Drywall (or gypsum) is not as delicate as wood. You mentioned the humidity outside is 55%. In this article, we wanted to share whats out there on the web and other reliable sources about normal moisture meter readings. As a general rule, with geographic exceptions, wood flooring performs best when the interior environment is controlled to stay within an RH range of 30% to 50% and a temperature range of 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The lumber was recently milled, although the tree had been cut months, years ago. My thought is maybe to get one of your meter for greater accuracy? Mold starts to grow in the mid to high 20 percent moisture contents. Hi and good day , I would like to find out what r the right temperature readings for workable wood slabs in South Africa specially Matumi wood slabs. Should it be less? #2. They allow you to set the wood density to accurately measure every wood species. The meter works out the moisture content percentage by measuring the electrical resistance between two probes. In their warehouse, and perhaps partly also in the container. Different materials will have physical properties that make them react differently when tested with a moisture meter. The National Association of Home Builders Green Home Building Guidelines for solid strip flooring and wide-width flooring are as follows: summary Wood flooring installers typically want the moisture content of their wood to be between 6% to 9%. Therefore, all pin-type wood moisture meters should ask the user to input the type of wood before taking a reading. The boards have dried nicely so far with minimal warpage or checking. This means the weight of the water exceeds the weight of the wood by itself. Reference scales are preferred more to determine whether the material is too dry or too wet. What would be the recommended MC for doors of my new building(under construction)? Should this reading of 12.3 require replacing the existing dry wall before installing a new shower stall? By identifying the flaws, it is possible to mark them down and account for their effect on moisture meter accuracy. 12.5% is gettin there but not quite to the 6-9% mentioned in the article. Sorry that this is so long-winded and I thank you in advance if you are willing to address this question for me. The owners had contractors come out to repair it. I would love to be able to give you the perfect answer but unfortunately, there isnt one. In other words, the wood was either too wet or too dry. This method uses the oven-dry method and then compares the results to those obtained using a moisture meter. Phil, what are you making with the cedar, and in what type of environment will it be? Simple but very precise info Thanks for sharing this one. You know that gypsum is one of the most commonly used construction materials and its very sensitive to water. About how long do you think we should allow the new wood to acclimate in the end use environment before installing it? Thank you for sharing such valuable information. The best way to manage wood moisture content is to use a quality wood moisture meter and conduct a moisture test. The wood will still react in humid or dry conditions. I strongly recommend using a moisture meter, along with a thermo-hygrometer, or even a smart logger before you start building, to ensure the wood is at an optimal moisture content in an environment that has an acceptable relative humidity and temperature range. It will continue to absorb and release moisture until it comes into balance with the surrounding air. We had boards that were also cracking/splitting and other places where small pinholes were showing up. Hi Ron, Great post. Targeted moisture content will vary from region to region. You will want closer to 6% in the drier climates and 9% MC for the more humid climates. Since density varies according to wood species, pinless meters require the user to set the meter to the correct average specific gravity before taking a measurement. National Water Damage Restoration & Mold Remediation Experts. Readings over 20%-25% indicate firewood that is not safe to burn. In general, 12% moisture or above is too wet to install flooring. The interior was 3/4 BW the tables dimensions were 40x 70 . Well, one of the most used tools is a moisture meter. -Mandi in Austin, Texas. What do you recommend? Sometimes, humidity or dampness (water vapor) in the air can supply enough moisture for mold growth. Checking the MC of masonry work requires checking every component with a dedicated moisture meter. Your table may have been a little too high in moisture, hence the crack as it dried slightly in the drier environment. Live in Tn. For example, we know that normal for drywall is dry. Spruce isnt a hardwood so Im assuming I could get away with a shorter dry time. If I dry too much, theres discoloration and breakage of product during polishing. Im not sure which part of Europe you are from, but typically the Indonesian climate is very humid compared to other parts of the world. Any advice would be appreciated. Good moisture content for hardwoods is 6% to 9% moisture. If that is the case you need to remove the flooring and examine the subfloor. Depending on the type of project and where you live, the required wood moisture content is usually in the 6-12% range. with the spring thaw, i was one of the lucky ones that got water in my basement. So if I understood the article right and not sure that I did. If youre willing to accept a moisture reading with +/- 5% accuracy, you can probably get away with buying a cheap meter in the $25-50 range. With this information, the software in the meter is . I really appreciate your treatise on this matter. Here is a link to our new line of meters: https://www.wagnermeters.com/moisture-meters/. What is a normal reading on a moisture meter? In other words, dense mixes of concrete allow less moisture to penetrate the slab than lighter ones. Having performed multiple (>500) soil moisture and density Sieve and Proctor, so I am well versed in moisture calculations (both add and subtract). There was a board that cracked along a glue line. Your email address will not be published. Thats how you get the moisture readings. 1. in Indonesia there are a lot of raw materials consisting of natural fibers, such as: pandanus, water hyacinth, rattan etc. Instead, it just means that the moisture content of the material represents 20% of the reference scale. The thinner veneers wont have much bearing on the reading. One of his own service guys said foundation caps needed to be replaced. He added that plastic sheet ground covering that his company laid over my crawl space had been moved in spots and that I no longer had full coverage. This is based on a chart in Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material. You should be able to tell where the water reached the subfloor because it will be discolored and may also be swelled up. Am i looking at mold if i dont rip the floor out? We have industrial fans going 24/7 to try and dry out the room and also have a dehumidifier running, Ive had the heated floor running in hopes that it could help dry any of the wet wood directly below. Perhaps try to seal the vapor barrier better around the piers. This chart highlights the ideal levels of moisture in wood at various temperatures and relative humidity (RH) levels: In this chart, you can see a small highlighted section. I want to use it to build a table and will be moving it to the location where I will work on it shortly. Using wood with a moisture content above 14% isnt recommended because it may have detrimental long-term effects on the construction. If the wood is covered by a material like MDF or other, do we take 2x the measurements? We have a free App called WoodH2O that will tell you the moisture content given certain temperature and humidity conditions. The most common cause is metal hidden in or behind the material being checked. As a result, this scale cannot be used for other materials as it simply wont make sense. Do you have a suggestion? I know the rule of thumb is 1 year of dry time per inch of thickness of wood. because if the moisture meter indicated 40% of water content in lumber, it means that it is already saturated and compromised. The flooring pieces should be removed from the packaging to allow the ambient conditions to equalize the wood. This is for furniture-grade hardwoods. To avoid this problem, wood flooring should never be stored where environmental conditions are uncontrolled, such as garages and exterior patios. Seattles EMC ranges from 12.2% to 16.5%. My meter tells me anything above 12% is wet but I cannot find any source of leaking or signs of water. Both times, the tables were flawless, but after 2-3 weeks in their new home both table tops had major crack issues. It uses a reference scale and does a comparison with dry materials to determine the amount of moisture present. Pin meters, on the other hand, are better able to determine the distribution of moisture throughout a material sample from the shell to the core and can be used in materials with curved or uneven surfaces. The wood sample being tested is dried in a special oven or kiln and its weight periodically checked. Some higher-end moisture meters may have the ability to switch between different moisture reading scales. A company sealed off the foundation vents and removed all the insulation from the crawlspace with the humidifier mitigating the moisture from the leaks. Im trying to find specs on treated lumber for NC. thanks so much in advance. The air vents stay closed year round. we are getting hardwoods from our Uk Suppliers and accoya coming in at 2% and once we use the timber we are reading 0% we have tested the reader and its accurate even joinery grade sapele wood and Tulip wood coming in at 0% we cover these in 3 coats of sikkens paint and sometimes we get jobs where we are having to go back as our joinery is moving and we are guessing its because of these moisture levels and had never checked previously. It stays that way as long as the RH and temperature dont change. 1. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. We also ship to other European countries, for dryer country like Spain the EMC could be between 12 and 14. Very simple and understandable. Since the "wet zone" readings of 20% were limited to a certain area and the wood does not feel soft or spongy I am hopeful that we can fix . These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Pinless moisture meters dont use any pins. The most common settings are for softwood, hardwood, masonry, and drywall. We must use a reference scale. An amazing application for drywall scale meters is checking the moisture content of Gyp-Crete flooring because drywall meters are calibrated for measuring moisture in this material. I do not have a hygrometer or a moisture meter as I am a hobbyist. The water eventually came out a electric outlet located three inches off the floor. Wood musical instruments, microphones, bowling pins, and other specialty items made of wood usually require a wood moisture reading of 6-9%. Our house in on a crawl space in GA, and its been pretty humid the last couple days which is when it read a little over 20%. The reference scale helps to provide a qualitative estimation of moisture across different types of materials.
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