Table of Content
So, whether your client has a leaky pipe or a flooded crawlspace, it’s in both of your best interests to identify water damage during your inspection. Most often, if you are noticing moisture problems in your house, the relative humidity is well above the comfort level, which then requires less extreme temperatures to cause issues. Exterior walls may use a variety of materials, from wooden siding, to vinyl, aluminum, brick, and stone. Of these exterior wall materials, wood is generally the most susceptible to moisture—which is why wood siding is usually treated to resist rain. However, water repellent finishes can only prevent moisture from getting past the surfaces where the wood has been treated.
Read on to see the top sources of moisture that could be contributing to the moisture on and in your walls. Moisture causes mold and mildew growth, which can cause asthma and allergic reactions. More seriously, they have been linked to cancer, immune problems, birth defects, and tissue poisoning . When looking at a pin-type meter, you might think it’s inevitable it’ll cause at least a little damage during a home moisture survey. Calibrate the moisture meter, according to instructions, before testing your wall.
Roofing Masters, LLC
In general, a reading of 5 to 12 percent is optimal, but a normal reading on a moisture meter depends on the material. Drier materials like drywall should have lower moisture readings of around 5 to 7 percent. Damp materials like wall studs and framing lumber have acceptable moisture levels of up to 12 percent. Pinless moisture meters, so named for their lack of measurement pins, do not penetrate the material to get a reading. Instead, a plate on the back of the meter lays flat against the material and a high-frequency signal travels through it.
It even includes a calibration tool to ensure the readings are accurate. The moisture meter uses a scale of 6 percent to 60 percent for wood and 0 percent to 40 percent for other building materials. Its big, backlit LCD screen makes for easy readability, even in dim lighting. A “Hold” key freezes readings on the screen, while the built-in memory function stores readings so the user doesn’t have to keep track. The Tavool Wood Moisture Meter is an excellent addition to any woodworking shop. This moisture meter for wood comes with seven calibration scales for wood so DIYers can be as precise as possible with their measurements at an accuracy within about 2 percent.
Common Outdoor Sources of Moisture
Avoid absolutes in your reporting and, instead, opt for words like “may” and “can” to describe what your moisture meter’s reading might indicate. Water vapor affects the relative humidity of the home, and besides affecting your comfort level, it can affect your health and lead to serious problems with your building materials, such as dry rot. So, how can you be sure if the walls in a structure have a safe level of moisture? One way to check is to use a moisture meter that is optimized for building inspection work like the BD-2100. With wood, it can be harder to generalize what a safe amount of moisture is.
As a result, the house inspection is a significant phase of the home buying process. Home inspection in New Prague, MN. An accredited and experienced home inspector investigates the home and writes up the inspection report after the inspection is completed. This detailed document becomes a very important tool in the real estate transaction process.
Schroeder Exteriors
Taking accurate readings with either requires putting holes -- about ½ to ¾ of an inch apart -- into a material. Unlike the pin type, this mode of operation arrives at a relative value for moisture content that must be calibrated, using an external equivalency table in some models. The meter will display moisture content as a scale of color-coded lights that indicate whether the material is damp, dry, or in a borderline condition. In addition, Wagner's meters take a three-dimensional moisture average of the wood, which decreases the likelihood that intermittent wet spots will be missed.
If water reaches an untreated surface, such as the backside of the wood, then it can still be absorbed and cause problems. Using radio frequencies, pinless meters detect dampness by assessing the average moisture of a material within its depth of measurement. With the right equipment and know-how, testing for moisture in the walls of a home shouldn’t cause any damage. Aside from your report, there really shouldn’t be any evidence of your inspection upon its completion.
The #1 Place to Take Water Damage Moisture Readings After a Flood
I then recommended him to my cousin who used him to buy a home too. Now I am recommending him to my next client that had an offer accepted this morning. Restoration Builders is a national roofing company serving residential homeowners throughout the country. We offer lifelong relationships with honest pricing and excellent quality for our clients.
Just as different areas of the property will emit different readings, so can various moisture meters. Different brands have different measurement scales, which can lead to inconsistencies across your reports. What’s more, remembering how one meter behaves in contrast to another can be tricky. Thus, industry experts suggest sticking to one brand of moisture meter. Since invasive and noninvasive meters are better in different situations, some home inspectors opt to have both types in their toolbelt.
Unless you’re using brute force and ramming the device into the wall being tested, it’s almost impossible to cause damage with a pinless moisture meter. In addition, a moisture meter improves the outcome of DIY projects by providing accurate moisture readings for flooring projects, when installing wallpaper, and during woodworking projects. Without a moisture meter, DIYers only can guess at the moisture content in a material, which could lead to problems with mold growth or structural issues if the moisture buildup becomes severe. Anyone looking for a combination pin/pinless moisture meter might not want to overlook the Extech MO55 Pin/Pinless Moisture Meter.
Vapor barriers such as Visqueen or vapor-retarder paint also can be applied to surfaces. I purchased one of these when I suspected moisture in the walls of my home. Also, look for sweating or rusted pipes, and obvious water leaks such as dripping or standing water around the plumbing. For the record, theMinnesota Department of Health does not recommend mold testing, and neither does theEPA. We verify any applicable state-level licenses, and we require every business to attest that they carry the appropriate local licensing to practice their trade.
Among the first places tested during a home inspection, walls and ceilings are good barometers for moisture presence in a home. Both drywall and plaster are extremely porous and absorb moisture quickly to equilibrate with their immediate environment. In past posts we’ve talked about the higher likelihood of moisture collecting around certain areas. Namely, these places include windows, areas close to leaky pipes like under the sink, behind the refrigerator and behind certain types of siding. In addition to those hot spots, it’s important for an inspector to use his moisture meter in risky areas such as the basement and attic.
Inserting the pins into the material sends a current down one pin to flow into the second. The meter then measures the resistance the current met traveling through the material between the pins to generate a moisture reading. This multifunctional moisture meter helps DIYers test for moisture using pinless, flat sensors without damaging the material. This method of measurement is considered invasive because it requires puncturing the material to obtain a result. However, pin moisture meters are the only type that can help identify the exact location of moisture.
It’s possible in many situations to address the excess moisture or leak by simply repairing the leak and drying out the area, without the need for major demolition or repairs. Before testing an area you suspect to be damp, get a reading on an area that’s dry. By using the dry area’s reading as a baseline, you are better equipped to analyze moist areas. Before collecting and analyzing numbers, statisticians establish a standard number to reference during their comparisons.
No comments:
Post a Comment