Moisture Measurement Still Crucial for Engineered Hardwood Flooring

 

Although Engineered Hardwood floors are much less vulnerable to moisture damage, it's miles wooden in the end and nevertheless, call for the identical MC control as every other wooden product. All wood holds moisture content. As the RH rises, the wood absorbs moisture from the air. And, as RH falls, wood releases moisture into the air. Wood, therefore, ought to be allowed to attain its equilibrium moisture content. That is, it ought to attain stability among the wooden`s MC and ambient situations.

Also, a few engineered merchandise integrate numerous kinds of wood, every with its very own awesome MC characteristics. If installers don`t pay enough interest to the one's wooden characteristics, troubles may also follow.

Another vital component approximately engineered floors are that the middle and the wear and tear layer react in another way to moisture. If the 2 have one-of-a-kind MC levels, they can come to be out of stability. The overall performance of the ground in those situations relies upon numerous factors, along with MC on the time of manufacture, middle creation types, and thickness of the wear and tear layer.

For instance, it`s regularly claimed that “the thicker the wear and tear layer, the higher the floors”. That declaration might not usually be true. Moisture may also affect a thicker put-on layer in a way much like strong wood – in effect, increasing and contracting greater than a thinner put-on layer.

If the pinnacle is put on a layer and the middle has identical shrinking tendencies, engineered wood will flow much like strong wood. If the pinnacle layer and the middle are cut back in another way, then the panel is greater moisture sensitive. This can purpose greater shrinking and warping.

As a widespread rule, the middle of engineered floors is greater dimensionally strong than strong wooden floors due to more than one layer of plywood, high-density fiberboard, or hardwood. However, massive humidity swings, extra moisture, and the absence of weather management will purpose an engineered ground to fail much like a strong wooden ground.

Experts withinside the wooden floors enterprise propose measuring for MC and RH earlier than and in the course of installation. Relying on old-school techniques of feeling wooden or eyeballing the sub-ground may be risky, ensuing in pricey troubles later.

A correct wooden moisture meter is important for any a success wooden ground installation. Installers can without difficulty use handheld moisture meters to appropriately and cost-efficaciously examine the MC in their wooden.

It`s vital to take moisture measurements at the time of transport, earlier than acclimation, after acclimation, and after task completion. Waiting till the ground suggests defects from shrinking and cupping can be too past due to report a declaration for the reason that MC on the time of transport can not be determined.