure would be mold so if you get it dried out, perhaps it is all salvageable. I'm not a big fan of LVT but it does have it's places like down in basements on concrete.

[ReadySetMillionaire]

Just left the rental, it’s very dry in the basement.  The concrete still seems a tad damp under the floor, but there is no standing water, the LVT went back together with no problems, and any of the “squishy” or buckling has gone down and it’s flat.

I’m going to leave the dehumidifier running over there full bore and will readdress the floor when the tenants move out next month.  I may only need to glue down a few small areas. 

As for now, the room looks back to normal.


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Curious what brand LVP you used?

I did not want to do glue-down in my basement because there seems to be certain brands that are basically just rubber (and thus water/mold-proof) underneath.

As stated in my other thread, my goal is to put down a nice floor and not touch it for 30 years.

[Papa bear]

Im unsure of the brand. It was from a wholesale flooring place that gave me a discount because I could use up the rest of their inventory on a small space.  It was not high end and does not have an underlayment backing.  I think I paid under 1.50/af for this 5 years ago. If I find a box, I’ll update.

Recently, I’ve been using the lifeproof line from Home Depot, just for ease of buying it.  I have not had any problems with it on any place.  Actually, the only problems I have had with any LVT is with using dmx airlfow underlayment.  It has too much give to it and the seems pop out of place slightly if you step on the floors in the wrong place.  And that’s on my own house. 


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[lthenderson]

I did not want to do glue-down in my basement because there seems to be certain brands that are basically just rubber (and thus water/mold-proof) underneath.

It is only mold proof in that the LVT itself will not mold but it most certainly can develop mold between it and the concrete if wet.

[Papa bear]

I did not want to do glue-down in my basement because there seems to be certain brands that are basically just rubber (and thus water/mold-proof) underneath.

It is only mold proof in that the LVT itself will not mold but it most certainly can develop mold between it and the concrete if wet.

Yes. That’s my concern. Without pulling up the entire floor, I don’t know how dry it actually got.  Time will tell...


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