Perhaps better drainage around your house will do the trick or treat. New roof first week of November. somewhere. The average RH of the environment where the wood will be used. endstream endobj 79 0 obj <>stream Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material, https://research.cnr.ncsu.edu/blogs/wpe/files/2016/08/Equilibrium-Moisture-Content-of-Exterior-Wood-in-the-US.pdf, https://www.wagnermeters.com/shop/orion-950-smart/, http://www.csgnetwork.com/emctablecalc.html, https://www.spikevm.com/calculators/logging/equilibrium.php, https://www.wagnermeters.com/shop/orion-910-deep/, 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, Restoration Expert Says Moisture Management Critical to Health of Any House or Building, Correct Moisture Content: Critical to Your Woodworking Projects, Mckinleyville Middle Schoolers Learning about Wood Moisture Content, Ambient Data Loggers: Peace of Mind in a Box for Wood Flooring Installers, 5 Things Not to Do When Measuring Moisture in Wood Flooring, Alabama Wood Crafters Share Wood Woes When Overlooking a Moisture Meter. Its not growing or feeding on the wood. hL I was thinking 10% MC would be ok but after reading your article Im not sure. Best of luck with your project. This is a perfectly normal moisture content and one that will not support fungal growth. This must be done before attempting to dry out the wood. Cracks in Concrete Slabs: Should I Be Concerned? 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. The normal moisture content of wood (or EMC) varies from 7%-19% depending on the RH in the air. Any advice would be appreciated. Moisture content of 11.5% for the oak is a little high for furniture grade hardwoods. These tools will give you the confidence that you have done everything on your part to ensure the highest quality in the piece you have built. Knowing were all the piers are, I can stand on top and feel a small hump in the floors. Ideally, it should be between 7% and 9%. Floor joists transfer loads to the vertical beams of the house. within two percentage points of the EMC where the wood is going to be used. 16% 20% Readings in this range indicate a possible elevated level of wood moisture. Why and how can I say this? moisture will typically measure 7-10%. I live in Atascadero CA and had a coastal red oak tree cut down this past summer. 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The excess moisture source must be immediately corrected, and the situation carefully monitored until the WMC returns to the 12-16 range. Softwoods, such as spruce, can have more moisture. -XF% How Timber Reacts To Moisture. Having performed multiple (>500) soil moisture and density Sieve and Proctor, so I am well versed in moisture calculations (both add and subtract). Lacquer will not make a reading difference as long as there are no metallic components in the lacquer itself. If you want, just give me a call at 800-634-9961, ext 225. Add 1 to this value and round up the answer to the next whole number: 7.40625 + 1 = 8.40625 9 floor joists. Wall Corners-Perpendicular within 1/4" in 10'. The engineered wood floor appears ok. A mold or mildew odor or appearance on surfaces. Thanks! Keep monitoring it. Moisture levels in your crawl space that go beyond 70% lead to mold growth and health concerns. Eventually, this internal moisture will evaporate by itself. The table had a 1 3/4 X 3 1/2 thick boarder with mitred corners and biscuited. I so appreciate your treatise on this issue. The electrical current will then move from pin to pin and measure the resistance encountered. ft., and averaging the results. Moisture was around 25% when milled, and the ends were sealed. It is impossible for me to tell you what the percentage of furniture should be, but if you know the EMC in the area it will be kept, you can check the MC continuously until you reach its EMC. The installer should then check the moisture content of multiple boards and average the results. This would depend on the expectations of the person receiving the product in India, how large of diameter the logs are, and some average estimate of what the conditions would be inside the container during the 55 days. How to test moisture /water content in cassia bark? All that needs to be done at this home is to close-up the foundation vents during every air conditioning season and make sure the ground cover vapor barrier is spread completely over the underlying ground surface. At this home, cool objects include the air conditioning ductwork, the ground and the overlying wood floor system, which is exposed to very cool temperatures due to air conditioning duct leakage. On a hot, humid summer day, the air venting into the crawl space could be as much as 75% relative humidity and 85 degrees. Thats why I think the wood is either not dried to 14%, or it has picked up too much humidity after drying. However, the ideal humidity range in some climates may be higher or lower. So, to sum up, Moisture in crawlspaces is bad. I would like to rip two slabs and glue them together to make a nice large dining room table. I-joists are comprised of top and bottom flanges, which resist bending, united with webs, which provide outstanding shear resistance. Simply put, the post offers some useful information. Drying teak hardwood from a humid climate, for use outdoors in a much drier European climate? The floor installer put the floors down without allowing the boards to acclimate. I would have thought that if the floor gave a 99.9% water saturation reading, it would have had to have been noticeably wet. Since wood is hygroscopic, it loses or gains moisture depending on the relative humidity of the surrounding air. 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. If so, then you'll want to know. 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 boards should be no wider than 6 inches and installed on a 45-degree angle. I suggested replacing my dehumidifier (Sears brand, bucket collection) which has been inoperable this past year. i cored out a small section of the bottom beam (3 inches wide) all the way down to the foundation. The acceptable moisture levels in a crawl space are between 30% and 50%, with under 55% being the ideal. We just had a hydrometer installed in the crawlspace and it is reading 38% as of today. The water was there for at most 6 hours, then we vacuumed it all and started the process of drying. Do you see any dangers of using poly with a MC of around 12, or am I risking adhesion failure especially if the wood does end up shrinking dimensionally? Decay fungi need liquid water to grow. Meanwhile, the reference scale can be used to provide qualitative moisture assessments in other building materials. The front of the . Now the fungus goes dormant. or finally the product will be placed where. Limit the length of notches to 1/3 of the joist's depth. First, test the moisture level of the subfloor. I will get further testing from those not involved. As stated, fungal spores are beneath the home because they are in the air we breathe-the same air that gets circulated beneath the home. Here's a good rule of thumb: Notches should be no deeper than 1/6 the depth of the joist. Here is a link to our website for more information: https://www.wagnermeters.com/shop/orion-950-smart/. A dry reading will be 16% MC (Moisture Content) or below. I have seen home built in the dead of winter, covered in snow, and still dry out enough for a successful home build. As far as the oil finish, the manufacturer of the oil will specify the correct moisture content for an application. A moisture content of less than 20% indicates that your joists and beams do not have the necessary moisture content for mold or fungus to survive. 1 4 The more specific way to know would be to measure the relative humidity and temperature in your homes air and then plug the numbers into a calculator like this https://www.spikevm.com/calculators/logging/equilibrium.php This will tell you what the MC% should be based on your specific environment. Request Answer. The angle iron will prevent much warping, and I do plan on finishing all sides (and ends). Wood Moisture Content is the weight of water in a piece of wood expressed as a percentage of oven dry weight of wood. board will move 3 times the amount as a 4-in. Room size, L-shaped, is 21.5 x 12.5 and leg of L is 8.5 x 11. Thank you. Sometimes moving the air around is enough to remove moisture and dry surfaces. Lets go over the basics of each, Oven dry testing is the oldest method for measuring the moisture content of wood. I wanted to know if is there any standard which specifies the acceptable range of moisture content for wood used in packaging industry like pine wood. The conversion puts the adjusted MC between 9.5 -> 12%. With the WoodH2O-app I could deduct the EMC for The Netherlands would be between 15 and 16. Thanks for the email. Very simple and understandable. I had several of the varnished decorative hardwood laminated ply panels replaced in the lounge on an air conditioned luxury yacht. Typical moisture content for furniture in a home is 6-9%. Second, would the same pine slab, would it be okay to use for a side table or Kitchen island. First time this has happened (splitting that is). I found your moisture levels column through a search for good wood for low humidity. I read your article and really like it. board will move twice as much as a 4-in. So, when looking at the relative humidity of the space, spaces left above 70% RH for extended periods will also promote mold growth. I have used spar urethane as a finish on a few other 12 to 18 MC (semi-wet) log projects that turned out wonderfully. Either one should be acceptable for finishes. Such readings should alert the homeowner to look for a source of excess moisture. my question is, is there a possibility that the wood will shrink because of the weather condition?the wood that we used for the door frames and bidding is beechwood. Wagner Meters has a couple of resources to help you determine the moisture content more suited to your outdoor environment. 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. That doesnt make much sense to me. Thanks!!! >V@Ica4R%f%l&/R*liDqx/nB*?1MH}Su>VeyZ3?>vMLqcwY^U. Specifically in the first 3-4 on one side of the door is 11%, then drops to ~8%. hj0Ed=h].J-)_q},jR3$\ eH"wCk)E)J8 While the surface of the floor might feel dry, there could be higher moisture inside. Please commenr? Hi and good day , I would like to find out what r the right temperature readings for workable wood slabs in South Africa specially Matumi wood slabs. (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%. I really need to know as I am getting so many different opinions Thanks. We found out that RH at the final location was under 20%. What % does it have to get down to before it would be usable to make a table top ? My question is microwaving twice turned bowls what would be the general rule of thumb for a target by weight. summary Acceptable wood moisture readings on a meter normally range from 6% to 8% for woodworking. The moisture content of freshly cut wood is typically somewhere between 40-200%. Unless something is so out of whack shimming in back of the sheetrock won't suffice it's OK here. I built the tables in west Texas, but their final home is in Colorado. You can check for moisture by using a moisture meter. This means your crawl space humidity goes up by about 22 degrees. 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. Question: Just to make sure that you get accurate moisture measurements, has your moisture meter been checked for calibration? WME? 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. One of his own service guys said foundation caps needed to be replaced. In fact, according to M. Steven Doggett, Ph.D. LEED AP, the founder of Built Environments, Inc., wood moisture content as high as 15% can cause corrosion of metal fasteners and at 16% may lead to fungal growth. Elaine. I may have missed this already but I have a few quick questions. Furniture grade wood is typically dried to a target of 6%-9%. i also drilled into the wood every few inches, several inches deep with a typical drill bit. Doesnt sound like this has been a problem in the past. Standard moisture contents for hardwoods are 6% 9% MC. Let's repeat that again. 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. These are the "safest" conditions for most types of woodbetween 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit and 30% to 50% RH. This is the standard in the construction industry. If the middle is wet, you may experience cracking/splitting if dried too fast. The moisture content overall is almost always below 20%. The other thing to consider is examining how water is entering your crawl space. i want to make a headboard from it. My house is 24 years old. During the summer, moisture content readings above . If the humidity is a constant 76% then the wood will equilibrate between 14 and 15% moisture content. I have a question. Is this dry enough that Id be able to reinstall the trim over the particleboard? A termite repair company (also licensed contractors) told me that I needed to replace the planks on my second story deck. This means the weight of the water exceeds the weight of the wood by itself. board. In all cases, determining the acceptable moisture level of wood requires the use of an extremely accurate moisture meter. However, this time I was planning to use oil based poly rather than the spar urethane to reduce the amount of yellowing. Ideally, you want to check the EMC in the area you will be working on your slab, along with the area it will live in. I manufacture ice cream sticks and disposable wooden cutlery from European Baltic birch wood in India. 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. 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. If possible, keep indoor humidity below 60 percent (ideally between 30 and 50 percent) relative humidity. He, of course, said that type of product is insufficient. Signs Of Moisture In Basement. The ceiling in the bedroom above the chimney breast shows signs of damp however doesn't feel damp/moist. Good moisture content for softwoods is 10% to 14% moisture. I do not have a hygrometer or a moisture meter as I am a hobbyist. A study by Imamura and Kiguchi (1999) showed that wood moisture content in excess of 20% can cause a 5% loss of nail shank diameter in four years and a projected 25% loss in 30 years. Do these levels seen appropriate considering the recent rainfall. Here is a link to our moisture meters, thermo-hygrometer, and Smart Logger. It constantly absorbs and releases vapour into the . Your contractor may use something called a moisture meter to see what the approach should be for joist damage, or it may be more obvious based on the appearance of the wood. Soil is almost always damp. 20% 28% Readings in this range indicate that conditions are border-line for decay. 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 difference is the moisture meters measurement error. Whether youre a woodworker making cabinets, a wood flooring professional installing hardwood floors, or if you use wood in construction, wood moisture content (MC) should be always on your mind. To establish a baseline for wood flooring acclimation, the installer will need to calculate the optimal moisture level of the wood by dividing the regions high season and low season EMC. So, i had one installed a few weeks after we met. The wood and varnish appear otherwise pristine, uncracked and not bubbled or clouded in any way. Any suggestions .thanks. The excess moisture source should be corrected if found. 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. In your blog I read that furniture for outdoor is dried to a MC between 9 and 14%. Do you have a suggestion? Should I wait for the slabs to be within that 6-9% to cut and glue? 2. Houses with timber-framed floors can be at risk of having poor underfloor ventilation. Drying equipment removed 3 days ago. Both times, the tables were flawless, but after 2-3 weeks in their new home both table tops had major crack issues. I had it milled into 2.25 slabs and I stacked it on a deck area. 2. We are very arid where the tops were built so I figured the tables would be just fine knowing that it is arid where they were goingbut that doesnt seem to be the case. 10? Seattles EMC ranges from 12.2% to 16.5%. SE, Huntsville, AL 35802. Both slab-on-ground and suspended concrete floors for wet areas: are deemed impervious when steel trowel finished or polished. There was a board that cracked along a glue line. Heres how it works. You can determine the correct percent moisture content by using our free app called WoodH2O. The reading was sky high in the pan and up two tiles high on the wall. Kiln-dried wood usually shows a moisture reading of 10% on the outside and then 25% on the inside. Many timber-framed floor problems can be traced to moisture levels, excessive loads or borer. Thank you so much for your time and expertise. Home Moisture Meters Acceptable Moisture Levels in Wood Knowing the Moisture Content. One sheet of plywood is 25% next to a 2X4 truss reading 17-27%. 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. The wood has been kiln dried and packed in corrugate. This is more likely to occur to occur in lower-grade boards, where knots and uneven grains are already present. We appreciate you writing in, best of luck! At that point in time, we did not have a conditioned house. Obviously, the ambient conditions within which the wood or paper is present can alter the MC% of the wood or paper. Great article, thanks for the info. endstream endobj 81 0 obj <>stream I gladly obliged. As with plywood subfloors, if there is movement or squeaks, refasten the subfloor to the joists and set protruding fasteners into the subfloor. I did not find any information on Matumi. Other than causing structural damage, too much water can result in mold growth. They delivered the wood one day, and began to stain and install it over the next two days, finishing on the 6th day. Dryer wood produces more resistance than wetter wood. Divide that difference by the sum of the on-center spacing of the floor joists: 118.5" / 16" = 7.40625. I have built two table tops (douglas fir) that have both suffered major cracking in their final location.