I have borrowed the Tramex Moisture Encounter Plus Non-Destructive Moisture Meter from my friend and tested the moisture of both the subfloor and some of the hardwood Braz Cherry strips (3") I am planning to install.

Background

1. My subfloor is 3/4" OSB over full basement that has no water problems.

2. Hardwood to be installed - 3/4" x 3" BR111 Brazilian Cherry

3. I purchased 20 boxes of this hardwood at least 6 weeks ago and put them in an adjacent room that is also climate controlled to where it will be installed. I left the hardwood in the boxes and stacked it 5 rows by 4 boxes high. I opened one end on each box to help get air into the boxes.

I tested the moisture of the subloor and the average was about 11-12% however it did range from as low as 9 in a couple spots to about 13/14 in a couple spots.

I tested the moisture of the hardwood and the average was about 14% however it ranged from about 10-15 percent.

I did not realize I would have such a range in readings when testing

My question is after 6 weeks or more do you think this hardwood is acclimated yet or should I have taken all of the strips out of the boxes and stacked it? Did I mess up?

I also for some reason thought that the hardwood was supposed to read a lower % of moisture than the subfloor.

Please let me know what to do.

I was planning on installing this beginning Saturday.

The problem is, the non-destructive meter. They measure density no actual moisture content.


Get a pin meter!!!

I forgot to mention that it has also been raining about 5 out of the last 8 days or so and the outside RH is about 90%.

Should I just stick the pin in the back of the hardwood?

Someone mentioned a HF meter. I am sure this is probably junk right?

I only need a meter this one time and want the most affordable one.

Thanks.

I just called the manufacturer because the person I borrowed this from had no book.

They told me that you must know the specific gravity of the species (in this case Jatoba) to be able to figure out the correct moisture content.

They looked it up for me and based on a resource they have the specific gravity of Jatoba is .71-.82.

According to them this makes a reading of 14 on their meter adjust down to between 10-11 moisture content.

Is this a good estimate on the specific gravity of Jatoba?

I saw one source that said .91, which would then make 14 coorespond to a percentage of 9.

Assuming the SG is anywhere between .71 and .91, my reading on my Braz Cherry is somewhere in the range of 9-11.

The reading on my subfloor is in the range of 9-12.

Do these numbers sound good to you?

Am I ready to install?

Sounds like your well in spec. What is the temperature and humidity inside the installation area. That will tell you if your acclimated or not.

Temp is 70-72 and humidity is about 63. I know I need to try to get that down but we've had so much rain the last couple of weeks here I think that is making it tough.

I borrowed a Harbor Freight pin type moisture meter from a buddy today and I couldn't get any reading on the hardwood. It starts at 7% and said if you couldn't get a reading then it was below 7%. Do I need to drill holes for the pins the my flooring test piece? I couldn't get the pins in very far because the Braz Cherry is so hard.

My subfloor tested about 8% with this pin type meter.

Is this HF pin meter very accurate that you know of?

According to the temp and humidity, the wood should be reading around 11%

I wonder if my humidity reading on my Thermidistat is incorrect.

Do the pin meters measure the moisture in osb accurately?

Also, do you think it is possible that my Braz Cherry is below 7% (assuming my thermidistat is incorrect in telling me the humidity of the house)?

You need a hygrometer to correctly measure temperature and humidity.


If the interior ambient conditions are allowed to fluctuate with the outside ambient conditions, your floor is going to be swelling and shrinking. Get the interior under control and constant, before you can say you acclimated the flooring.