Tramex Concrete Encounter CME4 – Moisture Meter

I’m Andy Parkin, Managing Director of the multi award-winning Speed Screed. Today, I’m here to talk about the Tramex Concrete Encounter CME4 moisture meter.

Why do you need to use the Tramex Concrete Encounter CME4 moisture meter?

When we talk about moisture readings, it is very hit and miss onsite. Quite often before the floor coverings go down, people will just leave a certain amount of time that they think that the floor coverings will be dry.

Now I can say that floor covering failures are probably highest down to moisture issues, that the screed or the concrete hasn’t actually dried before the floor coverings go down and then you’ve just got delamination and pushing the floor coverings up. The only way to be 100% certain that the screed or concrete is dry and suitable to bond to, is to take a moisture reading.

How do you measure moisture?

Now, there are various methods of taking moisture readings that you can do but really this is the simplest, it’s just effective, with the hygrometer you’re having to potentially leave it overnight. So you’re waiting. The Tramex Concrete Encounter CME4 moisture meter will give you the results that you need to know, and whether you can proceed. It is a method Speed Screed use. Now, it’s very, very simple and fool proof to use. If we just take a look on the back of the metre, you will see that there are eight pins that basically push into the meter. So what we need to do is we need to place it on a flat level surface, and so all the eight pins are pushed into the machine. So they obtain contact and then give an accurate moisture reading.

We turn the meter on and then we push it down with all the pins engaged and then we get a specific reading. With the Encounter Meter, you can actually save the results without having to look at what the reading is when it’s on the ground, you basically press the hold button, and then take the reading.  Making a note of reading as you’re working around the building. So you can identify problem areas within the building where there is greater moisture, perhaps in areas where there is poor ventilation.

We are working on percentage moisture, and typically a screed or concrete will need to be between 3-4% moisture to be able to lay floor coverings down. Speak to the manufacturers of the adhesives and the floor coverings to know exactly how tolerant to moisture that particular product is.  If you get a reading of 6% it is just too wet. If it goes off the scale, it is clearly still wet.

The meter measures cementitious products. The great thing is it also gives an indicative reading for calcium sulphate screeds (gypsum screeds). It reads on scale of 1 to 10, and you can see if your calcium sulphate screed is dry or is wet, very quickly.

It is a non-destructive test. Other tests such as the carbide bomb test requires a sample of screed to be taken. This method is non-destructive, no holes to be drilled and plugged.  No waiting overnight to reach an equilibrium with a hygrometer test. It is just quick, easy and efficient.

Tramex, are the market leaders in moisture meters. They have got a wide range of products, but certainly the Tramex Concrete Encounter CME4 moisture meter is something that is indispensable in our business. We need to know if the substrate is wet, does it need a damp proof membrane going over? Concrete can have an available moisture content for 12 months and beyond depending on how thick the slab is. So it is very important to test the moisture content. If you was to actually lay a floor screed on top, it could pull moisture in from the wet concrete slab, thus slowing the drying process of the screed and meaning that the floor coverings again are going to be delayed before they can go down. So not only test the floor screed before the coverings go on, test the substrate before laying the screed. there. You may well need a damp proof membrane on top of the concrete to suppress any available moisture.

I hope that’s helped. Tramex Concrete Encounter CME4 moisture meter is a brilliant tool.  If you have any questions please contact us. We just love to help.