Can a Moisture Meter Be Fooled? Hardwood Flooring

[James White]

I have just received delivery of some 3 1/4" red oak flooring and a majority of the pieces are reading 5.2 moisture content. This is being measured with a Lignomat DX/C that is only a couple of months old. I believe it to be working properly. It passed the self test and reads other boards I have around as expected. 5.2 happens to be the reading you will get on setting 9 and the button pressed and no wood in contact with the pins. This would mean that the MC could actually be lower than 5.2 if the meter is to be believed.

My question is. Is it possible that the oak's natural properties are fooling the meter some how? Perhaps not enough minerals in it?

I currently have a piece that I weighd in the microwave now. I will post the results when I am done. But I thought I would see if anyone has experienced similar oddities.

James

[David Freed]

I have read that many moisture meters are not accurate under 6%. There isn't enough water present for the meter to work right.

[James White]

Well theres good news and bad news. The good news is that the meter is working properly. The oven dry method gave me an MC of 5.7. As stated less than 6% will give inaccurate readings.

So now the question is what to do about this low MC. I can leave it for about three weeks to "acclimate". However I do not think this will be enough. I think that the edges and the outside boards in the bundles will acclimate. But the other pieces in the bundles will probably remain the same.

I live in CT. I am keeping the house at 50-55% relative humidity. Do you think my floor will buckle? The winter will be no problem. I have trouble keeping the RH above 35%. I am sure this is because I burn a wood stove 24/7 for heat.

What would you do? I really don't want to trouble the supplier. He is just a small operation and the material has a date stamp from the mill of 8/4/08.

James

[John Schreiber]

What about unbundling everything and stickering it? It should acclimate much faster that way. Probably a mess in your house though.

[James White]

John,

I had thought about this earlier. But I decided against it because that would be allot of stickers and as you said a big mess. It will literally double the volume needed to store the flooring.

However after you suggested it. I thought why not use pieces of flooring for the stickers. Although it is not the ideal sticker it is better than leaving the bundles the way they are. I think I am going to go ahead with this. Unless a list member suggest something different.

James

[David Freed]

What about unbundling everything and stickering it? It should acclimate much faster that way. Probably a mess in your house though.

That is the proper way to acclimate a floor. Without stickers, it would take months or even years (depending on how big the bundle is) for boards in the center to acclimate.


John,

I had thought about this earlier. But I decided against it because that would be allot of stickers and as you said a big mess. It will literally double the volume needed to store the flooring.

However after you suggested it. I thought why not use pieces of flooring for the stickers. Although it is not the ideal sticker it is better than leaving the bundles the way they are. I think I am going to go ahead with this. Unless a list member suggest something different.

James

That would work except for the pieces you use as stickers. They will only get air on the edges, and will acclimate at a much slower rate than the rest of the floor.

[Mike Cutler]

James

I don't know where you're living in CT, but here in the northeast corner, Griswold, it's been pretty humid. 5.2 would be pretty amazing. It musy have come from a climate controlled warehouse.

Unbundle the flooring, and seperate all of the planks. Then restack them loosely, don't reengage the T&G edges. The bottom of the flooring should have 1 or 2 grooves that run the length of each flooring plank. Loosely stacked they should reach equilibrium in a few weeks ( longer the better ,of course). The grooves on the bottom will act as air gaps to help distribute the air.
It's supposed to be cooler this week and through the weekend, and the end of August is always a bit on the nasty humid side, which should help you.

I've had some stacks of brazillian ebony flooring air drying in the house since last fall. I hope they've reached equilibrium by now.:eek: I'd like to install the floor next week.

Good luck

[James White]

David,

Do you think it would be ok to separate the pieces used as stickers. Then use them in the last few rows in order to minimize there effect on the rest of the floor.

James

[James White]

Hi Mike,

I'm near Storrs. Yes it has been humid. The flooring is fresh from the mill. 8/4/08 is the stamp on the tag. When I went to pick up the flooring I was surprised to see that the entire lift was completely sealed in a shrink wrap bag. It was cut open in front of me.

James

[Peter Quinn]

My meter (delmhorst) simply blinks 'below 6%" for any readings 6% or below. That is considered below the workable range and is as problematic as too wet. I don't know your meter, but does it have species and temperature correction? If not most have a chart for corrections. Most meters without built in correction are calibrated to Douglas Fir, sea level, 70 degrees F. Any deviation from this standard requires a correction for accurate readings.

Depending on the tolerances of the tongue and groove fit you may have problems installing the material if it grows significantly as it acclimates. I can't say for sure how yours will behave but it can be a real bugger. I worked in a flooring mill in NW CT for several years, most of our lumber was processed at 8-10%MC. The difference between tongue and groove was .008"+-. Something to consider. You don't want to bang in hundreds of SF of flooring with a sledge hammer!

Fact is wood moves, and if your environment goes between high 20%RH to 55%RH seasonally that floor will spend the rest of its life acclimating, more so for plain sawn than QS, butyou want to get as close to average as possible before installation. I'd rather bang in a moist floor and have it shrink or cup than bang in a dry floor and have it buckle personally. If that 5.7% is an accurate reading I would make every attempt possible to sticker the material and acclimate it for 2-4 weeks, monitoring its progress. Its a big inconvenience now but a small burden over the lifetime of the floor.

[James White]

Peter,

Thank you for your reply. Yes my meter has 20 settings for species.

I will be stickering the flooring today. I wonder how much black felt under and 3-4 coats of omu on top will slow the acclimation. In other words if the wood is just below EMC in September when it is finished. Will the gain be slowed to the point were it will not change significantly before the drier weather arrives. In other words how much does the finish and say 30# felt delay the acclimation. Just curious and thinking out loud.

James

[James White]

Well my floors are in and doing good so far. I let the material acclimate for a month. Two stickered stacks. One in the dining area and one in the living room. I was able to get everything nice and tight. I did not need to use any filler between boards. With the exception of defects or nail holes. The first three photos are on the first floor. The last two are on the second floor. They both are stained Early American (1part natural to 3 parts stain). The only difference is the first floor is one coat of high gloss poly and the second floor is one coat of super satin. The look, color and "feel" are totaly different. I did not think it would be that different. Ultimatley the top coat will be super satin. But I read that better results are achvievd if only the last coat is the one with the dulling agent. So for the first floor. I decided to go that rout.

James

[guy knight]

you dont need to unbundle them just sticker them with space between them for a week or two

[Peter Quinn]

Looks great James. Enjoy that floor.

[Steve Clardy]

Looks very nice. ;)

[Lucas Bittick]

James-- it looks great, and I definitely appreciate the amount of labor involved in bringing that floor to completion. As I mentioned in another thread, I refinished quarter-sawn oak flooring in my house that was installed over 50 years ago. I know without a doubt the flooring will last at least another 50 years, so be proud that your hard work has resulted in something truly timeless and lasting.