Coalition of RH Testers

When it comes to Relative Humidity moisture testing for concrete slabs, the market leader in technology and related R & D is Wagner Meters.

You would expect such a market leader in vital flooring technology to reside in Chicago, New York or Los Angeles (that is, before business and industry started their mass exodus from the Hollywood State). In fact, Wagner reside is in one of those beautiful, green, quiet areas you find when touring the back roads of lower Oregon, replete with cute farmlets and trickling streams.

Jason conducts an RH Moisture Testing presentation at Shaw- (Image courtesy of Shaw Contract Group)

Not only have Wagner engineered some of the most innovative solutions for commercial moisture testing, they make a monumental input to improving the industry’s knowledge and skills base. Through a myriad of webinars, editorials and forums they ensure that the latest procedures are well publicised to an industry still trying to get its head around the need for moisture testing.

That was the reason for Wagner Meters’ Jason Spangler visit Down Under in August. I had the privilege of joining Jason and other industry folks at the premises of Shaw Contract Group (the importers of Wagner’s equipment), as he explained the importance of accurate RH testing in a changing industry.

I say “privileged”, because if you have spent years wading through the relevant moisture-testing information online and sought the right accreditation as we have here at Floor Test Australia, Jason has become somewhat of an orange-attired celebrity.

He is also proof of an adage we have been saying for some time: The Americans are the trail blazers in tackling this issue. In the USA, moisture-related flooring failures have been dubbed “the billion dollar problem”. The spectre of ultra-expensive remedial problems is the perfect motivator to develop efficient, and scientifically-based solutions. The free market works well like that.

Jason’s recurring comment during his visit was this: “I’ve been involved in moisture testing and responding to flooring failure remedy for many years- the concerns and problems I am hearing here in Australia for the first time are identical to what we’ve heard in the USA.”

Here’s hoping we catch up quick. On behalf of a grateful industry, a big thank you to Jason for taking the time to come Down Under and help us out. We hope he enjoyed it, and to answer the most obvious question, he has told us “Yes, I did get to see a Kangaroo”.