Test Moisture Content Of Wood For Hardwood Floors

One of the oldest ways to measure the moisture content of any hygroscopic material is the oven dry test.

Test moisture content of wood for hardwood floors.

At the time of installation as the installer you should know the moisture content of the wood flooring the moisture condition of the substrate and the ambient conditions in the space. Pin meters use electrical resistance to measure the presence of moisture in wood flooring. Measuring moisture in wood flooring. For woodworkers who build cabinets fine furniture musical instruments dishes toys decorative art boat restoration or various other wood products the acceptable wood moisture content normally ranges from 6 to 8.

Flooring installers must know the moisture content of the wood flooring as well as the subfloor. In many types of hardwood flooring excess moisture can cause the wood to appear slightly darker than it should be. The rdm 3 is a wood moisture meterwith a bevy of special functions built in for the professional flooring installer. Flooring specialists should test several areas of a wood subfloor to be certain conditions are acceptable for the final flooring installation.

If the temperature of the building is between 75 and 85 degrees fahrenheit the equilibrium moisture content of your wood should be between 7 and 8. If any of these warning signs are present the wood floor should be checked with a wood moisture meter as soon as possible. Determining moisture content is an essential part of quality control within the flooring installation process. A good rule of thumb is that the subfloor moisture content should be within 3 4 percentage points of the flooring to be installed before proceeding.

First the meter has a broad moisture detection range in wood from 5 to 60. Splotches of darker wood can be an indication that there is moisture in the wood. The most accurate measurement for moisture content in wood is the oven bake out method. The normal moisture content of wood or emc varies from 7 19 depending on the rh in the air.

Pinless meters use electromagnetic radio frequencies to scan hardwood floors to a fixed depth. This helps you know whether wood is too wet or dry and by how much. This test has two methods described in astm d4442 method a and method b the primary scientific test and the secondary method respectively. However in some coastal areas the average rh is in the 58 to 63 range.

Because wood is an insulator and water is a conductor. Hardwood floors are typically milled at about 6 7 percent moisture and they can get up to 10 percent without significantly changing form. In most cases your installation will probably in a zone with rh values between 40 and 45.