A: This does not sound like a flooring problem to me. What you seem to have here is a moisture problem that is preventing the flooring materials from adhering to the concrete slab.

Sometimes moisture will come up through a a slab foundation from the ground, but in your case because it's limited to the sink area, I believe you may have a more serious problem. The problem may be with your kitchen sink water lines.

Back in the fifties and sixties many contractors did not realize that concrete in direct contact with copper water lines can deteriorate the lines over time. The plumbers would run the rough water lines up from the ground to the fixture area and then the concrete slab was poured around these vertical copper water lines.

Today, protective "sleeve" materials are installed around the pipes to prevent the concrete from coming in contact with the copper pipes. In your case, I suspect over time the concrete has compromised the copper lines and you may have a slow leak under the concrete slab. I have seen copper water lines actually fall off at the slab in some cases.

The news is not good. To correct this problem a licensed plumber may have to open up the base of the kitchen sink cabinet to determine the source of the leak. If the pipes are leaking and look bad, the concrete around the pipes will have to be broken up, then any sand or soil below the slab dug up to expose the water lines.

Once a good area of copper is exposed, new lines can be tapped into place and piped back up to the sink. Finally, the lines are properly sleeved, a new concrete patch is poured, and the kitchen sink and cabinet base are reinstalled.

This is one plumbing issue that you need to correct right away. It may be a small leak now, but down the road it can lead to a flood of problems for your kitchen!