ACTECH Concrete Primers

Look at the data sheet of the flooring products you are intending to install. If the moisture tolerance of the flooring product is below the moisture readings of the concrete substrate, then you are going to eventually have a problem and the product manufacturer is not going to warrant your application.

For example, if your epoxy terrazzo, luxury vinyl, decorative epoxy, or recycled rubber sheet goods have a moisture tolerance of 85% RH (or lets say 3 pounds MVR) and the concrete substrate tests at 90% RH, your moisture sensitive flooring product should not be installed without moisture remediation to meet building condes, industry standards, and product warranties.

In this situation, your choice would be to re-design the floor with products that can withstand the excess moisture vapor in the concrete, or to apply a moisture mitigation primer that will provide that level of moisture vapor protection.

Link:

1. How to Use RH Probes - ASTM F2170

NO.

Of Moisture Mitigation Primers (not sprays or admixtures or plastic sheets), there are two general categories to be aware of.

1. Primers that offer moisture vapor protection up to 85% RH or up to 12 pounds MVER, and
   
   
2. Primers that offer moisture vapor protection up to 99% RH or up to 24 pounds MVER.

It's important to select the type of Moisture Mitigation Primer that is appropriate for your required level of protection against the moisture vapor in the concrete.

And remember that moisture levels in the concrete can increase over time if covered with an impermeable or semi-permeable flooring product. So plan carefully.

Link:

1. RH Testing VS Calcium Chloride

ASTM F3010 Compliance refers to Moisture Mitigation Primers that have

• undergone independent ASTM E96 permeance testing in an ASTM certified lab for their ability to contain excessive moisture vapor within the concrete, and
  
  
• have met the ASTM F3010 permeance criteria of less than 0.1 Perms.

ASTM F3010 Compliant Moisture Mitigation Primers offer protection against excessive moisture vapor in concrete substrates up to 99% RH and 24 pounds MVER at the spread rate tested.

ACTECH 2170™FC is tested ASTM F3010 Compliant at 0.07 perms at a spread rate of 12 mils -- or approximately 125 SF/gal.

REFER to ACTECH 2170™FC E96 testing certificate issued by CTL Group

Link:

1. ACTECH 2170™ FC Interior Literature and Warranty Forms

YES. You can install ACTECH 2170™FC as soon as 72 hours after concrete placement and still benefit from ASTM F3010 protection against excessive concrete moisture vapor.

This early application can have many benefits for a project in terms of building schedule (Fast Track) and application costs (apply BEFORE walls go up).

• ESD Floors in Data Centers
• Seamless Floors in Life Science Labs
• Luxury Vinyl in Boutique Hotels
• Gym Floors in Schools
• Rubber Flooring in Hospitals
• Terrazzo Floors in Airports
• Seamless Floors in Food Processing

Most people do NOT detect any smell from the ACTECH 2170™FC -- even in enclosed spaces.

This is a real advantage for applications being made in occupied spaces -- or where there is merchandise that may absorb odors.

Of course, this is also a big advantage for Crews!

Several of our Specialty Contractor customers have used the ACTECH 2170™FC Primer as a Self-Priming Base Coat for years.

They use this approach when they need the best quality moisture vapor protection -- but for an economical (and fast) seamless flooring installation.

The product may be the same, but the proper application protocols are different. For example, an exterior application under a pedestrian traffic coating will have to contend with changing weather conditions and variable temperature and dew points.

By keeping the datasheets and application guidelines separate, we are trying to make it easier for specifiers and specialty contractors to keep things straight and to focus on the specific requirements of their project.

Links:

1. Steady and Falling Temps Video

2. Monitor Dewpoint Video

3. ACTECH 2170™ FC Interior Literature and Warranty Forms

4. ACTECH 2170™ FC Exterior Literature and Warranty Forms

DEFINITELY NOT.

A concrete primer (not even ours 🥇) will not make a concrete slab structurally sound if it is not structurally sound to begin with.

A concrete primer (not even ours 🥇) will not make a concrete slab meet ACI and ASTM Standards if it is not already compliant.

A concrete primer (not even ours 🥇) will not bond to concrete that contains bond-breakers introduced either topically, as an admixture in the mix design, or introduced into the truck during placement.

A concrete primer (not even ours 🥇) cannot cure ASR (Alkali Silica Reaction) -- in fact, as a non-porous liquid membrane, we will make it worse.

This is why it is so important for the owner's representatives, GC, and Specialty Contractor to assess the concrete slab before purchasing and applying any concrete primer -- including ACTECH Concrete Primers.

Links:

1. Using Rebound Hammer

2. Pull Testing On Concrete

3. How Unreacted Silicates Negatively Affect Coatings

4. Silicates vs ASR

5. What is ASR?

We occasionally get this question from specialty contractors who have not had as much experience in high profile specified projects where a rigorous QA/QC process is the norm.

Bottom Line is This.

For ACTECH to grant a Performance Warranty (Material & Labor) we must be able to document that the Specialty Contractor is up to the task, that the concrete slab has been assessed ahead of time so as to avoid unnecessary surprises during application, that a mock-up test patch has met the expectations of the owner's representatives, that the material is being applied according to the required application guidelines, that any problems that arise during application are immediately addressed and solved, and that the next product to be applied over ACTECH's primer has accepted the treated substrate.

Specialty Contractors should greet this opportunity to work closely with the Product Manufacturer and to document their application as an added insurance of the quality of their work.

Links:

1. Videos on QA documents

2. PDF Versions of Warranty documents