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The Warped Floor in the Homeless Shelter
©2006, Jeffrey C. May, M.A.
A homeless shelter located in a church basement had a linoleum floor laid over plywood.
In humid weather, one corner of the floor bulged, and in other areas, “bumps” appeared
in the linoleum. Yet there had never been any flooding or leakage in that area.
Leak-testing and observation with a borescope of the area between the plywood and
the cement slab beneath did not reveal any signs of water intrusion from the adjacent
crawl space. I did, however, see damaged and loosened seams between sections of
the linoleum. The floor was mopped four times a week, and excess water was used.
The water loosened the seams and penetrated beneath the linoleum and into the plywood.
The seams and loose flooring had to be repaired, and a drier floor-cleaning technique
used.
Jeffrey C. May is a building consultant, Certified Indoor Air Quality Professional (CIAQP), and author of My
House is Killing Me! The Home Guide for Families with Allergies and
Asthma (2001) and My Office is Killing Me! The Sick Building Survival
Guide (2006), as well as co-author of The Mold Survival Guide: For Your
Home and for Your Health (2004), all published by Johns Hopkins University Press. A former educator and organic chemist (M.A. Harvard University), Jeff is principal scientist of May Indoor Air Investigations LLC in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts.
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