Hi everyone!! I apologize if this situation has been discussed in previous threads, but I really need your advice. Here's the story: bought a house that had carpet, ripped it out, lived with the Slab for a while, then glued down eng wood. Wells couple months later, we noticed some buckling in the master bedroom, possibly originating sorta close to the bathroom wall but really across the whole room, wall to wall. Ripped some up and found, you guessed it, Mold! There were no other weird issues anywhere in the 1400 sq ft we laid. Then last night, I find this spot I another bedroom. One plank, moving and super spongy. Clearly another moisture invasion. This room is also adjacent To a bathroom, though the walls show no outward signs of a leak, so perhaps it's only a coincidence that it's there.

Here is my question: my husband wants to rip up all the floors, seal and go with concrete overlay and stain. I'm fine with that, except for the gigantic waste of money. ☺️ What would you do? Can the floors be salvaged? Ie- sealed and reinstalled.... Would you expect more moisture issues to crop up elsewhere, and forgo sealing and reinstalling wood in the trouble roomsand just go a different route? Would sealing certain parts of the slab guarantee that moisture would migrate to previously ok areas of the slab?

Thanks!!

Every job is different and has different issues so no apology is necessary.

Several factors could be causing this, cheap adhesive (one thats not all inclusive - moisture inhibiting/adhesive), wrong sized notch on trowel, proper drainage around house. Some adhesive have higher limits for moisture than others even though they may claim it is an all in one adhesive/moisture inhibitor.

I'd spend some money on a wood flooring inspector to check it out for you first. Also a plumber to do a leak test as there could be a leaky pipe in or under slab.

Concrete overlays are just as susceptible to moisture as hardwood. So you need to figure out whats the root cause. Have slab moisture tested with a relative humidity test such as a Wagner Rapid Rh test (ASTM F 2170-11) for a quick diagnosis. And also a ph test as efflorescence can cause degrading of stained and debonding of overlays.

And also, all the old adhesive needs to be ground off the slab to do any overlays and stain. That will most certainly expose the aggregate in the slab so x-nay the stain.