I just took delivery of 1,000 sq feet of unfinished flooring for my den
project. Have a mositure content metor, but I'm not sure what to compare
the moisture content to. Any suggestions?

Without a good reference, then I don't really know when it's adjusted,
other than just waiting a long time.

Thanks,
Bernie

On Wed, 28 Mar 2007 15:28:06 -0400, Bernie Hunt
wrote:

I just took delivery of 1,000 sq feet of unfinished flooring for my den
project. Have a mositure content metor, but I'm not sure what to compare
the moisture content to. Any suggestions?

Without a good reference, then I don't really know when it's adjusted,
other than just waiting a long time.

Thanks,
Bernie


A month is about right. But even with that you must realize that wood
moves quite a bit across the grain from one season to another. If you
neglect that, your floor will buckle or split apart. A moisture
reading of 10 to 20% is about right. Take another reading one week
later to see the direction it is going and the rate of change.

"Bernie Hunt" wrote in message
I just took delivery of 1,000 sq feet of unfinished flooring for my den
project. Have a mositure content metor, but I'm not sure what to compare
the moisture content to. Any suggestions?

Without a good reference, then I don't really know when it's adjusted,
other than just waiting a long time.

That depends upon the species of wood, the RH of the environment, the
climate of the area, and what the material is going to be installed over.

Basically with hardwood floors the optimum is to allow sufficient
acclimation time for the material to reach an equilibrium with the
environment in which it will be installed and used.

If over concrete, take the necessary step to check out the moisture content
of the concrete. There are instruments available to check the water vapor
emissions of concrete and it is well worth doing to determine the best vapor
barrier method.

My flooring subcontractors here in Houston generally shoot for less than a
14% reading for 3/4" red oak flooring prior to installation, which is mostly
what is installed around these parts.

Building in the "Hot-Humid" climate classification of the Gulf Coast, I like
to have the AC fired up in a new home, and the wood delivered at least 5 to
7 days in advance of installation. We most often install over a concrete
slab using 1 1/2" screeds with a hot tar vapor barrier.

FWIW ... YMMV depending upon the part of the country you're in and the type
of construction of the floor/subfloor.

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Last update: 2/20/07