Hi, dudes.
I have a siuation on a Jatoba job I installed a while back. They had an icemaker leak in a butler's pantry shortly after I had installed it. I told them to use fans and stuff and wait to see if the cupping would subside. It did not. It has been about a month. I cut out a board this morning so I could get a reading. It is over 20% This means I need to tear out 200 feet of affected product and dry the floor out. They are living in the house. I would like to be able to dry the decking as quickly as possible.

It has gotten to be air conditioner weather so I know that fans are going to take a while.

Here is my idea. I think I could cover the area with electric blankets and drive out the water. Is this a stupid idea?

Thanks,
Chuck.

Where would the moisture be driven? Up through the blanket? I don't know but why dont you try it on a couple of boards overnight, see what happens.

No , Marco. I have to tear out the wood first. I have to get that felt off of the floor and expose the subfloor. I think the blanket thing would speed things up considerably.

Are you following me?

Can't hurt to try it, except your going to have to find a place to store the blankets, until you need them again or a cold snap sets in and the futnace goes on the blink.

I'd still have fans and a dehumidifier going.


What about the joist side?



On a smaller scale to see, try a heating pad,

I understand, Youcould try it in your garage real quick before dragging a bunch of blankets out and the customer gives you looks. I was thinking it might be a steam bath without enough circulation under the blanket.

I can't get at the joist side. That is why I had to remove a board to get a reading. There is a finish ceiling underneath. I am not worried about the underside of the decking. It has been a month. The bound moisture is in the felt and topside of the plywood. With the AC running, I need to do something to speed things up. Fans and blankets seem like a good idea to me.

Marco,
I envision the vapor moving through the blanket. Its not like a heating pad deal. I don't know much about electric blanket construction,though. They could always be flipped over periodically.

I think 'they" say that air movement is more important than heat. Interesting idea though. Glad I don;t have to deal with your humidity issues. At least its good to hear summer is blooming somewhere tho.

I'm thinking a combo of heat and air flow. I'lll find out soon enough. I'm doing the tearout tomorrow afternoon.

Chuck,

I'd consider cutting into the subfloor, which you can patch later easily, to allow air movement and heat to that underfloor area. Another option. If the subfloor is plywood or similar, just take it out and replace it. I can replace subfloor very fast and it is a simple job. Not too expensive and would hurry the job up. Good luck. Patching is a pain. I do it all the time. Just did one last week on a Pattern Plus Parquet pattern glued to underlayment over plywood.
Same failure cause. Icemaker leak.