Measuring moisture in wood flooring.
What is normal moisture content for hardwood.
We talked about taking moisture readings.
By measuring and assessing concrete and wood moisture levels separately builders and homeowners lower the potential risk of future moisture related problems when combining the two materials together.
A 10 moisture content reading means that 10 of a wood sample s weight is due to water in the wood.
Here using a thermo hygrometer to check temperature and humidity can be invaluable.
These devices can be used to test the moisture content mc of wood flooring in mere seconds.
Before you can ensure that your wood flooring is at an ideal moisture content it s important to check the relative humidity of the installation site and compare that to the mc of your wood materials.
Therefore it s advisable to have a floor tested for moisture content prior to installing flooring or moisture barriers.
When fully dried in an oven this means that a total of 30 lbs.
There are three standard methods for measuring concrete moisture.
For instance you take your readings prior to installing a hardwood floor and the subfloor moisture content is 10 and the strip hardwood was at 7.
Of water was lost in the drying process.
Ensuring wood flooring is at its ideal moisture content.
If a board reads 100 difficult to measure accurately then the weight of the water equals the weight of that wood.
Often more than one method is used to get an accurate reading of actual moisture content.
Your subfloor should be within 4 moisture content of the hardwood flooring.
For example the meter may read 12 percent moisture content which is within the normal range for some regions but which is too high in drier lower humidity areas.
The fastest way to measure moisture in floors is to use a moisture meter for wood.
Seasoned firewood typically won t drop lower than around 10 moisture content because of the humidity of the atmosphere.
By documenting your moisture readings you now have a reference point to go back to should a problem happen.
Wood moisture meters for flooring applications come in two varieties.
In its initial green state and ended up weighing only 20 lbs.
Hardwood flooring should be delivered to site kiln dried at between 6 and 8 moisture content.
Step 2 is documenting your readings.
Percent moisture content in wood is the ratio of the weight of water compared to the overall weight of a piece of wood.
See the moisture content of wood chart on page 66 which lists acceptable moisture contents for wood at certain temperatures and relative humidities.
The moisture content of properly seasoned firewood should be under 20 as firewood burns its most efficiently between moisture content levels of 15 and 20.
