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.
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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