acceptable moisture levels in floor joists

I so appreciate your treatise on this issue. for a mere $4900. Did the Contractor mention anything about the structural strength of the joists? For example, if the moisture content of the delivered wood is 12% and the optimal MC is 6%, then physical problems will occur during the acclimation process. We found out that RH at the final location was under 20%. What humidity content should cedar be at for proper gluing. I-joists are comprised of top and bottom flanges, which resist bending, united with webs, which provide outstanding shear resistance. Since wood is hygroscopic, it loses or gains moisture depending on the relative humidity of the surrounding air. Its still there and causing stains and scaring inexperienced home inspectors who frighten buyers, but its dormant. Its hard to gauge anything off of a cheapo meter, but if and I mean if, we were to assume it was reading effectively, the numbers are too high. or finally the product will be placed where. Its always a good idea to check with the manufacturer of the finish also. BD-2100 Pin Meter. This water may come from condensation, roof leaks, plumbing leaks, or contact with the soil. Very simple and understandable. However, the ideal humidity range in some climates may be higher or lower. This summer I milled several 1.25 boards from a fir log that had been cut around 10 years ago. Phil, what are you making with the cedar, and in what type of environment will it be? With a degree in Computer Systems, Larry is involved in both hardware and software development of wood moisture measurement solutions. My question for you is, now that it is stained, can I still get an accurate MC? Set the meter to the species that makes up the bulk, in this case, the plywood. Once the wood samples weight stops changing, its weight is compared to what it was before the drying process began. As the airs RH increases, so does the moisture content of any wood exposed to the air. There are areas where organic growth was very active to cause deep, black discolorization. I did not find any information on Matumi. However, and unless otherwise permitted by a flooring product manufacturer, the following maximum moisture emission levels over a 24 hour period are permissible for the following floor coverings types: For boundary materials, the values vary depending on the physical properties of what you are . Effects of Moisture on I-Joists and LVL April 2007 P.O. 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. Many of our customers are successfully using our hand held moisture meters on engineered flooring. Position plywood panels at a 2-inch offset from the structural subfloor seams. 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. Hi, we live in a coastal area, had a recent water leak, and a hard wood floor MC is measuring about 25% the water did not contact this area directly. Using South Carolina Residential Construction Standards to Solve Problems, Website by Integritive Web Design :: Asheville, NC. Other than causing structural damage, too much water can result in mold growth. %PDF-1.2 % The cause that may produce this will be discussed in the section "Biodeteration of flood". how do I determine the mc standard for this material, is it the same as wood or has its own specifications, 2. -XF% What do you recommend? Home Moisture Meters Acceptable Moisture Levels in Wood Knowing the Moisture Content. Wood Rot in Crawl Spaces: Whats That Smell in My House. Freshly cut wood has a lot of moisture in it. 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. However, this range will vary slightly according to the geographic region because of varying RH levels. Ideally Ill wait until reaching final drying but sometimes I need to use wood before that point. Simple and regular maintenance can prevent serious problems developing. Call 256-318-0982 or, Engineering Inspection Mortgage Companies, Unnecessary Panic! hj0Ed=h].J-)_q},jR3$\ eH"wCk)E)J8 Cracks in Concrete Slabs: Should I Be Concerned? Please give us a call at (800) 634-9961 or email info@wagnermeters.com, if youd prefer. 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. You can now understand the meaning of moisture content 5.5%, 15 g/m2/24 hours, and relative humidity 75% with these facts. I found your website at just the right time. I cant speak for other pinless meters but our Wagner meters are not sensitive to the temperatures you indicated. However, the wood species and the thickness or size of the wood may also factor in. The crawl space must be a minimum of 18" to the bottom of the floor joists, and the soil in the crawl space covered with a heavy duty plastic moisture barrier, and sealed at the seams. Take the readings in at least 20 spots per 1,000 square feet of flooring and average the results. Treated wood is typically still wet when its delivered to the job site. The acceptable moisture levels in basement walls and floors will depend on many factors. Colorado is cold and dry. If a board reads 100% (Difficult to measure accurately) then the weight of the water equals the weight of that wood. During the increased average temperatures of spring and summer, timber moisture content reduces to more acceptable levels. The MC varies from 7% 13.5% around the exterior door on dry days and 10%-16% during rains. Thanks for any help you can provide! These mold spores land on the wet wood and take root. WagnerMeters 1.93K subscribers 3.2K views 1 year ago Hardwood Flooring - Tips & Problems Do you work with wood? Wood freshly cut or kiln-dried is always interacting with environmental moisture. 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. Is this accurate? Hi Larry, We are a joinery company and we have a project here in UAE which is located in another part of the emirates and the humidity in that area is very high especially during summer because it is near the coastal area. I have a couple questions. Should it be less? Does coating wood with oil stabilize the moisture content in wood? Lacquer will not make a reading difference as long as there are no metallic components in the lacquer itself. 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. Am I possibly getting false positives? I recommend one of our Orion models: https://www.wagnermeters.com/moisture-meters/. You should be able to tell where the water reached the subfloor because it will be discolored and may also be swelled up. The interior was 3/4 BW the tables dimensions were 40x 70 . Every home's foundation repair needs are different based on soil type, type of foundation problem, and climate. Retain this information with your records. board, and a 12-in. If the leaks have damaged the sub floor or joists, call a licensed general contractor for repair. Thank you for the information, I use a lot of trimmed for for children toys, menu times I use rings of 1-3 inch in diameter, For these purposes I dont care for wood shrinkage or wraping, Two things are important for me that wood will not crack, and that mold wont develop. Different joinery (currently using pocket holes)? It is best to obtain a wood moisture content that will match the environment. 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. What is the acceptable water/moisture content in cassia bark?- in south east asia. Should I remove more foam to be sure. 1. However, this time I was planning to use oil based poly rather than the spar urethane to reduce the amount of yellowing. 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. Your help for resolving this issue would be highly appreciated . 'Fs[OHTO{0wBj/3Y|rbTXb>IZ=p>Rj K7~K-m%KNce endstream endobj 28 0 obj 99 endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /Page /Parent 9 0 R /Resources 16 0 R /Contents 23 0 R /Thumb 4 0 R /MediaBox [ 0 0 612 792 ] /CropBox [ 0 0 612 792 ] /Rotate 0 >> endobj 16 0 obj << /ProcSet [ /PDF /Text /ImageB ] /Font << /F4 19 0 R /F6 18 0 R /F8 21 0 R >> /XObject << /Im1 25 0 R /Im2 26 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 24 0 R >> >> endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /FontDescriptor /Ascent 745 /CapHeight 704 /Descent -203 /Flags 262178 /FontBBox [ -152 -229 1000 945 ] /FontName /Goudy-Bold /ItalicAngle 0 /StemV 106 /XHeight 418 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /FirstChar 32 /LastChar 255 /Widths [ 278 333 500 556 556 889 889 278 389 389 500 606 278 333 278 278 556 556 556 556 556 556 556 556 556 556 333 333 606 606 606 389 747 778 667 722 778 611 556 778 833 389 389 722 611 889 833 778 611 778 722 556 722 833 778 1000 722 667 611 333 606 333 606 500 333 444 500 444 500 444 333 444 556 278 278 556 278 778 556 500 500 500 389 389 333 556 500 722 500 500 389 333 606 333 606 278 778 778 722 611 833 778 833 444 444 444 444 444 444 444 444 444 444 444 278 278 278 278 556 500 500 500 500 500 556 556 556 556 500 400 556 556 500 606 628 556 747 747 979 333 333 0 1000 778 0 606 0 0 556 556 0 0 0 0 0 278 300 0 722 500 389 333 606 0 556 0 0 500 500 1000 0 778 778 778 1000 778 500 1000 500 500 278 278 606 0 500 667 167 556 333 333 556 556 500 278 278 500 1000 778 611 778 611 611 389 389 389 389 778 778 0 778 833 833 833 278 333 333 333 333 333 333 333 500 333 333 ] /Encoding 20 0 R /BaseFont /Goudy-Bold /FontDescriptor 17 0 R >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /Encoding 20 0 R /BaseFont /Times-Roman >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Type /Encoding /Differences [ 39 /quotesingle 96 /grave 128 /Adieresis /Aring /Ccedilla /Eacute /Ntilde /Odieresis /Udieresis /aacute /agrave /acircumflex /adieresis /atilde /aring /ccedilla /eacute /egrave /ecircumflex /edieresis /iacute /igrave /icircumflex /idieresis /ntilde /oacute /ograve /ocircumflex /odieresis /otilde /uacute /ugrave /ucircumflex /udieresis /dagger /degree 164 /section /bullet /paragraph /germandbls /registered /copyright /trademark /acute /dieresis /notequal /AE /Oslash /infinity /plusminus /lessequal /greaterequal /yen /mu /partialdiff /summation /product /pi /integral /ordfeminine /ordmasculine /Omega /ae /oslash /questiondown /exclamdown /logicalnot /radical /florin /approxequal /Delta /guillemotleft /guillemotright /ellipsis /blank /Agrave /Atilde /Otilde /OE /oe /endash /emdash /quotedblleft /quotedblright /quoteleft /quoteright /divide /lozenge /ydieresis /Ydieresis /fraction /currency /guilsinglleft /guilsinglright /fi /fl /daggerdbl /periodcentered /quotesinglbase /quotedblbase /perthousand /Acircumflex /Ecircumflex /Aacute /Edieresis /Egrave /Iacute /Icircumflex /Idieresis /Igrave /Oacute /Ocircumflex /apple /Ograve /Uacute /Ucircumflex /Ugrave 246 /circumflex /tilde /macron /breve /dotaccent /ring /cedilla /hungarumlaut /ogonek /caron ] >> endobj 21 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F8 /FirstChar 32 /LastChar 255 /Widths [ 250 333 371 500 500 833 833 222 389 389 500 606 250 333 250 278 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 250 250 606 606 606 333 747 778 611 722 722 556 500 778 778 333 333 667 556 889 778 778 556 778 667 556 667 778 722 1000 667 611 556 278 606 278 606 500 333 444 500 444 500 444 278 444 556 278 278 500 278 778 556 500 500 500 333 333 333 500 500 667 500 444 333 278 606 278 606 250 778 778 722 556 778 778 778 444 444 444 444 444 444 444 444 444 444 444 278 278 278 278 556 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 400 500 500 500 606 628 500 747 747 979 333 333 0 1000 778 0 606 0 0 500 500 0 0 0 0 0 394 425 0 722 500 333 333 606 0 500 0 0 500 500 1000 0 778 778 778 1000 778 500 1000 389 389 222 222 606 0 444 611 167 500 333 333 500 500 500 250 222 389 1000 778 556 778 556 556 333 333 333 333 778 778 0 778 778 778 778 278 333 333 333 333 333 333 333 333 333 333 ] /Encoding 20 0 R /BaseFont /Goudy /FontDescriptor 22 0 R >> endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /FontDescriptor /Ascent 745 /CapHeight 704 /Descent -207 /Flags 34 /FontBBox [ -168 -213 1001 967 ] /FontName /Goudy /ItalicAngle 0 /StemV 73 /XHeight 418 >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Length 2280 /Filter /LZWDecode >> stream For solid strip flooring (less than 3 wide) there should be no more than a 4% difference in moisture content between properly acclimated wood flooring and subflooring materials. The plywood setting is .57. These are typical readings for exterior wood. Wood moisture content is always varying. 2-1/4", the moisture content between the flooring planks and the subfloor should not exceed 2%. Why and how can I say this? Notice that the EMC of the in-use location is the same as the MC: So, using this chart, we know that in an area of the country where the RH inside a home or office is anywhere from 26-32%, both the EMC of the in-use location and the wood moisture content kept in that location will be 6%. Just press the scanning plate against the woods surface, turn on the meter, and receive the reading. The amount of swelling or shrinkage depends on how much the . The air vents stay closed year round. A dry reading will be 16% MC (Moisture Content) or below. h26P0Pw/+Q0L)66 I am based in The Netherlands. Wood Moisture Content is the weight of water in a piece of wood expressed as a percentage of oven dry weight of wood. We really cant overstress the importance of taking plenty of moisture readings. If the MC of plywood is above 20%, can it be redried in a kiln or would that harm the glue? RH where they were built is about 29-30%. Observed water leaking along seams of several sheets of original plywood in attic. Most interior wood is in this range. This means that wood intended for interior use in this location should not only be dried to around 6% but should be kept at this moisture content both before and during the manufacturing process. Hello Folks, I am new to wood turning and do not have a ready supply of dry/seasoned (my wood is green) wood. In general, 12% moisture or above is too wet to install flooring. Summers are hot and dry while winters can be cool. Any thoughts as to what the issue was with the first install so we dont have the same issue again next year after we go through a new install? Brick Veneer Homes: Are They Really Worth the Headache? The house was not in the flood area however they did receive 20 inches of rain. We havent gone any further since the condition was found so close to us purchasing the home. Knowing were all the piers are, I can stand on top and feel a small hump in the floors. Thank you for your very informative knowledge about all of the items on this page. hellow! Wall Corners-Perpendicular within 1/4" in 10'. The other question is what should the moisture content be on treated lumber that will be for the framing of the deck? Brilliant article. Installers should also measure the moisture in wood subfloors and concrete slabs as they can also affect wood flooring. Do NOT install the flooring planks until these moisture content levels are achieved. I really need to know as I am getting so many different opinions Thanks. Is this dry enough that Id be able to reinstall the trim over the particleboard? I may have missed this already but I have a few quick questions. Ev The other thing to consider is examining how water is entering your crawl space. If the wood is covered by a material like MDF or other, do we take 2x the measurements? You can hardly see the humps except the first pier that popped up . Thanks for the article, really appreciate the info! 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. 24 and 26 framing studs should measure 19% moisture content or less. We have had on/off rain and humidity 80-90% range. Call 256-318-0982 or contact us today. Soil is almost always damp. I requested the treated lumber be brought in a few weeks prior to build, stickered and put under cover to acclimate and dry it. The other was for a $100 retail gift card. As with the hardwood flooring, it is essential to check the OSB's moisture content using a moisture meter. -ThA?> =v\0r5#v ,J\Byt)%*?I!PT`FdCE N a^1IMm[?x>7RFH +=\ This is for furniture-grade hardwoods. Wood is a hygroscopic material that contains water, even after it is cut from a tree. The maximum subfloor moisture level for solid strip flooring or wide-width solid flooring is either 12% or 13%, depending on the manufacturer. Hi Larry, So a friend of mine has some pine and oak blabs at MC levels of (oak 11.5%) and Pine 13-14%. Three years ago, the floor sank in a heavy traffic area and an engineer told me Masonite was used to shim and had compressed. My house is 24 years old. One of the beauties of spar is that it allows the wood to move quite a bit, while still retaining good adhesion. Why and how can I say this? The floor installer put the floors down without allowing the boards to acclimate. The floors have started cupping across the entire area with more in some parts. Moisture was around 25% when milled, and the ends were sealed. It causes decay of the wood structure. If youre wondering how wood can have a 200% moisture content, heres how that works. Thank you for the helpful article. The wood has been kiln dried and packed in corrugate. As lumber dries, it may split, cup and warp. It gains or loses water moisture as the relative humidity (RH) of the surrounding air changes. 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. board will move twice as much as a 4-in. Is it possible to get a 99.9% moisture reading (using a Cassain GM-200 hydrometer) on a particle board floor which looks and feels completely dry? Finally the question I have is I-used your Wood H2O app and the humidity here (outside) is 55% and the temperature is near 70 (inside)am I correct that 10% is what Is the acceptable moisture of the wood should be for furniture building? hL Thank you so much for your time and expertise. Hello and thanks for writing in. Make sure theyre aligned with the grain and not across it. could you please guide or on how much should be the Expected Humidity % in high Humid areas like UAE considering these are mostly for Indoor purpose where ACs are on 247 at say 24 Degrees. 2. Most types of wood species will mold above 25% moisture content, including pine. The home inspectors working for fees today seem to have one primary motive in mind: to cover their liabilities. Mold starts growing if the moisture contents reaches about 25% moisture content. Pinless meters also dont leave damaging pinholes on the woods surface. I have used spar urethane as a finish on a few other 12 to 18 MC (semi-wet) log projects that turned out wonderfully. However, it 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. Your reading of 12.5% tells me it is workable. This app will tell you the percent moisture content that a given temperature and humidity will equilibrate to. The engineered wood floor appears ok. We are manufacturer of eng wood flooring. I had several of the varnished decorative hardwood laminated ply panels replaced in the lounge on an air conditioned luxury yacht. At that point in time, we did not have a conditioned house. 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. Down pour of rain onto underlayment of attached garage. We just had a hydrometer installed in the crawlspace and it is reading 38% as of today. ie SW=Starting weight, TW=Target weight, using T%=Target percentage My calculation ( T% X SW = TW). 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. Both slab-on-ground and suspended concrete floors for wet areas: are deemed impervious when steel trowel finished or polished. Best of luck with your project. 0 WM=8DBaHh10tIKR/OH}X5Kpt'_]4Mfg9@w8~ n$R Will the reading be accurate? The definitions section of the IICRC S500 current edition describes dry-standard: "a reasonable approximation of the moisture content or level of a material prior to a water intrusion," drying goal: the target moisture content or moisture level in a material to be achieved at the end of the drying process established by the restorer. Where are you located? Hello, Paul here. moisture will typically measure 7-10%. Were so sorry for the inconvenience. Good moisture content for softwoods is 10% to 14% moisture. Ceilings account for 35%, walls - 25% and windows 25%. Poor Drainage: A Foundation Problem Waiting to Happen, A Trade Secret: Bucks Vinyl Siding Test, Foundation Repair Salesman: Licensed to Kill, Dear God, Martha, Our House is Breaking in Two!. What You Should Know About Septic Systems, Interior Slab Foundation Settlement: Evaluations and Cost of Repair. Would the screws skew the measurements? This means your crawl space humidity goes up by about 22 degrees. How long will it take to get to the ideal moisture reading and is it better to be stored in a garage or inside a house? Thanks Mark, The EMC outside and the wood should be the same. I built the tables in west Texas, but their final home is in Colorado. In contrast, Las Vegas in the drier Southwest has much lower EMC percentages than most other U.S. cities. If you want, just give me a call at 800-634-9961, ext 225. Drying equipment removed 3 days ago. guide-standards-tolerances.pdf. The ideal moisture content for hardwoods is between 6% and about 9%, depending on the ambient conditions around the wood. What can we do to get the row products closer in moisture content, we are currently using fans, We are in northern lower Michigan I am the general contractor for the house, and want to avoid any problems, would love to talk to you on the phone, my number is 9894647248, Mark Skiba, This is a great site about moisture content. 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. Wood is used to clean model railroad tracks. After my inspection I wrote the following report: As per your request, I visited the subject residence today to evaluate mold or fungus growth on the floor joists. Would it still be 9% for pressure treated wood? Floor joists are generally 6, 8, 10, or 12 inches in width, with 8 or 10 inches as the most common sizes. They many times cite the need for further evaluations by what they call other so called experts. -25% moisture content in a VENTED crawl space. I am having a section of our 3.25 Maple hardwood floor replaced. My main concern here is that the flooring didnt have enough time to acclimate to the surrounding conditions. /U (li7":-JOBHO,9UY) /P 65492 >> endobj 14 0 obj << /S /GoTo /D [ 15 0 R /Fit ] >> endobj 27 0 obj << /S 45 /T 91 /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 28 0 R >> stream The supplier says they dry the wood to an MC of 14%, which is according to them the standard for outdoor furniture. With the WoodH2O-app I could deduct the EMC for The Netherlands would be between 15 and 16. Would you be able to say anything about the optimal MC range for this specific situation? Again, the correct moisture content will depend on the surrounding conditions. If a wooden sample has moisture content range of 2-6% only and if it has moisture content of 9 or 10% then what does this mean?? This is expensive and its ridiculous. I suspect the moisture was the culprit? Required fields are marked *. Production, storage, delivery and construction and in-use conditions that will prevent exposure to external or internal moisture or conditions that would allow the moisture content to exceed 18% at any time: Untreated Douglas fir: Framing in a low-risk building and meeting the requirements of B2/AS1 paragraph 3.2.2.2: Where there is a risk of . Thats a big difference. Over a year ago, I re-shim all the piers with metal shims. Water Level Survey: Are You Smarter Than an Egyptian? I wanted to talk to someone at Wagner about moisture guages and is there a dealer near Chattanooga, TN. In their warehouse, and perhaps partly also in the container. 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. Unless something is so out of whack shimming in back of the sheetrock won't suffice it's OK here. Hello Brian, I am a moisture meter expert, not a woodworking expert but from your description, the problem points to the conditions, not the wood or joinery. this is an interesting read I landed upon as I was searching for MC in wood items. (He didnt cite a figure.) Ive been following your in depth blog on moisture meters for around 1 year now. I have one question with regards to pinless moisture meters and wallboard/Sheetrock. Utilize the chart on following page to record the environmental readings at the time of installation. Because pinless meters scan the woods surface and cover a larger area than pin-type meters, they provide a more thorough picture of the woods moisture content. we had a problem with our shower curb. As with plywood subfloors, if there is movement or squeaks, refasten the subfloor to the joists and set protruding fasteners into the subfloor. When wood is subjected to an environment that is higher in humidity, it will swell or expand. The company they hired measured 47% in the wood and declares that this must be ripped out and replaced. However, the company who maintains the dehumidifier said he tested some of the joist which he said only registered 10 on his device. For example, from 25% to 45% or from 45% to 65%. Thanks. Percent moisture content in wood is the ratio of the weight of water compared to the overall weight of a piece of wood. endstream endobj 80 0 obj <>stream we are presently constructing a new timber frame residence on ocean front in BC, Canada. Such readings should alert the homeowner to look for a source of excess moisture. 800-347-7260 Fax. Im hoping this should work. at one spot, its 40%. The humidity in the room is currently 40! Additional care is necessary if laying parallel to the joists and sheet subfloors can sag between the joist. So, when looking at the relative humidity of the space, spaces left above 70% RH for extended periods will also promote mold growth. 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.