I need to find a quality non-invasive moisture meter. Does anyone have a recommendation? Thank you.

I use the Tramex concrete moisture encounter but I also use calcium chloride tests, as the moisture meter only tells you the moisture content in the concrete and not the actual vapor emissions. I have seen slabs that tested low on the meter and they were high on th CC tests depends on the porosity of the concrete.

Very, very true.

With a Tramex Concrete meter, that some manufacturers allow(Bruce), they will spec 4.5 on the upper scale, but still be 3-lb. with a CC test.

Demhorst(is that spelled right?)
has some nice non-invasive wood meters that see density, and equate that to moisture. They are by no means accurate. A pin meter will show things that can't.

For testing wood I also use Tramex meters but not pinless, if your testing the wood before its installed just test the back of it, if its already on the floor and you have to test it there is already a problem and a couple of little pin holes wont cause any more problems, personally I like Tramex meters best ( I have their complete inspection kit) but there are a lot of good ones on the market.

I have the Tramex kit, too. I use it exclusivly, only because all other meters are compared to them.

I got a chance to use the Demhorst, at Howard Brickmans class. It is a nice meter, too.

I am biased towards Tramex as they are made in Ireland and so was I, Ireland also has a lot of moisture and all homes are built on concrete slab. It never stops raining there that's why I am now in Florida.

The 2071ASTM standard will soon be adopted in this country,I aint wasting any more money on gadgets. I plan to get the new meters and probes and test according to the most accurate standard. Screw the CC test monopoly. It has been bested by the in-situ method.

Potential emissions are what are at stake. If a slab makes 2 pounds on a particular day of the week,so what?

Delmhorst.

Chuck, humidity probes cannot tell you how much moisture is moving into the flooring area. The percentage of humidity cannot be compared to volume. They can tell you the location and direction. But whos gonna pay you to sit there and drill a hundred holes in the floor and wait week for results?

I feel they are not much better than CaCl tests when used before an installation, but certainly do well in finding out where a problem exists. Unless your gonna go out and do inspections forget the probes.

And that can change in days just like results from CaCl tests.

It has been my understanding, that with concrete slabs, (at least in the eye's of the State of Calif), that what the slab does in the future is beyond your control, it's the conditon that it is at the time of installation, relative to other on site conditions, that matter.l Being able to document acclimating, hvac being on, slab content at time of install, is what carries weight here. BUT, consumer has three recourse's here. Small claims, (if applicable) state license board, and the manuf. rep or inspector. It can be tough to go 3-0 here. Get your ducks in a row. Best if you can avoid litagation.

Does it make any sense to y'all to just go ahead and apply a concrete moisture sealant like Taylor's "Lockdown", along with their 2071 adhesive, to all engineered floors glued down to slabs, regardless of moisture readings. I mean, with all this controversy over different tests and meters, legal ramifications and so on, would it not just be safer to let the manufacturer take the risk and assume the slab may have problems either now or down the road? Years ago, every slab job around here got a vinyl floor first, then the wood. Nobody tested; just assumed the worst. Now that we have sealants that come with guarantees, seems like it would be simpler/easier just to seal them first. Any comments? Ideas? Thoughts?

Gary that is exactly what we do, We test the floors with tramex meters and CC tests and let the customer know that the results are just a snapshot of their floors at that particular time, We recommend a sealer ( I prefer to use Bostiks Best and MVP) and if they say no it states in the contract that we recommended a sealer and that they declined.