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. The floors have started cupping across the entire area with more in some parts. For example, if the moisture content of the delivered wood is 12% and the optimal MC is 6%, then physical problems will occur during the acclimation process. endstream endobj 80 0 obj <>stream If I dry too much, theres discoloration and breakage of product during polishing. 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. Thank you so much for your time and expertise. 541-679-2612 www.Roseburg.com. The ASTM D4442 standard determines the accuracy of wood moisture meters. There is no balancing layer on the reverse of the panels which might obstrust breathing of the panel. Im trying to find specs on treated lumber for NC. The electrical current will then move from pin to pin and measure the resistance encountered. This app will tell you the percent moisture content that a given temperature and humidity will equilibrate to. Ev I will get further testing from those not involved. Because the moisture content of wood is equal to the weight of the water in the wood divided by the weight of the wood without the water, its possible for the moisture content to exceed 100%. I had engineered hard wood installed and it is curling at the joints. I wanted to talk to someone at Wagner about moisture guages and is there a dealer near Chattanooga, TN. Im hoping this should work. 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. The wood will still react in humid or dry conditions. It is best to replace the particle board subfloor. A consistent humidity level of 70 percent will require wood to be about 13 percent moisture content. When I purchase it its soaking wet and Ive always given it a few weeks, stickered and covered for at least 2 weeks, sometimes up to a month, to get it down to around 17-19%. I did not find any information on Matumi. %PDF-1.2 % Yes, hardwoods such as cherry and walnut should be between 6 and 8% moisture content. And it really helps to pay an HVAC contractor to better seal and insulate the A/C ducts so they dont leak cold air!!! The joist span tables start with 26 lumber and it goes all the way up to 212. As long as the moisture content does not exceed those readings you should be ok. This author has found decay fungi in floor joists at moisture levels of 20% to 25%. I may have missed this already but I have a few quick questions. This only occurs when wood changes moisture content below the fibre saturation point. Simply put, the post offers some useful information. It is not uncommon for wood to expand or contract as much as a 1/8 per foot of width, so maintaining a stable environment is important. First time this has happened (splitting that is). Just across the threshold to a white oak floor installed in ~1914 and the MC is 15%->16%. Thank you. Should I wait for the slabs to be within that 6-9% to cut and glue? Most types of wood species will mold above 25% moisture content, including pine. Its always a good idea to check with the manufacturer of the finish also. New roof first week of November. Best of luck with your project. A Brick Veneer Crack Tragedy: A True Story, Spraying for Mold on Floor Joists: Pest Control. Like all wood materials, I-joists are susceptible to moisture. The EMC of wood or lumber exposed to an outdoor atmosphere varies across the U.S. For instance, in the coastal city of Seattle, the EMC of wood or lumber is higher than the EMC of cities inland or in the Southwest. Please give us a call at (800) 634-9961 or email info@wagnermeters.com, if youd prefer. It will continue to absorb and release moisture until it comes into balance with the surrounding air. 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. The table had a 1 3/4 X 3 1/2 thick boarder with mitred corners and biscuited. Where are you located? The wood has been kiln dried and packed in corrugate. 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. Poor Drainage: A Foundation Problem Waiting to Happen, A Trade Secret: Bucks Vinyl Siding Test, Foundation Repair Salesman: Licensed to Kill, Dear God, Martha, Our House is Breaking in Two!. Timber logs & Lumber into India company remained actively involved in harvesting and sale of Hardwood logs of Indian origin. Hi Moisture Experts, My house is 25 years old located in Oregon City OR (near Portland). Lay the panels perpendicular to floor joists, allowing 1/4 inch of space between panels and the wall. Im looking for the % number that will be my upper boundary for oil application Would 12% be ok? They are putting desiccants in the container to absorb the moisture but we feel its going to be a long time enclosed in the container without any air circulation. They were installed over existing plywood subfloor. It is a 2-3 feet wide wet area that drains to a line connected to the city system. 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. About 5/16 penetration into the wood measures 8% using pins only. I have 1 1/2 thick cherry boards that I had milled from a tree in my yard last fall. Im still not sure that whatever they do will produce a good, long-term result, but I need to know what they should be doing to the wood. Good moisture content for softwoods is 10% to 14% moisture. at one spot, its 40%. I installed a sump pump and 6 mil vapor barrier, but the barrier is not sealed around piers and the ground is moist under the barrier all year. This summer I milled several 1.25 boards from a fir log that had been cut around 10 years ago. 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. Effects of Moisture on I-Joists and LVL April 2007 P.O. (EMC) than other pieces of wood, depending on its location. If so, then you'll want to know. i used my dremel with a shaping bit about 1/8 in to cut vertical slits or vents about an inch deep and a couple of inches tall into the bottom 24 and have kept a commercial floor blower on the wood several hours a day for more than a week yet, the number is not going down. RH where they were built is about 29-30%. Remove Moisture From The Air - If your crawl space has a lot of ventilation, you should be able to set up a large fan in the opening of the crawl space and leave it to run for 10 to 12 hours. I had it milled into 2.25 slabs and I stacked it on a deck area. P.O. The acceptable moisture levels in a crawl space are between 30% and 50%, with under 55% being the ideal. Thanks for the the information, very detailed and useful. . Higher values could mean a wet or saturated material. During the increased average temperatures of spring and summer, timber moisture content reduces to more acceptable levels. Bird, who runs the School of Fine Woodworking outside Knoxville, Tennessee, says he knows wood shrinks seasonally but wants to minimize the shrinkage and expansion by drying the wood to a moisture content of about 8%. So, is it really this wet or is our meter over-reading? I had a water leak under my crawl space which has 3 inches of foam insulation applied to the underside of the sub floor. Once wood is dried below about 28% WMC, water is not available to support decay, unless the wood is exposed to liquid water. The general process for using pin-type moisture meters is as follows. Retain this information with your records. . The joists can be longer or shorter as required by space and size, and are typically spaced at either 450mm or 600mm apart. summary Acceptable wood moisture readings on a meter normally range from 6% to 8% for woodworking. I really need to know as I am getting so many different opinions Thanks. I read your article and really like it. Any suggestions .thanks. Subfloor material such as plywood or OSB should measure between 10 and 14% moisture content. If the wood would really arrive with a MC of 14%, we would not have any problems. What % does it have to get down to before it would be usable to make a table top ? Over a year ago, I re-shim all the piers with metal shims. Both slab-on-ground and suspended concrete floors for wet areas: are deemed impervious when steel trowel finished or polished. 16% - 20%- Readings in this range indicate a possible elevated level of wood moisture. We found out that RH at the final location was under 20%. 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. My last Wagner was appropriated by the individual who appropriated other tools out of my old sho. Subtract the width of your floor joist from your floor's length: 120" 1.5" = 118.5". There was a board that cracked along a glue line. Call 256-318-0982 or contact us today. Good moisture content for hardwoods is 6% to 9% moisture. The optimal humidity in a home is generally 35%-55% and anything under 20% is actually considered unhealthy, as it dries out the skin. We have had very bad cracking in sheetrock and floors. Stopping the moisture is much cheaper and easier than repairing the structure. However, and unless otherwise permitted by a flooring product manufacturer, the following maximum moisture emission levels over a 24 hour period are permissible for the following floor coverings types: Wood Moisture Content is the weight of water in a piece of wood expressed as a percentage of oven dry weight of wood. Pinless moisture meters are even easier to use. 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. For boundary materials, the values vary depending on the physical properties of what you are . Hi, in MN where extreme temperatures are very hard on homes. Using South Carolina Residential Construction Standards to Solve Problems, Website by Integritive Web Design :: Asheville, NC. The acceptable moisture levels in basement walls and floors will depend on many factors. Should you check moisture levels on a trailor floor on a massive rainy day? In this case, what Built in # that I can use to measure flooring. My question is microwaving twice turned bowls what would be the general rule of thumb for a target by weight. Thank you for the well described article. They are now saying that they will replace whatever boards are bad and resand and finish the floors, however Im concerned that there is an underlying issue that will resurface here? 2-1/4", the moisture content between the flooring planks and the subfloor should not exceed 2%. Cut in the spring and stacked and dried them over the summer. I suggested replacing my dehumidifier (Sears brand, bucket collection) which has been inoperable this past year. If an interior location has an average RH of 40-52%, wood placed there will have an average EMC of 8-9%. As a result, the normal moisture meter reading for these materials in between 0.5% and 1%. The normal outside equilibration moisture content (EMC) for Indiana is anywhere from 13% to 16%. After all, the wall is in contact with damp soil. Summers are hot and dry while winters can be cool. 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. The floor (under carpet) had long-term water exposure supposedly from a shower in the adjacent bathroom (according to the plumber). we had a problem with our shower curb. BD-2100 Pin Meter. All houses now use perimeter foundation so outside contact temperature stays at about 55 F all year. Headers, columns, and joists are rotting. Such readings should alert the homeowner to look for a source of excess moisture. A floor joist is a horizontal beam, usually made of wood, that is used to support and enclose the flooring above a foundation. Currently the RH is 76%, the residence RH will be set at around 35%. They many times cite the need for further evaluations by what they call other so called experts. However, the wood species and the thickness or size of the wood may also factor in. A company sealed off the foundation vents and removed all the insulation from the crawlspace with the humidifier mitigating the moisture from the leaks. The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) has specific installation guidelines for wood flooring and how they relate to moisture content. The chart below will clear things up. Meanwhile, the reference scale can be used to provide qualitative moisture assessments in other building materials. Do you think that heated floor actually help to dry or do they make things worse and more humid! Maximum Moisture Content Of Concrete This is a nominal value most product manufacturers specify when concrete is dry enough to allow their product to lay down on it. I never obtained a moisture reading above 16%. As it dries, you should expect slight changes in width and length. Congratulations on your new furniture. hello I been getting very sick in my home so I had my manger do a mold and moisture test which came back high level of moisture levels which a contractor wants to take the sub floor up and 2 to 4 inches of the wall but my apartment manger is not releasing to report and hes is saying the spore test didnt pick up any mold spore question is it safe for me and my family to be in the home with high level of moisture in the restroom which the floor have been really soft for over 9 months now as well as the kids bedroom where a pipe burst. The rim joist and floor joist sit right on the block. One type of wood moisture meter. Hello Brian, I am a moisture meter expert, not a woodworking expert but from your description, the problem points to the conditions, not the wood or joinery. Signs Of Moisture In Basement. Kiln-dried timber should be kept dry. 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 havent gone any further since the condition was found so close to us purchasing the home. 25-30 - Actual, and often extensive, damage is evident when readings reach this level. Mold growth can be limited if the MC of wood can be kept below 20%. Any moisture content measured higher than that might result in movement, such as warping and twisting, once it dries. Below a 17% MC of wood, virtually no microbial growth will occur on even the most susceptible materials. The MC varies from 7% 13.5% around the exterior door on dry days and 10%-16% during rains. The pins are pressed into the wood to obtain a reading. A good moisture content is between 6 9% for Colorado. Question for the expert: i recently replaced a toilet that had a leaky wax ring. Pinless meters are non-penetrating and read the moisture content via a non-damaging electromagnetic sensor that scans the wood. Screwed 2x4s parallel into the joists as added support. 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). Larry: I recently had my annual termite inspection. Does coating wood with oil stabilize the moisture content in 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. I would like to load eucalyptus and pine wood logs to India . Sorry, that time of year. Although some movement can be expected between 6% and 9%, wood flooring can shrink or swell more dramatically outside this range. I suspect the screws may be skewing the measurements. Should I wait? If a wooden sample has moisture content range of 2-6% only and if it has moisture content of 9 or 10% then what does this mean?? I am building a farm style dining table with pecan 2 thick X 8-0 long boards. can be laid with falls and set downs. It gains or loses water moisture as the relative humidity (RH) of the surrounding air changes. Do you have a suggestion? So we are seeking redress, but there are jacks present underneath the home which the home inspector didnt report either and didnt know if this was extra support for the water heater or what. If the subfloor is not acceptable, it can often be overlaid with 1/2 -inch plywood. I live in coastal South Carolina .we are definitely afraid of mold formation. 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. A high reading in one area indicates a problem that must be corrected. I have a black walnut slabbed up that has been air drying outside for 2 yrs. The moisture content of wooden substructure members is routinely being disclosed in the closing process of real estate transactions. Floors should be: level within a 3mm deviation per 1m for floors up to 6m across (measured at the furthest points across the full width of the floor) a maximum of 20mm out of level for floors over 6m across flat within a 5mm deviation, measured using a 2m straight edge with equal offsets. Your subfloor moisture level should be no greater than seven to nine percent when you are installing flooring. Set the meter to the species that makes up the bulk, in this case, the plywood. I had a redwood deck, and they replaced it with Douglas fir (without my approval, but thats another issue). Wagner has a free app called WoodH2O to help you determine the proper moisture levels based on consistent humidity and temperature. During the summer, moisture content readings above . Concrete floors. Make sure theyre aligned with the grain and not across it. Hi Larry, just finished a black Walnut dining room table back in November. What You Should Know About Septic Systems, Interior Slab Foundation Settlement: Evaluations and Cost of Repair. Mobeen, If a wooden sample gains moisture, then the sample will increase in size. Had fans and dehumidifer running for 17 days starting 2 days after leak. Outdoor temp is 99*F. Is this normal? Moisture levels in your crawl space that go beyond 70% lead to mold growth and health concerns. I have come across this and havent made the purchase from my friend because I am not sure about the warp or breaking it will come. Ive been following your in depth blog on moisture meters for around 1 year now. https://www.wagnermeters.com/wood-moisture-meters/. Actually floors account for 15% of building heat loss depending on construction. Being that we live in Central Florida, 40 miles North of Tampa and using this chart page 5 ( https://research.cnr.ncsu.edu/blogs/wpe/files/2016/08/Equilibrium-Moisture-Content-of-Exterior-Wood-in-the-US.pdf) were it states EMC for wood exposed outside for our area of 12.5 to 14.0 when I put the moisture meter to the wood it should be in those ranges if going to be used outside? The cause that may produce this will be discussed in the section "Biodeteration of flood". Thank you. So if I understood the article right and not sure that I did. This can be a problem once installed in furniture or a floor. Fungus loves wet wood. Most floor joists are single or double, and most often made with 2x6s or 2x8s. Perhaps try to seal the vapor barrier better around the piers. Not only did the aggressive notching doom this joist, it affected the structural integrity of the floor system above. This means the weight of the water exceeds the weight of the wood by itself. Lets go over the basics of each, Oven dry testing is the oldest method for measuring the moisture content of wood. Keep air conditioning drip pans clean and the drain lines unobstructed and flowing properly. In general, 12% moisture or above is too wet to install flooring. My question for you is, now that it is stained, can I still get an accurate MC? Here is a link to a moisture meter I recommend: https://www.wagnermeters.com/shop/orion-910-deep/. to keep the moisture content below 20 percent. Now the fungus goes dormant. Im not sure I can really answer this question. Is your electrical outlet that is 3 inches above the floor inside the house? The water wasnt properly dried and organic growth was discovered by previous owner. There are two main types of wood moisture meters, pin-type and pinless. Soil is almost always damp. Wood is hygroscopic. If you want, just give me a call at 800-634-9961, ext 225.
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