The Bell Flooring Sciences Group provides nationwide consulting, project management, inspection, and testing services for the floor covering and coating industries along with others in the construction and real estate industries. Our clients include flooring contractors, installers, retailers, general contractors, architects, designers, developers, building owners & management companies, tenants, homeowners, manufacturers, distributors, attorneys, disaster restoration contractors, and insurance companies.

The Bell Sciences Group Principal Consultant W Bell is a member of various technical and education committees that and oversee many of the industry standards, test methods, and guidelines regarding concrete related issues with floor coverings and coatings including ASTM International, International Concrete Repair Institute (ICRI), and The Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC).

Some of our testing services include:

MOISTURE & ALKALINITY TESTS

Relative Humidity (RH) in Concrete Floor Slabs

ASTM F2170-02 Test Method for Determining Relative Humidity in Concrete Floor Slabs Using In-Situ Probes.

Relative Humidity (RH) on the Surface of Concrete Floor Slabs

ASTM F2420-05 Standard Test Method for Determining Relative Humidity on the Surface of Concrete Floor Slabs Using Relative Humidity Probe Measurement and Insulated Hood.

Concrete Moisture Vapor Emission Rate (MVER)

ASTM F1869-04 Standard Test Method for Measuring Moisture Vapor Emission Rate of Concrete Subfloors Using Anhydrous Calcium Chloride.

Alkalinity (pH) Level on the Surface of Concrete Floor Slabs

ASTM F710-03 Standard Practice for Preparing Concrete Floors to Receive Resilient Flooring specifies that the surface of concrete slabs be tested for alkalinity before installing a floor covering. Our agency uses both pH meters and pH indicator paper to perform this test.

ASTM D4262-05 Standard Test Method for pH of Chemically Cleaned or Etched Concrete Surfaces

COATING TESTS ON CONCRETE & other Substrates

Bond Testing of Coatings on Concrete Surfaces

ASTM D4541-02 Standard Test Method for Pull-Off Strength of Coatings Using Por Adhesion Testers

ASTM D7234-05 Standard Test Method for Pull-Off Adhesion Strength of Coatings on Concrete Using Por Pull-Off Adhesion Testers

Thickness Testing of Coatings on Concrete Surfaces

ASTM D4138-07a Practices for Measurement of Dry Film Thickness of Protective Coating Systems by Destructive, Cross-Sectioning Means

ASTM D6132-04 Standard Test Method for Nondestructive Measurement of Dry Film Thickness of Applied Organic Coatings Using an Ultrasonic Gage

Relative Humidity on the Surface of Concrete Floor Coatings

Modified test method of: ASTM F2420-05 Standard Test Method for Determining Relative Humidity on the Surface of Concrete Floor Slabs Using Relative Humidity Probe Measurement and Insulated Hood.

LABORATORY ANALYSIS of CONCRETE CORES

Sample Drilling

X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) Analysis

Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDXA) evaluation of the concrete solids

Infra-red (IR) Spectroscopy organic chemical analysis

Ion Chromatography (IC) Analysis (water-soluble Cl, SO4, K, and Na)

ASTM C823-00 Standard Practice for Examination and Sampling of Hardened Concrete in Constructions

Petrographic & Microscopic Examination of Concrete Cores

ASTM C295-03 Standard Guide for Petrographic Examination of Aggregates for Concrete

ASTM C457-06 Standard Test Method for Microscopical Determination of Parameters of the Air-Void System in Hardened Concrete

ASTM C642-06 Standard Test Method for Density, Absorption, and Voids in Hardened Concrete

ASTM C856-04 Standard Practice for Petrographic Examination of Hardened Concrete

ASTM C1324-04 Standard Test Method for Examination and Analysis of Hardened Masonry Mortar

ICRI 03739 Guide to Using In-Situ Tensile Pull-Off Tests to Evaluate Bond of Concrete Surface Materials

FLOORING MATERIALS TESTING

As part of our evaluation of flooring problems, various test methods from ASTM International, AATCC (American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists), DIN (Deutsches Institut fur Normung), ISO (International Organization for Standardization), NALFA (North American Laminate Flooring Association) and other industry testing standards can be performed and utilized in analyzing issues with flooring products.

TESTING INSTRUMENTS SALES

See our website for various testing instruments