Set the meter to the species that makes up the bulk, in this case, the plywood. Do you think that heated floor actually help to dry or do they make things worse and more humid! We will be having a deck built off my woodshop. Using a moisture meter before painting can help you determine the moisture content of the wood. Meanwhile, the reference scale can be used to provide qualitative moisture assessments in other building materials. When wood is subjected to an environment that is higher in humidity, it will swell or expand. I have seen home built in the dead of winter, covered in snow, and still dry out enough for a successful home build. Additional care is necessary if laying parallel to the joists and sheet subfloors can sag between the joist. we are presently constructing a new timber frame residence on ocean front in BC, Canada. Not using the correct procedure. We are manufacturer of eng wood flooring. What would one expect to read in plywood subfloor and old growth pine floor joist? Standard moisture contents for hardwoods are 6% 9% MC. After my inspection I wrote the following report: As per your request, I visited the subject residence today to evaluate mold or fungus growth on the floor joists. in other hardwood areas that wasnt close to the water, was measuring about 16-19%. Although, in this example, the moisture content of the timber rarely goes above 17%, it is not uncommon for winter moisture contents, in pitched roofs, to peak above 25%. So, when looking at the relative humidity of the space, spaces left above 70% RH for extended periods will also promote mold growth. It is also a good idea to use a moisture meter after the three weeks just to make sure. They need to carry a moisture meter with them under houses and probe the floor joists to measure wood moisture content. Instead of addressing the plumbing and damaged wood, they installed a dehumidifier in 2015. Before installing carpet, you will need to dry the subfloor first. Wagner has a free app called WoodH2O to help you determine the proper moisture levels based on consistent humidity and temperature. my question is, is there a possibility that the wood will shrink because of the weather condition?the wood that we used for the door frames and bidding is beechwood. In March of this year I had new white oak 2 flooring installed. Free Webinar The What, Why, and How of Wood Moisture Testing. To establish a baseline for wood flooring acclimation, the installer will need to calculate the optimal moisture level of the wood by dividing the regions high season and low season EMC. Insert the pins into the surface of the wood you want to test. While the surface of the floor might feel dry, there could be higher moisture inside. There will be statistical outliers on both the low and the high end and youll want to catch these by using a quality moisture meter. The other question is what should the moisture content be on treated lumber that will be for the framing of the deck? Use a wet/dry shop vacuum, sump pump, or rags to clean up standing water or excess moisture from the floor and from the surface of the wood. We appreciate you writing in, best of luck! RH where they were built is about 29-30%. The interior home conditions are, AC running at 68-70*F. Exterior wall condition 104*F as checked with an IR thermometer of East wall not in the sun. I gladly obliged. -ThA?> =v\0r5#v ,J\Byt)%*?I!PT`FdCE N a^1IMm[?x>7RFH +=\ 12% is good for softwoods, but again, it depends on the relative humidity and temperature where the finished product will be kept. Question for the expert: i recently replaced a toilet that had a leaky wax ring. Oh no! Were in northern Indiana, humid summers long cold winters. We have a free app called WoodH2O for Android or iPhone. Working with some slabs of spruce. The wood looks awful, and the staining the did is even worse. Building Performance Series No. Question: Just to make sure that you get accurate moisture measurements, has your moisture meter been checked for calibration? The boards have dried nicely so far with minimal warpage or checking. I suspect the moisture was the culprit? Any suggestions .thanks. These are the "safest" conditions for most types of woodbetween 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit and 30% to 50% RH. We have had on/off rain and humidity 80-90% range. This pinless meter is accurate, Ive got 2 other pin moisture meters and all 3 of them read within only 1-3% difference as checked on wood structures. %PDF-1.2 % In this case, what Built in # that I can use to measure flooring. Ive been following your in depth blog on moisture meters for around 1 year now. Just press the scanning plate against the woods surface, turn on the meter, and receive the reading. Other signs of high moisture readings include surface mold, evidence of water flows in the crawl space, evidence of water stains or evaporation from foundation walls and columns, evidence of condensation on ducts and evidence of water drops impacting the soil under ducts. Subsequently the woodgrain has reflected in the previously mirror-finish, only on the new panels and we suspect moisture content issues in the wood before it was varnished. The water eventually came out a electric outlet located three inches off the floor. The substructure may show decayed areas, ranging from small to very large, of rotten floor joist, sills, and . The crawl space must be a minimum of 18" to the bottom of the floor joists, and the soil in the crawl space covered with a heavy duty plastic moisture barrier, and sealed at the seams. Wall Construction Flat-or no more than 3/8" in 8' (bulge) But none of the contractors abide by the framing codes, nor do the city officials. Three years ago, the floor sank in a heavy traffic area and an engineer told me Masonite was used to shim and had compressed. The failure in your case sounds as though the piece was exposed to a rapid loss of already low ambient moisture, causing the cracking in the piece. He wants to install his companys system, seal all external openings around connections, etc. Writing all the way from Australia, Steven. Joists that sit below end matched joints must be at least 35mm thick. For example, a 26 Southern Pine joist can span 12'. I have been testing the bottom stud/sill board of an exterior wall on a slab of an old house that exposed in order to put a floor in. Its still there and causing stains and scaring inexperienced home inspectors who frighten buyers, but its dormant. You can determine the correct percent moisture content by using our free app called WoodH2O. Thanks. (He didnt cite a figure.) I hope this helps. The engineered wood floor appears ok. It is a 2-3 feet wide wet area that drains to a line connected to the city system. In your blog I read that furniture for outdoor is dried to a MC between 9 and 14%. Moisture contents in wood floor joists in houses with moisture problems are exceeding the 20% maximum level for air dried lumber. wood using pins while the MDF uses pinless? After reading your article and following comments, my question is : How much does the finish of a wood project for indoor use affect the moisture content? An MC in this range, therefore, is considered sufficiently dry for exterior in-service wood. During the summer months, when outdoor humidity is high, the hot/humid air enters the crawl space through the foundation vents and condenses on cool objects. The size of the lumber used for floor joists is the single greatest determining factor in terms of how far a joist can span. Here is a link to our website for more information: https://www.wagnermeters.com/shop/orion-950-smart/. Im on a grade-level concrete slab, and the water made its way over (under the tiles) to my sink vanity. 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). I had it milled into 2.25 slabs and I stacked it on a deck area. Download a free version of NZS 3602:2003. Since water conducts electricity and wood doesnt, the dryness of the wood can be determined by the amount of resistance to an electrical current. Whats an acceptable moisture level for a brick wall in a house? could you please guide or on how much should be the Expected Humidity % in high Humid areas like UAE considering these are mostly for Indoor purpose where ACs are on 247 at say 24 Degrees. Leicester, NC 28748 When determining the acceptable moisture levels in wood flooring before installation, the NWFA states that the flooring professional should establish a baseline for acclimation. Since wood is hygroscopic, it loses or gains moisture depending on the relative humidity of the surrounding air. Perhaps there is something different about the East and West walls. Again, the correct moisture content will depend on the surrounding conditions. For solid strip flooring (less than 3 wide) there should be no more than a 4% difference in moisture content between properly acclimated wood flooring and subflooring materials. I not sure if this is normal, related to the re-shim or need to install a crawl space dehumidifier to slow the progression? I found your moisture levels column through a search for good wood for low humidity. The manufacturer of the oil-based poly should have a specification on the maximum allowable moisture content of the wood. Did the Contractor mention anything about the structural strength of the joists? When questioned, he said because Room is under 200 sq feet it is not a problem. 2. My question: what is the complete saturation reading of wood? Longer pins with insulated shafts are designed for the purpose. This is more likely to occur to occur in lower-grade boards, where knots and uneven grains are already present. Both times, the tables were flawless, but after 2-3 weeks in their new home both table tops had major crack issues. WagnerMeters 1.93K subscribers 3.2K views 1 year ago Hardwood Flooring - Tips & Problems Do you work with wood? i did not waterproof the outside of the curb (kerdi), so the wood got wet. Congratulations on your new furniture. The acceptable wood moisture content normally ranges from 6% to 8% for woodworkers who build cabinets, fine furniture, musical instruments, dishes, toys, decorative art, boat restoration, or various other wood products. Decay fungi need liquid water to grow. Eventually, this internal moisture will evaporate by itself. Where floor s have been covered by previous floor coverings acceptable values are up to 3.5% and 80% in-slab RH. Summers are hot and dry while winters can be cool. 1= z@ You may be picking up something behind the sheetrock. Typical moisture content for furniture in a home is 6-9%. Please give us a call at (800) 634-9961 or email info@wagnermeters.com, if youd prefer. For joists where the rot infestation has been thoroughly dealt with: it is acceptable to leave the joist as it is. My question for you is, now that it is stained, can I still get an accurate MC? 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. Add 1 to this value and round up the answer to the next whole number: 7.40625 + 1 = 8.40625 9 floor joists. If after the inspection we find that your sagging floor joists need support or your home's foundation needs repair we may recommend using IntelliJack, JES Helical Piers, or JES Push Piers. That is still quite a wide range. In their warehouse, and perhaps partly also in the container. Joist spans may not be on the minds of most do-it-yourselfers, but joist spans are everywhere: above our heads in the ceiling joists and below our feet as flooring joists. Be on the lookout for flooring failures such as swelling, buckling, cupping, etc. So what do you think is the ideal moisture% I should dry them to before rotary polishing them? Your email address will not be published. If I dry too much, theres discoloration and breakage of product during polishing. In other words, the water weighs more than the wood fibers. Call 256-318-0982 or, Engineering Inspection Mortgage Companies, Unnecessary Panic! Using South Carolina Residential Construction Standards to Solve Problems, Website by Integritive Web Design :: Asheville, NC. %PDF-1.5 % Thank you for the information, I use a lot of trimmed for for children toys, menu times I use rings of 1-3 inch in diameter, For these purposes I dont care for wood shrinkage or wraping, Two things are important for me that wood will not crack, and that mold wont develop. Crawl Space Inspections: Once a Year Keeps the Contractors Away! Above 90% RH or 20% WMC, mold can grow on the wood. Any time water can be absorbed into a material such as wood, drywall etc, its always a good idea to check for excessive moisture, especially if you suspect a leak. Or perhaps I should advise them to buy Wagner meters, for better accuracy ;-). I built the tables in west Texas, but their final home is in Colorado. Replaced the subfloor, which is . And it really helps to pay an HVAC contractor to better seal and insulate the A/C ducts so they dont leak cold air!!! This app will tell you the percent moisture content that a given temperature and humidity will equilibrate to. Hi Larry, So a friend of mine has some pine and oak blabs at MC levels of (oak 11.5%) and Pine 13-14%. Wood is hygroscopic. The average annual relative humidity will play the biggest role in determining what the optimal MC should be. I read your article and really like it. I am not familiar with the particular moisture meter the plumber was using, but assuming it is correct, that moisture content is way too high to install new flooring. They are in an unheated and currently very cold barn The moisture ranges from 11% -16% according to my meter. board. meter readings of up to 2.0% and in-slab relative humidity (RH) below 75%. Just across the threshold to a white oak floor installed in ~1914 and the MC is 15%->16%. What You Should Know About Septic Systems, Interior Slab Foundation Settlement: Evaluations and Cost of Repair. With a concrete subfloor you should use a digital hygrometer, which needs to be left in place for at least 24 hours. You should be able to specify a lower moisture content. Thanks Phil. Wood moisture content is always varying. Hello Folks, I am new to wood turning and do not have a ready supply of dry/seasoned (my wood is green) wood. Box 1088, Roseburg, OR 97470 Tel. On a hot, humid summer day, the air venting into the crawl space could be as much as 75% relative humidity and 85 degrees. Drying teak hardwood from a humid climate, for use outdoors in a much drier European climate? h26P0Pw/+Q0L)66 Kiln-dried timber should be kept dry. What is the acceptable water/moisture content in cassia bark?- in south east asia. A moisture content that is too high will also slow the cure of the SLu and can affect the subsequent floor finish. Once the wood samples weight stops changing, its weight is compared to what it was before the drying process began. During my visit, I crawled to the four main corners of the crawl space and probed the floor system with an electronic moisture meter during this traverse. What would be the recommended MC for doors of my new building(under construction)? Floor joists support most of your home's weight and play a crucial role in structural integrity. The interior was 3/4 BW the tables dimensions were 40x 70 . 2nd question, will lacquer on surface of flooring affect the reading. The plywood setting is .57. Im hoping this should work. Spruce isnt a hardwood so Im assuming I could get away with a shorter dry time. Whether youre a woodworker making cabinets, a wood flooring professional installing hardwood floors, or if you use wood in construction, wood moisture content (MC) should be always on your mind. Ideally Ill wait until reaching final drying but sometimes I need to use wood before that point.