I'm near Toronto. I have never seen my boss do a moisture test. All of our installs are on OSB and plywood subfloors. We've done a few parquet glue down jobs on concrete. Boss never gets complaints.

What's the big deal with moisture tests? Are they more for humid areas like Florida or used more for concrete subfloors?

Your boss is playing craps, bound to lose one day. If you check the specs for a gluedown on concrete you will find that all manufacturer's (wood and adhesive) require some type of moisture test. It's bad out here in the desert due to the wet dry seasons are extreme. I've seen mve overwhelm many underlayments for used for laminates and floating hardwood floors when I was doing inspections.

Are the moisture tests a must on wood / plywood subfloors? How about houses with crawlspaces?

Serious?
Not unless you have the wood in there for a year or three and you just don't care.

I don't get it. I'm totally serious.

Ive seen floors in the Toronto and surrounding area that have cupped (new construction mostly) because of humidity issues. This could have been prevented by doing the proper testing before installation and educated your customer. I would think as a professional installer that you would want to make sure manufactures guidelines are followed and most I have read recommend moisture testing sub floors and wood to be installed.

Al. seriously I want you to read all the chapters of this book at least three times.

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/products/publi ... eader_id=p

Then click your heels three times and say "There's no place like home" Then you will know more about wood than most people you will ever meet. Including most inspectors.

Great link, Thanks for that.

It's the Gospel of hardwood, well basically wood in general. This is what all those people teach at them fancy expensive seminars. NWFA Inspector exams included.

And don't forget to do some searching on that website. Talk about fun. My idea of fun is spending days reading that stuff Heck, I bet i've spent weeks upon weeks reading and rereading in there. One of the fav's of the more educated inspectors is the kiln drying sections. I also like the decay section.

And oh yes, drying defects!

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/usda/ ... pter08.pdf

You can also find publications on moisture control in houses and crawl spaces, the list is endless.

The maufacturer has a recommended humidity level and the wood should be delivered and climatize but let's get to the real world. The man who sells the wood doesn't follow the procedure but says it is an install problem when he wants it slammed in. The builder just wants to close and he wants it slammed in and doesn't care to hear about turning on the AC or that the humidity level or moisture content is wrong. As an installer you have 2 sides screaming at you to install when you shouldn't. Refuse and see how much work you get. As a contractor we want the job right meaning the floor is sanded and screwed down and the wood is ready to go. The homeowner deserves this and we hate fighting with the builder and the distributor. This may sound like whining but the job should be done right.

I do my own jobs so I have no one screaming at me. Been there before for many many years

Like Stephen, haven't dealt with that for years. In this day and age one would think that a GC and the guy selling the material would have a clue. Some things don't change.
Scolby, I would put together a simple waiver, releasing you of responsibility due to said conditions beyond your control, whatever, spell out the conditions and related potential problems. Pay a few bucks to have an attorney right it up. IMO these guys that want to scream will respect your position. They'll either realize the importance of the situation, and remedy it. Or sign and take their chances, and learn later. Either way it's not on your head, and you shouldn't lose any work. Infact you'll probably gain work, dealing with these guys in a professional manner.

I agree with Scolby on this one. A home owner will listen and respect your knowledge more. A few years ago I was installing wood (prefinished) in a development of around 80 townhouses. They had me installing right off the truck in the middle of winter with only kerosene heaters. We had them sign a waiver. when Summer rolled around the first 8 floors did their thing. When the builder asked how we could fix them I told him the first thing was to listen to what I had said about the conditions, why did he think we had the waiver? Then he could rip up the 10,000 sf we already put down and acclimate the next batch. He never tried to sue or anything, but I also never heard from them again. With those guys it is all about the schedule. When they are weeks behind they just want the floor in when it's time.

Sounds to me in a situation like Scolby's or the townhouse project your pretty much stuck dealing with the GC and not the homeowners, unfortunately. I agree the homeowner is the one to work with, will listen, and wants the job done right. Brings back old memories and concretes the fact why I dont deal with GC's. Just this morning I passed bidding on 2400' for a GC,( the timing of Scolby's post was perfect). The material is coming in tomorrow and wants to start "slamming" it in on sat., trades all over the place, yatta, yatta. Times are tough, but life's to short. Jobs are like busses..there's another one around the corner.