"dpb" wrote in message ...

On 6/12/2021 7:38 PM, John Grossbohlin wrote:
"Leon" wrote in message
...

On 6/11/2021 9:29 PM, John Grossbohlin wrote:
"Sandra Vaughan" wrote in message
groupdirect.com...

Thank you, John. This information is very helpful. We will be using a
penetrating oil finish. I am relieved to know that we can go ahead and
seal them without waiting for dry winter weather! Our contractor
wants the indoor humidity to be below 55% for a few days before we
seal the doors. Does that sound reasonable to you?

I'm not sure that "a few days" would make a practical difference....
However, if it makes the contractor feel more confident in the process,
so he stands behind his work, it wouldnt hurt.

Perhaps to acclimate to the inside humidity level.

If they have been hung for a while I'd think they should be acclimated to
whatever the indoor conditions are. I suspect he's either thinking that a
few days would drop the moisture level of the wood... (I'm thinking "a
few days" wouldn't have a practical affect on that. A week or two, yes...
a few days, no.) -- OR -- The product he is using calls for a humidity
level of 55 or lower. If the whole house is "damp" from high humidity I'd
think it would take more than a few days for that to dry out too. Alas,
this is all best guess based on my prior experiences. ;~) As the
homeowner I'd take my lead from the contractor as he's responsible for
the results.

Besides being in a high-humidity climate, much depends on just how big a
rush the contractor was in to finish up -- fresh drywall is replete with
moisture and if the house was open until relatively recently, there's a lot
to dry out.

Just too many variables unknown here to say much -- I'd definitely want the
humidity reduced and held down for at least a couple weeks before I made
any definitive judgements.

An oil finish will do virtually nothing effective at all to seal them,
though, unless is top-coated with a non-permeable coat of varnish or
lacquer.

Yes, it's the indoor humidity to which the homeowner referred and to which I
was responding. In the case of the homeowner's situation there is moisture
coming out of a lot of things... That may or may not include glue, paint,
joint compound, framing lumber, sheet goods, concrete, grout, etc. They may
be living in the house too so there is moisture from respiration, cooking,
showering, etc. With the house closed up and the A/C running the air itself
will dry out pretty quickly. However, it will take quite a while for the
materials themselves to dry out in that air... more than a few days. I'd
let the contractor set the pace as he's the one that will get the call backs
if he fouls up.... and ideally he knows the conditions better than us. ;~)