# Do you use a moisture meter?



## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

I mentioned in another thread that I was replacing some water damaged drywall in several offices of a lab where a flood occured.

I like using testing instruments whenever possible, but most are for steel surfaces. I needed a moisture meter on this particular job so I could determine which areas to cut out. I purchased a meter this last Monday, and it saved me a lot of work. 

It was interesting that the base line moisture content of the unaffected areas of drywall measured at 0.65% on average. The affected areas measured up to 4.75% which began showing signs of black mold on the back side of the rock. 

It would have been difficult for me to isolate these areas (short of unnecessarily removing tons of drywall) without the meter because by touch and probing, there wasn't a whole lot of difference between the affected and unaffected areas. And because the walls were insulated, water wicked up to three feet in most cases. 

My Moisture Meter http://www.extech.com/instruments/product.asp?catid=11&prodid=72

What kind do you have and recommend?


----------



## Schmidt & Co. (Nov 6, 2008)

I have two (no-name brands) that I paid under $40.00 each for at the paint store. They more than likely don't give me as exact readings as yours, but they have served me well. I actually get more use out of it on interior water damage jobs, rather than exterior. I always bring it along with me on the estimate. Kind of sets me apart from the other guys. :thumbsup:


----------



## Wolfgang (Nov 16, 2008)

Have the same mfg that you do......except they (2) are about 10 years old. Since I did a lot of insurance resto work, (mostly fire and water), it was imperative to have them. They let me know when the remaining framing studs were dry enough to wall in, and I also used them on drywall that I questioned whether more of it should be removed. Most of the time on water damage, the insurance co., would allow about 2' high to be removed. There were times it would either be 4' or to the ceiling.

On exteriors, I didn't use it that much, other than to double check any suspicions I had.


----------



## Paint and Hammer (Feb 26, 2008)

This is mine....http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32548&cat=1,43513,45788

Seems I paid double you guys.

Use it mostly on decks, high humidity days, lower parts of homes near ground, first thing in the morning and green lumber.


----------



## Wolfgang (Nov 16, 2008)

They're great on green lumber and decks!


----------



## NEPS.US (Feb 6, 2008)

Ryobi has a decent one that does hard woods, soft woods, metal and masonry. Under $50.


----------



## Roamer (Jul 5, 2010)

This is the one we use:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/SONIN-Analog-Moisture-Meter-1UG80?Pid=search

We use it frequently on jobs where we've used Peel Away 1 and are trying to determine if the wood or masonry is dry enough to paint.


----------

