Interesting Reading

RH testing of concrete floors explained—the harsh truth about moisture issues, failures, and what contractors don’t tell you.

Last week, I sat in on an event where a social media influencer—someone who’s built a sizable following in the concrete world—took the stage. His delivery was slick, and the crowd was split: some loved the energy, others saw right through it. As I listened, it became clear that what he was selling was more hype than su

Let’s cut through the corporate fluff for a minute. If you work with concrete—actually work with it, not just write specs from a desk—you know something’s off.

I admit to being a bit of a curmudgeon; well-earned after decades of listening to and experiencing misdirection and false priorities. I often ask simple questions with the intent to find out IF the subject matter is being dealt with objectively, or is being presented and used in the proper context.

It still amazes me how there is even a discussion that the lowest volume of moisture, tested 1 1/2-2 inches into the concrete takes precedent over surface testing, where the floor actually fails, due to liquid moisture, the largest volume of moisture in concrete and the only way alkalinity or other compounds can damage a floor.

The concrete industry is facing an unprecedented challenge, and it's time we talked about the elephant in the room: Type IL cement and its impact on finishing operations. While the cement industry quietly transitions to this "environmentally friendly" alternative, contractors across the nation are grappling with a material that's fundamentally different from what they've used for decades.

After 30+ years in concrete finishing, I'm witnessing unprecedented surface issues across our industry. The root cause? A perfect storm of changes that nobody's talking about.

Again I read a series of studies that concentrate ONLY on concrete compressive value limited to the 28 day strength. Interestingly, there are discrepancies that are noted but not investigated, even as the discrepancies threaten to undo the data that was apparently the original objective.

Let me tell you something that keeps me up at night: we're completely dropping the ball on concrete curing. It's not just a small oversight - it's a massive failure that's costing us millions in repairs and replacements. And the worst part? Almost nobody's talking about it.