What Is Normal Moisture Content For Hardwood

By documenting your moisture readings you now have a reference point to go back to should a problem happen.

What is normal moisture content for hardwood.

Of water was lost in the drying process. These devices can be used to test the moisture content mc of wood flooring in mere seconds. Plywood is usually at 12 when purchased from a warehouse that protects its inventory from the elements always check that the plywood you are buying is dry. Seasoned firewood typically won t drop lower than around 10 moisture content because of the humidity of the atmosphere.

A 10 moisture content reading means that 10 of a wood sample s weight is due to water in the wood. Step 2 is documenting your readings. Moisture content weight of water ovendry weight of wood x 100 for instance suppose that a freshly sawn piece of eastern cottonwood populus deltoides weighed 50 lbs. Therefore it s advisable to have a floor tested for moisture content prior to installing flooring or moisture barriers.

Often more than one method is used to get an accurate reading of actual moisture content. There are three standard methods for measuring concrete moisture. 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. Measuring moisture in wood flooring.

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. When fully dried in an oven this means that a total of 30 lbs. See the moisture content of wood chart on page 66 which lists acceptable moisture contents for wood at certain temperatures and relative humidities. We talked about taking moisture readings.

Wood moisture meters for flooring applications come in two varieties. If a board reads 100 difficult to measure accurately then the weight of the water equals the weight of that wood. Ensuring wood flooring is at its ideal moisture content. Here using a thermo hygrometer to check temperature and humidity can be invaluable.

Percent moisture content in wood is the ratio of the weight of water compared to the overall weight of a piece of wood. 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. 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. In its initial green state and ended up weighing only 20 lbs.

Your subfloor should be within 4 moisture content of the hardwood flooring. The fastest way to measure moisture in floors is to use a moisture meter for wood.