Tramex

Tramex concrete meters read without damaging the slab. Electrodes on the base of the instrument are pressed against the surface and the meter measures the electrical impedance of the material to give a comparative moisture reading, so there is no drilling or coring just to take a spot check. That makes them quick for scanning a whole floor and finding the wetter areas before you commit to a membrane or a floor covering.

The Tramex Concrete Moisture Meter CME5 is the straightforward option for reading comparative moisture in concrete at the surface. The Tramex CMEX5 Concrete Multi Moisture Meter covers more measurement modes and it also accepts the Tramex RH Short Probe for CMEX5, so one instrument handles both surface scanning and in-slab relative humidity. If you only need to scan and compare areas, the CME5 does the job; if you need relative humidity readings you can record as well, go the CMEX5.

The Tramex RH Short Probe for CMEX5 measures relative humidity inside the slab rather than at the surface. It sits in a prepared hole in the concrete and is left to settle before the CMEX5 takes the reading, which tells you about moisture held in the body of the slab rather than what is sitting on top of it. Surface scanning finds the problem areas, and the RH probe is what you use to confirm the condition at depth.

Yes, if you want readings you can stand behind on someone else's job. The Tramex Calibration Plate CME5 & CMEX5 gives you a known reference to check the meter against, and the TRAMEX Calibration Check Plate CALCRH does the same job on the relative humidity side. Check the instrument before a job that matters and any time a reading looks out of character, so you know the meter is not the variable.

There is no single number that applies across the board. The acceptable limit comes from whatever is going over the slab, so check the technical data sheet for the membrane, adhesive or floor covering you are installing and work to that figure. Australian practice for internal wet areas and external decks, covered by standards such as AS 3740 and AS 4654, sets out how the work is carried out, but the moisture threshold is set by the product going down. If you are unsure, take the reading, record it, and ring us before you coat.

Metal is the usual culprit. Reinforcing mesh, conduit, ducting, fixings and in-slab heating can all push a reading high where the concrete itself is fine, and surface water, dust, curing compounds or a very rough finish will skew results as well. Take a spread of readings across the area rather than trusting a single spot, and make a note of anything you know is buried in that slab.

The Tramex range we stock, being the CME5 and CMEX5 concrete meters, the RH Short Probe for CMEX5 and both calibration plates, can be ordered here and is dispatched Australia wide. The probe and the plates are ordered separately from the meters, so add them to the same order and the kit turns up ready to use instead of waiting on a second delivery. If you are weighing up the CME5 against the CMEX5, call the team before you order and we will run through which one suits your work.