TRAINING & EDUCATION
CLOSING THE GAP
New specification bridges concrete, floor covering trades By Chris Maskell
F
or decades, there has been misunderstanding and dispute around what an acceptably flat substrate surface is and who on the construction team is responsible for providing it. Trying to figure this big-ticket item out after budgets are set and contracts awarded can be a painful and expensive process, especially when it is likely no one in the mix will have carried the cost to take on the work.
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New or existing concrete slabs scheduled for a floor covering like rubber, vinyl or linoleum will ultimately require that deviations in surface flatness (undulations) not exceed manufacturers’ tolerances — usually 3/16-inch over a 10-foot length (4.5 millimetres over three metres) — before the floor covering installer takes over to begin their work. Any low or high spots that exceed this tolerance will need to be corrected by others.
But who? The floor covering installer does not correct undulations greater than 3/16-inch over 10-feet nor level concrete because it is not within their scope of work. This is the concrete trade’s work and is referred to as dry concrete finishing. Floor covering trade apprenticeship training programs do not include correcting deformed concrete slabs. As well, most flooring contractors are not setup to deal with concrete on this scale, so
