water leaked over the edge. We just had a hydrometer installed in the crawlspace and it is reading 38% as of today. We are shipping some acacia chopping board to colorado ( US) with moisture ranges from 10-14% while shipping from India but once product received all get cracked . board will move 3 times the amount as a 4-in. I dont know what to believe except the company who installed the vapor and dehumidifier said the vapor barrier needs to be changed out because of all the sewage and drainage stains after the plumbing is fixed. I have a question. However, kiln drying is used to speed up the process. The excess moisture source should be corrected if found. To make sure the wood is properly dried, he always uses a moisture meter before working with it. How Timber Reacts To Moisture. The containers that we have received so far have arrived wet and mouldy. Prior to the re-shim, the pier in the area that floods in the spring could be felt pushing up the floor, meaning the beam is warping and been monitoring it. This is for furniture-grade hardwoods. I would love to be able to give you the perfect answer but unfortunately, there isnt one. Does that seem normal. Step 1: Check the Floor. our question is do we need to replace the floor to avoid fungal problems? Thank You. They are currently nearing equilibrium (around 12 MC) and are stored within the house. As far as the oil finish, the manufacturer of the oil will specify the correct moisture content for an application. Whats the Difference Between a Home Inspection and an Engineering Inspection? This level of moisture is unlikely in a joist which is independent of a wall or under a water leak. You can now understand the meaning of moisture content 5.5%, 15 g/m2/24 hours, and relative humidity 75% with these facts. Did the Contractor mention anything about the structural strength of the joists? For boundary materials, the values vary depending on the physical properties of what you are . Two questions I need a reliable, easy to use meter that can cover all species as I now have a portable mill and that can be used for treated. I wanted to know if is there any standard which specifies the acceptable range of moisture content for wood used in packaging industry like pine wood. You will however, need to become familiar with reading your local floor joist span tables for floor beams, floor joists, window and door lintels, ceiling joists, roof joists, roof rafters, and roof ridge beams, as well as the sizing and spacing of wood studs tables. If there are quite small amounts of moisture in a wall of dense plaster or brick, then a meter will probably indicate over 20% or so and this will be in the 'red zone' or beeps and squeeks may happen. What humidity content should cedar be at for proper gluing. Where are you located? Below a 17% MC of wood, virtually no microbial growth will occur on even the most susceptible materials. Kiln-dried wood usually shows a moisture reading of 10% on the outside and then 25% on the inside. The other was for a $100 retail gift card. It was such a good read. Walking on Joists Before all accessories and floor decking are installed, I-joists are unstable and can roll over if walked on, leading to injuries. This is more likely to occur to occur in lower-grade boards, where knots and uneven grains are already present. 11 0 obj << /Linearized 1 /O 15 /H [ 1017 209 ] /L 26721 /E 14333 /N 2 /T 26383 >> endobj xref 11 18 0000000016 00000 n 0000000724 00000 n 0000000820 00000 n 0000000963 00000 n 0000001226 00000 n 0000001393 00000 n 0000001566 00000 n 0000001771 00000 n 0000002827 00000 n 0000002934 00000 n 0000004271 00000 n 0000005322 00000 n 0000005517 00000 n 0000007871 00000 n 0000007949 00000 n 0000009756 00000 n 0000001017 00000 n 0000001206 00000 n trailer << /Size 29 /Info 10 0 R /Encrypt 13 0 R /Root 12 0 R /Prev 26373 /ID[<2277e06d91c56aa37caf41071ab29f47><2277e06d91c56aa37caf41071ab29f47>] >> startxref 0 %%EOF 12 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Pages 9 0 R /PageMode /UseThumbs /OpenAction 14 0 R >> endobj 13 0 obj << /Filter /Standard /V 1 /R 2 /O (D+K\r,s\n?$+%{Nhjp-!) Does it have another common name? Either one should be acceptable for finishes. Condensation present on the . My meter tells me anything above 12% is wet but I cannot find any source of leaking or signs of water. You are correct, furniture grade hardwood is typically dried between 6 to 9%. However, this time I was planning to use oil based poly rather than the spar urethane to reduce the amount of yellowing. This week, I notice the next pier on the same beam is starting to push up, warping the floor. 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. Is this dry enough that Id be able to reinstall the trim over the particleboard? 17 and the flooring is at 6 to 7. to keep the moisture content below 20 percent. Whats an acceptable moisture level for a brick wall in a house? The water wasnt properly dried and organic growth was discovered by previous owner. I do not have a hygrometer or a moisture meter as I am a hobbyist. Thats a big difference. Top 5 Causes of Cracks in Brick Veneer Homes. In general, all wood products will swell with an increase in moisture content and shrink with a decrease in moisture content. Do you think that heated floor actually help to dry or do they make things worse and more humid! Call 256-318-0982 or, Engineering Inspection Mortgage Companies, Unnecessary Panic! Houses with timber-framed floors can be at risk of having poor underfloor ventilation. Hi Larry, just finished a black Walnut dining room table back in November. Ceilings account for 35%, walls - 25% and windows 25%. Cracks in Concrete Slabs: Should I Be Concerned? I had a pin meter but found I had to put the pins in the ends or try to find an area that wouldnt be seen, so Im thinking a pinless might be better. A study by Imamura and Kiguchi (1999) showed that wood moisture content in excess of 20% can cause a 5% loss of nail shank diameter in four years and a projected 25% loss in 30 years. It constantly absorbs and releases vapour into the . Both times, the tables were flawless, but after 2-3 weeks in their new home both table tops had major crack issues. Here is a link to a calculator and table: http://www.csgnetwork.com/emctablecalc.html. Before installing plywood underlayment, ensure that the existing flooring is thoroughly vacuumed, free from debris, and stripped of wax. Water was coming out of this outlet and onto the floor? Were looking to replace the floor in an old (unheated) hay barn with treated tongue & Groove 26 flooring and need to know if the advertised 19% MC will be ok and not shrink too much. Stopping the moisture is much cheaper and easier than repairing the structure. The floor immediately felt stronger. My main concern here is that the flooring didnt have enough time to acclimate to the surrounding conditions. Mold starts to grow in the mid to high 20 percent moisture contents. Moisture content (MC) in raw slabs can take additional time to reach its Equilibrium Moisture Content. He wants to install his companys system, seal all external openings around connections, etc. I have about 3,000 sqft on my first floor and this was relatively consistent throughout. The pins are pressed into the wood to obtain a reading. The normal moisture content of wood (or EMC) varies from 7%-19% depending on the RH in the air. 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. 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. The home inspectors working for fees today seem to have one primary motive in mind: to cover their liabilities. I was able to get the MC down to 15%. Wood is hygroscopic. Here is the one I would recommend: https://www.wagnermeters.com/shop/mmc220-extended-range-moisture-meter/, My potential house in North Carolina Fayetteville area was just checked for moisture content in the crawl space. . This is based on a chart in Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material. Perhaps try to seal the vapor barrier better around the piers. Floor joists are generally 6, 8, 10, or 12 inches in width, with 8 or 10 inches as the most common sizes. Thanks for the reply. Sorry, that time of year. I-joists are comprised of top and bottom flanges, which resist bending, united with webs, which provide outstanding shear resistance. To do so: Make two vertical cuts through the joist a safe distance away from each end of the rotten section. It gains or loses water moisture as the relative humidity (RH) of the surrounding air changes. Working with some slabs of spruce. Pinless moisture meters are even easier to use. 1. I am based in The Netherlands. Hope that helps. I cant speak for other pinless meters but our Wagner meters are not sensitive to the temperatures you indicated. If the moisture is less than 20% and the floor joists are structurally sound, like the joists at this home, there is no need to worry about any fungal staining that might exist. Perhaps better drainage around your house will do the trick or treat. (EMC) than other pieces of wood, depending on its location. I know the rule of thumb is 1 year of dry time per inch of thickness of wood. guide-standards-tolerances.pdf. primer, the moisture vapor transmissions rate (MVtr) from the substrate should not be in excess of 5 lbs. The excess moisture source must be immediately corrected, and the situation carefully monitored until the WMC returns to the 12-16 range. When you do this, you not only ensure that the entire batch is okay on average, but youre also far likelier to catch boards that are statistical outliers and could cause problems. As with plywood subfloors, if there is movement or squeaks, refasten the subfloor to the joists and set protruding fasteners into the subfloor. There was a board that cracked along a glue line. This document describes the meaning and use of readings from a wood moisture meter. The plumbing was improperly installed with the wrong cement to fit the pipes and could have been leaking from anywhere between 5-29 years while absorbing into the ground. The floors have started cupping across the entire area with more in some parts. 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. Your contractor may use something called a moisture meter to see what the approach should be for joist damage, or it may be more obvious based on the appearance of the wood. However, the wood species and the thickness or size of the wood may also factor in. I found your moisture levels column through a search for good wood for low humidity. Live in Tn. if not, can you tell me why? 10? I have an unusual question, if I was to sandwich recycled paper (similar to hardwood floor paper only heavier) between 2 layers of wood as a draft stop what should the moisture content be to avoid the paper absorbing any water and ending up with a mold issue thanks in advance for any info you can provide. Wood Rot in Crawl Spaces: Whats That Smell in My House. If the humidity is a constant 76% then the wood will equilibrate between 14 and 15% moisture content. Can I get a away with this? This weight difference is then used to calculate the woods original moisture content. Lets go over the basics of each, Oven dry testing is the oldest method for measuring the moisture content of wood. Good luck. There are joists that display splitting. Notches at the end of the joist should be no deeper than 1/4 the depth. In fact, according to M. Steven Doggett, Ph.D. LEED AP, the founder of Built Environments, Inc., wood moisture content as high as 15% can cause corrosion of metal fasteners and at 16% may lead to fungal growth. 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. Moisture levels in your crawl space that go beyond 70% lead to mold growth and health concerns. ft., based on a standard AStM F-1869 (Calcium Chloride) test, or 80% rh, based on AStM F-2170. Additional care is necessary if laying parallel to the joists and sheet subfloors can sag between the joist. There are two main ways of measuring wood moisture content: oven-dry testing and moisture meter testing. In your blog I read that furniture for outdoor is dried to a MC between 9 and 14%. I want to use it to build a table and will be moving it to the location where I will work on it shortly. meter readings of up to 2.0% and in-slab relative humidity (RH) below 75%. The wood scale provides accurate, quantitative readings of moisture over the range of 5% to 30% MC in wood. this is an interesting read I landed upon as I was searching for MC in wood items. We built our home from ground up and have a sealed crawl space dehumidifiers, etc In January of 2019, we had our builder and hardwood floor contractor come out because our hardwoods were starting to separate a lot. Since the cold weather has come on, the organic growth has gone dormant, but a contractor noticed joists with distinctive moisture content where there are definitive separations between dry and wet looking wood. Mold and fungus in the crawl space can definitely become a problem, but dont be fooled into thinking that a Borate spray HAS to be applied in EVERY situation. I will get further testing from those not involved. Thanks for the the information, very detailed and useful. In this case, what Built in # that I can use to measure flooring. As a general guideline, an emission rate of 1.4 kg/100m (3 lbs/1000 ft) or less is considered acceptable for most floor coverings. Though on occasion, they are made of 2x10s and tripled for additional . Any advice would be appreciated. It is also a good idea to use a moisture meter after the three weeks just to make sure. Failure to allow the wood to acclimate or come into balance with the RH at its end-use location could result in any number of moisture-related problems after the wood product is constructed. But this wetness is only surficial. The boards should be no wider than 6 inches and installed on a 45-degree angle. Or perhaps I should advise them to buy Wagner meters, for better accuracy ;-). WME? With a degree in Computer Systems, Larry is involved in both hardware and software development of wood moisture measurement solutions. we had a problem with our shower curb. Spruce isnt a hardwood so Im assuming I could get away with a shorter dry time. I suggested replacing my dehumidifier (Sears brand, bucket collection) which has been inoperable this past year. Thanks for any help you can provide! The front of the . Were in northern Indiana, humid summers long cold winters. moisture meter testing a floor joist In this image we measure a reading of 37% in this floor joist. WagnerMeters 1.93K subscribers 3.2K views 1 year ago Hardwood Flooring - Tips & Problems Do you work with wood? Furniture maker Lonnie Bird weighs in, I dont want the wood to shrink after I use it because the wood will warp or split.. 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. Screwed 2x4s parallel into the joists as added support. I buy many Artificial Trees for our Stores, which has Wood Stems/Barks, mainly produced in China & Shipped to UAE. Ive been following your in depth blog on moisture meters for around 1 year now. Standard moisture contents for hardwoods are 6% 9% MC. On truss/joist spacing of 16" (406mm) o/c or less, the industry standard for single- panel subflooring is nominal 5/8" (19/32", 15.1 mm) CD Exposure 1 Plywood subfloor panels ( CD Exposure 1) or 23/32" OSB Exposure 1 subfloor panels, 4' x 8' sheets. The fastest way to test the moisture content of wood is to use a moisture meter. If the wood is covered by a material like MDF or other, do we take 2x the measurements? My plan is to make a wall-mounted headboard out of angle iron and these boards (boards will not be joined). Your help for resolving this issue would be highly appreciated . Be on the lookout for flooring failures such as swelling, buckling, cupping, etc. Please provide us with regular updates. 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.
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