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From agriculture, to lumber manufacturing, to water damage restoration, to construction, there are many applications that rely heavily on moisture testing to produce optimal end results. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. With furniture or cabinets, a 1% shrinking or swelling can result in poor-fitting drawers, doors, and joints. The lumber was recently milled, although the tree had been cut months, years ago. Knowing the relative humidity (RH) conditions is a must when trying to determine what a safe moisture content for wood walls is. So all we can say here in that a normal moisture meter reading for concrete needs to remain low. Log Moisture Meter Readings: What Is Normal? Is it safe to put new insulation and drywall up or does it need to dry out more? Well, tile, bricks, and stones are known to have a low water-holding capacity and therefore should be dry. No need for higher values here. Thanks!!! Moisture on the surface of a material being tested. As you can see, masonry can be a mix of many substances and materials. Very educational! Your email address will not be published. Instead of addressing the plumbing and damaged wood, they installed a dehumidifier in 2015. Moisture content of 11.5% for the oak is a little high for furniture grade hardwoods. I am not sure if this is pressure treated wood given its an exterior wall and if that affects what these numbers are. Good luck. If the wood would really arrive with a MC of 14%, we would not have any problems. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. No. I have about 3,000 sqft on my first floor and this was relatively consistent throughout. So a cheap $25-50 pin type moisture meter is good for firewood. With the WoodH2O-app I could deduct the EMC for The Netherlands would be between 15 and 16. When it comes to the moisture content of plywood or dimensional lumber, an MC of 17% to 19% reduces the overall strength of plywood, and an MC of 20% or more reduces the strength of dimensional lumber (i.e., lumber cut to certain predefined sizes, such as 2x4s). Because pin meters work on the principle of electrical resistance, the current temperature of the material being tested can have a significant impact on the accuracy of moisture testing. Also, the glue manufacturer should ideally give you some specifications for max and min moisture content. What would be the recommended MC for doors of my new building(under construction)? Drywall (or gypsum) is not as delicate as wood. These tools will give you the confidence that you have done everything on your part to ensure the highest quality in the piece you have built. We have a free App called WoodH2O that will tell you the moisture content given certain temperature and humidity conditions. Should you check moisture levels on a trailor floor on a massive rainy day? 1. in Indonesia there are a lot of raw materials consisting of natural fibers, such as: pandanus, water hyacinth, rattan etc. I have one question with regards to pinless moisture meters and wallboard/Sheetrock. You should be able to specify a lower moisture content. What % does it have to get down to before it would be usable to make a table top ? This is critical for reproducible, accurate readings. Some of the unfinished wood you see on the market has been kiln-dried to reduce its water moisture content to around 8% so that it wont suffer from moisture-related defects like warping and buckling. Standard moisture contents for hardwoods are 6% 9% MC. Obviously, if the user fails to do this, the reading wont be accurate. What Do These Moisture Meter Readings Mean? Checking the MC of masonry work requires checking every component with a dedicated moisture meter. Live in Tn. i also drilled into the wood every few inches, several inches deep with a typical drill bit. This means a very absorbent wood can retain more water, weight wise, the weight of the wood itself. What are Acceptable Moisture Levels in Wood? This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Thank you for sharing such valuable information. My first question is how to determine the MC of eng wood flooring which composite of different species layer, face and different species to form plywood core. What are Acceptable Moisture Levels in Drywall: 8 Factors The engineered wood floor appears ok. There is only so much moisture a piece of wood can give up, over time, before a failure occurs. I have a black walnut slabbed up that has been air drying outside for 2 yrs. They are currently nearing equilibrium (around 12 MC) and are stored within the house. The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) has a chart that indicates the moisture content of wood at any given combination of temperature and humidity. If the conditions are too wet, dehumidify, and if they are too dry, humidify. The flooring pieces should be removed from the packaging to allow the ambient conditions to equalize the wood. Weak batteries can prevent the meter from functioning correctly, and trying to use a meter with depleted batteries can even cause permanent damage to the meter over time. A moisture meter is therefore not the ideal tool to evaluate damp in a concrete slab. Accuaracy is of course more important.. I am happy to assist but some critical questions must be addressed first. We also have an Orion 950 moisture meter that will automatically give you EMC (Equilibrium Moisture Content) and other useful statistics. But when you touch the pins to the embedded screws, you get between 14 and 24 % in various areas of the board. (He didnt cite a figure.) Again, the correct moisture content will depend on the surrounding conditions. How do you read a moisture meter? Reading Chart + tips - Tools Doctor The indoor relative humidity (RH) should be kept below 60%; ideally, between 30% and 50%, if possible. Just across the threshold to a white oak floor installed in ~1914 and the MC is 15%->16%. We appreciate you writing in, best of luck! Kimberly, I highly recommend that you call in a mold testing/inspection company to determine if mold is present. However, the company who maintains the dehumidifier said he tested some of the joist which he said only registered 10 on his device. After the plywood dried, however, there is still one spot about the size of a baseball that is still reading around 17-20%. Good luck. 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. Because of this fact, its important to test the accuracy of a moisture meter before putting it to use. Discolored areas or crumbling patches are tell-tale indicators that the wall has been exposed to too much humidity. I would like to load eucalyptus and pine wood logs to India . This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Additionally, when using a reference scale meter, its important to remember that the number provided isnt an exact measurement of the moisture content of the material being tested. My meter tells me anything above 12% is wet but I cannot find any source of leaking or signs of water. #2. There are two ways of dealing with this issue: A moisture meter with insulated pins will only release electricity from the tips of the electrodes. The moisture content typically ranges from 6-8% for hardwood floors. Failure to do this will result in warping, cracking, and other problems after the construction of the wood product. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Turn on the meter. What Do Moisture Meter Readings Mean Moisture meters are used to measure the percentage of water in a given piece of wood and are most useful when the moisture percentage ranges from 5% to no more than 30%. The rule of thumb is that any moisture reading over 16% is considered damp and needs attention. Here is a good source for mold and wood: https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=j6WRW76_NdmT0PEPkN29kAc&q=wood+moisture+content+and+mold&oq=moisture+content+and+mold&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0i22i30l3.8963.15970..206760.0..0.100.1475.25j10.1..gws-wiz..0..0j0i131.PkfEQYRef9I. Now when it comes to processed lumber that we use for construction and furniture, a reading scale ranging from 6% to 40% is probably all you need. What Are Acceptable Moisture Levels in Wood? - Wagner Meters Does coating wood with oil stabilize the moisture content in wood? Its more important to understand that the wood is kiln-dried down to a certain bell-shaped range of MCs. Even at this, the estimate would be the high end of MC% prior to shipment, but only rough estimate. I manufacture ice cream sticks and disposable wooden cutlery from European Baltic birch wood in India. Outside of these ranges, hardwood floors might start . It will be there for a few months before I begin working on it. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. I wanted to talk to someone at Wagner about moisture guages and is there a dealer near Chattanooga, TN. What is an acceptable moisture readings? - KnowledgeBurrow.com But there are other moisture meters that have reference scales ranging from 0 to 300. Based on common guidelines or recommendations, the acceptable moisture levels for wood are as follows: Keep in mind that a woods acceptable moisture level will depend primarily on how it will be finally used and the average RH where it will be finally used. The cedar I have is now at 12-16%. Also, if the leak was bad enough, it will be necessary to have a contractor make sure the strength of the subfloor isnt compromised. The target moisture content will depend on how the wood will be used and the average RH at the location where the wood will be used. Example: 1.2mm Hickory wear layer 9mm thick plywood compose of 7 layers, 2 layers acacia, 4 layers of Eucalyptus\2 layers Acacia and one layer Poplar. A moisture meter can help pinpoint wet areas. Thanks Phil. Wagner Meters has a couple of resources to help you determine the moisture content more suited to your outdoor environment. Does that seem normal. I am planning an under-house excursion tomorrow. this is an interesting read I landed upon as I was searching for MC in wood items. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. I have a question, I have moisture in the crawl space, we insulated the crawl with closed cell, cannot get the osb subfloor below. 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. I suggested replacing my dehumidifier (Sears brand, bucket collection) which has been inoperable this past year. The floors have started cupping across the entire area with more in some parts. It comes with Bluetooth, an app for your smart device, an RH sensor, and an EMC calculator. You wrote that 15% humidity may induce mold? What would one expect to read in plywood subfloor and old growth pine floor joist? MFMA recommends the relative humidity level for a concrete slab for a non-glue-down maple floor system be 85% or lower. That is a very good tip particularly to those fresh to the blogosphere. Brilliant article. Why would flaws in the material being tested matter? Heres how that works: If the airs RH is 40% and the temperature is 68F, the wood will eventually attain an EMC of just under 8%. Continue reading MC in the home. Thus, only low values are considered normal when using a drywall moisture meter. thanks so much in advance. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The containers that we have received so far have arrived wet and mouldy. In general, 12% moisture or above is too wet to install flooring. Before we begin, lets first clarify what moisture content means. Failure to account for temperature variations and a woods chemical makeup will reduce the accuracy of even the best pin-type moisture meters. A general rule of thumb for the coastal regions of FL would be 11-13%MC. Wagner has a free app called WoodH2O to help you determine the proper moisture levels based on consistent humidity and temperature. What does a reading of 999 mean? Here current humidity is 76%. 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. Unfortunately, the insulation and drywall had already been installed. This means that when we were talking about the normal readings for drywall, we assumed that your moisture meter was calibrated for drywall and had a specific reading scale for drywall. What we need is to keep the moisture content in a certain range. Different materials will have physical properties that make them react differently when tested with a moisture meter. The purpose of the vapor barrier is to keep moisture away from materials that expand and contract. One of our new line of moisture meters will help locate areas of high moisture, if it still exists. Hi Davetta, Youll need to contact a local mold inspection company that is certified. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". However you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent. Im trying to find specs on treated lumber for NC. And what are the different readings that we should expect when using a moisture meter? However, many building materials may have been dried down to about 15% moisture content. You can determine the correct percent moisture content by using our free app called WoodH2O.