Its mc is 11- 12% . 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. 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. My house was built in 1927. Cheers, Howard Pruden in Edmonton, Alberta where its cold and dry. Most interior wood is in this range. Good luck. The excess moisture source must be immediately corrected, and the situation carefully monitored until the WMC returns to the 12-16 range. A general rule of thumb for the coastal regions of FL would be 11-13%MC. With a degree in Computer Systems, Larry is involved in both hardware and software development of wood moisture measurement solutions. I read your article and really like it. i want to make a headboard from it. Damn those shop classes I didnt take. Wood is a hygroscopic material, meaning it picks up or loses moisture based on the ambient conditions. Wood freshly cut or kiln-dried is always interacting with environmental moisture. Im down to ~13-19% MC near floor level, based on a cheapo moisture meters readings. Moisture content of 11.5% for the oak is a little high for furniture grade hardwoods. 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. We havent gone any further since the condition was found so close to us purchasing the home. Even with lower temperatures, the ideal range for wood keeps relative humidity between 55% and 75%. with the spring thaw, i was one of the lucky ones that got water in my basement. You should be able to specify a lower moisture content. 9Chrv;plt[nh%:fOl8e^5e cM(?=6?y8{6uZkpz[TgLXD9feUm.L;l7:5C:hf=tE&U[&8 ^ wu*Vz*##;PKk? As lumber dries, it may split, cup and warp. Wagner has a free app called WoodH2O to help you determine the proper moisture levels based on consistent humidity and temperature. 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. If the leaks have damaged the sub floor or joists, call a licensed general contractor for repair. The normal outside equilibration moisture content (EMC) for Indiana is anywhere from 13% to 16%. In the Midwest, the EMC of wood or lumber in Des Moines, Iowa, ranges from 12.4% to 14.9%. Step 1: Check the Floor. If the water leak was bad enough, dry rot can occur causing possible structural integrity issues. I had it milled into 2.25 slabs and I stacked it on a deck area. Varying humidity levels can cause wood to lose or gain water and shrink or expand. If this is confusing, dont worry. . I was able to get the MC down to 15%. 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. Higher values could mean a wet or saturated material. All houses now use perimeter foundation so outside contact temperature stays at about 55 F all year. Surface molds may develop. My builder and flooring contractor asked for me to give the hardwoods a season to acclimate and they would surely move back together in june/july time frame. %PDF-1.5 % Im trying to find specs on treated lumber for NC. They many times cite the need for further evaluations by what they call other so called experts. : Mold & Fungus In the Crawlspace. It is best to replace the particle board subfloor. Outdoor temp is 99*F. Is this normal? They need to carry a moisture meter with them under houses and probe the floor joists to measure wood moisture content. Im looking for the % number that will be my upper boundary for oil application Would 12% be ok? Softwoods, such as spruce, can have more moisture. Spruce isnt a hardwood so Im assuming I could get away with a shorter dry time. I would think it would vary depending on the contents. Many timber-framed floor problems can be traced to moisture levels, excessive loads or borer. In March of this year I had new white oak 2 flooring installed. Thats why I think the wood is either not dried to 14%, or it has picked up too much humidity after drying. Can I a cut them first, then glue them once they are dryer? I know the rule of thumb is 1 year of dry time per inch of thickness of wood. As it dries, you should expect slight changes in width and length. The air vents stay closed year round. Since wood is hygroscopic, it loses or gains moisture depending on the relative humidity of the surrounding air. Perhaps try to seal the vapor barrier better around the piers. Water was coming out of this outlet and onto the floor? Remember that the meter assumes it is reading timber. if not, can you tell me why? I have used spar urethane as a finish on a few other 12 to 18 MC (semi-wet) log projects that turned out wonderfully. ft., and averaging the results. 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. Including some high-end species like Rosewood, ebony, Mahogany, White Cedar, Bija Sal, Walnut, Gmelina, etc. to keep the moisture content below 20 percent. Very educational! It depends on the size of the project, but anytime you put a waterborne urethane on the wood you are adding moisture to your project. 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. And it really helps to pay an HVAC contractor to better seal and insulate the A/C ducts so they dont leak cold air!!! (EMC) than other pieces of wood, depending on its location. We just had a hydrometer installed in the crawlspace and it is reading 38% as of today. P.O. . Stopping the moisture is much cheaper and easier than repairing the structure. It is best to allow the wood to equilibrate to the room environment. The pins are pressed into the wood to obtain a reading. However, the wood species and the thickness or size of the wood may also factor in. So, i had one installed a few weeks after we met. Simple and regular maintenance can prevent serious problems developing. Sorry, that time of year. It is important to have the same temperature and humidity during those 2 weeks that will be maintained after installation. we are presently constructing a new timber frame residence on ocean front in BC, Canada. This makes pinless moisture meters perfect for measuring the moisture content of things like expensive hardwood floors. 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 had a water leak under my crawl space which has 3 inches of foam insulation applied to the underside of the sub floor. Allowing the wood to acclimate in the final spot before building, really isnt possible because it is 8 hours away, and I cant take a week off to go up there and build the table. Keep air conditioning drip pans clean and the drain lines unobstructed and flowing properly. 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. info@rlcengineering.com I purchased my newly built home that has to meet all the new energy efficient standards and will be 2 years old this coming month. I live in Charlotte, NC. I have one question with regards to pinless moisture meters and wallboard/Sheetrock. There is over three foot of block above grade around the entire house. 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. (As a percentage) Basically the chimney breast (in bedroom and downstairs room) has been measured with a digital moisture meter and states 'OL' on the display, the surrounding walls measure between 0.4% and 1.2%. Sagging or Uneven Floors Solutions. hellow! Such readings should alert the homeowner to look for a source of excess moisture. What wood do you recommend that does not have a high oil/water content? Do these levels seen appropriate considering the recent rainfall. With regard to mold growing on your furniture, I would have to defer you back to the shipping company as they have more experience dealing with these types of issues. So, is it really this wet or is our meter over-reading? There are two main types of wood moisture meters, pin-type and pinless. Once the summer cooling season ends, and the A/C is shut off, and the outside air cools, and the humidity drops significantly, the cool dry air now flowing beneath the home dries out the floor joists. Many thanks for your advice, really appreciate it! Take the readings in at least 20 spots per 1,000 square feet of flooring and average the results. I requested the treated lumber be brought in a few weeks prior to build, stickered and put under cover to acclimate and dry it. I used my Wagner meter and it Measured in the 10% area. Cracks in Concrete Slabs: Should I Be Concerned? These are the "safest" conditions for most types of woodbetween 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit and 30% to 50% RH. Will your meters work to find MC levels for composites? I am presently drying it to around 8%-10% and then rotary polishing it, but I am facing the issue of burrs on the edges. I checked it with my new moisture meter and had a reading of between 8-13.5%. i am baffled. We have a free app called WoodH2O for Android or iPhone. For wide-width solid flooring (3 or wider), there should be no more than a 2% difference in moisture content between properly acclimated wood flooring and subflooring materials. Acclimation is the process for conditioning the moisture content of wood flooring to the environment where it will be installed. Interior walls non-insulated at around 7-8% mc. Are the measurements of all wood the same? I have about 3,000 sqft on my first floor and this was relatively consistent throughout. Add 1 to this value and round up the answer to the next whole number: 7.40625 + 1 = 8.40625 9 floor joists. Because ventilated crawl spaces throughout the Southeast United States allow high humidity and fungus spores to enter the enclosed space beneath the home. Fungus loves wet wood. 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. Leicester, NC 28748 I cant speak for other pinless meters but our Wagner meters are not sensitive to the temperatures you indicated. I have Suar wood from Indonesia and want use to indoor furniture, how range the Moisture Content allowance for this wood. 20% 28% Readings in this range indicate that conditions are border-line for decay. Hope that helps. Any advice would be appreciated. Want this question answered? The wood joists are not soaked wet, its just a light film of moisture on the wood members. The boards have dried nicely so far with minimal warpage or checking. Im not sure I can really answer this question. The builder's warranty representative came out and measured the moisture levels with a moisture meter. 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. The thinner veneers wont have much bearing on the reading. So if I understood the article right and not sure that I did. But this wetness is only surficial. I have seen home built in the dead of winter, covered in snow, and still dry out enough for a successful home build. Three years ago, the floor sank in a heavy traffic area and an engineer told me Masonite was used to shim and had compressed. If any of these conditions occur, tell your installer right away. If a board reads 100% (Difficult to measure accurately) then the weight of the water equals the weight of that wood. 1= z@ Wonder if they are trying to cover themselves. Yes, our moisture meters read MDF. When the wood neither gains nor loses moisture, we say that the wood has reached its equilibrium moisture content (EMC). Also, the glue manufacturer should ideally give you some specifications for max and min moisture content. 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 . Each piece of lumber is unique and carries physical characteristics that may include the following: knots, warping, shrinkage, swelling and/or splitting. The home inspector failed to report all the sewage stains on the plastic and organic growth on some of the joists have which had been exposed to moisture the whole time even though the dehumidifier has been mitigating the plumbing leaks. Oh no! Repair is often required when WMC readings are in this range. Did the Contractor mention anything about the structural strength of the joists? I was thinking 10% MC would be ok but after reading your article Im not sure. The angle iron will prevent much warping, and I do plan on finishing all sides (and ends). Houses with timber-framed floors can be at risk of having poor underfloor ventilation. thanks so much in advance. 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%. We are manufacturer of eng wood flooring. While oven-dry testing, if followed correctly, offers accurate results, there are a few drawbacks: These three drawbacks mean that oven-dry testing usually isnt the option of choice for hobbyists who work with wood. The sink vanity is made from typical laminated particle board, and Ive been trying to dry it in place using a dehumidifier and sealing the area off. With a Wagner L606, I am getting MC readings 12%->15.5% . Timber logs & Lumber into India company remained actively involved in harvesting and sale of Hardwood logs of Indian origin. 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. (Itd effectively seal the cavity under the vanity, so once the trim is back on, i dont think itll dry out much more.) Because of the different materials involved, they will react differently to high heat, thus giving you an un-even plywood surface. Other than causing structural damage, too much water can result in mold growth. I am having a section of our 3.25 Maple hardwood floor replaced. I would have thought that if the floor gave a 99.9% water saturation reading, it would have had to have been noticeably wet. I live in coastal South Carolina .we are definitely afraid of mold formation. This weight difference is then used to calculate the woods original moisture content. 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. If he is using a high-quality product from companies such as Delmhorst, they provide a slide hammer pin attachment, and they need to use insulated-shaft pins. There is no balancing layer on the reverse of the panels which might obstrust breathing of the panel. There are joists that display splitting. Make sure theyre aligned with the grain and not across it. Good moisture content for softwoods is 10% to 14% moisture. 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. So what do you think is the ideal moisture% I should dry them to before rotary polishing them? 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. In the most serious cases, entire joists may need to be removed, but many times they can be "sistered," or attached to another supporting joist for additional strength. Normal moisture content of wood ranges from 7% to 19%. It will be there for a few months before I begin working on it. My question is regarding finishing. What should be the approximate Highest MC to prevent wood problems to include finishes? It is also a good idea to use a moisture meter after the three weeks just to make sure. The general process for using pin-type moisture meters is as follows. Wood Moisture Content (WMC) is often used as an indicator of decay problems in houses. . 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. Softwoods typically have higher moisture content than hardwoods. I found your moisture levels column through a search for good wood for low humidity. I just bought a live edge slab of Cherry from a local sawmill that was kiln dried. Moisture contents of 12 to 17% is ok. You dont want to see any subfloor reach about 25% which is where mold will start to grow. Am i looking at mold if i dont rip the floor out? Good moisture content for hardwoods is 6% to 9% moisture. at one spot, its 40%. Currently the RH is 76%, the residence RH will be set at around 35%. Once the wood samples weight stops changing, its weight is compared to what it was before the drying process began. I live on the fl coast so what should the moisture level be? Best, Kyle. 24 and 26 framing studs should measure 19% moisture content or less. Two weeks is sufficient for softwood. You can use a dehumidifier when you need your crawl space drier, but it's essential to maintain proper moisture levels as much as possible. Building Performance Series No. The EMC in the recommended temperature/humidity range coincides with the 6% to 9% range used by most flooring manufacturers during the manufacturing and shipping process. Avoid unnecessary moisture exposure of all wood components by enclosing the frame against adverse weather as soon as feasible. I suggested replacing my dehumidifier (Sears brand, bucket collection) which has been inoperable this past year. Do you have a suggestion? It seems to me the supplier is drying the Teak to 14% because that is what is needed in Indonesia. We also ship to other European countries, for dryer country like Spain the EMC could be between 12 and 14. 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. Wood is hygroscopic. Accuaracy is of course more important.. The water was there for at most 6 hours, then we vacuumed it all and started the process of drying. The engineered wood floor appears ok. We just bought a home where we discovered the plumbing was leaking over a number years with a kitchen flood occurring in the last 3-5 years due to a busted water line. I would like to rip two slabs and glue them together to make a nice large dining room table. Question for the expert: i recently replaced a toilet that had a leaky wax ring. Hi Larry, So a friend of mine has some pine and oak blabs at MC levels of (oak 11.5%) and Pine 13-14%. If so, then you'll want to know. The process is time-consuming but produces accurate results if followed correctly. I had a redwood deck, and they replaced it with Douglas fir (without my approval, but thats another issue). Am I possibly getting false positives? Have I been wrong? The fir stock was originally KDd to around 8% but has been covered and stored outside for over a year and currently MC is around 12%. One sheet of plywood is 25% next to a 2X4 truss reading 17-27%. The rim joist and floor joist sit right on the block. A moisture content reading of 25% is borderline to support mold. As with plywood subfloors, if there is movement or squeaks, refasten the subfloor to the joists and set protruding fasteners into the subfloor. Lets go over the basics of each, Oven dry testing is the oldest method for measuring the moisture content of wood. we had a problem with our shower curb. They said if i wanted to spend the money, a humidifier would help keep the humidity inside the house more consistent throughout the year. board, and a 12-in. If the subfloor is not acceptable, it can often be overlaid with 1/2 -inch plywood. Also, please feel free to provide us with the number that you called so we can make sure that all of our phone numbers are printed/posted accurately! 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. Here is a link to a calculator and table: http://www.csgnetwork.com/emctablecalc.html.
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