Measuring Moisture In Concrete Walls

Tape a 12 inch by 12 inch piece of plastic wrap onto a part of the basement wall.

Measuring moisture in concrete walls.

Improper selection and application of coatings and water repellents. One way to check is to use a moisture meter that is optimized for building inspection work like the bd 2100. In order to use the moisture meter accurately first check to ensure that it is properly calibrated for use in testing drywall. The test is performed by sealing an insulated box to the concrete and measur ing the relative humidity inside the box with a calibrated capacitance based humidi ty gauge.

Moisture meters include visual led indicators related to the percent reading on the scale for dry moderate and saturated or wet readings. Apart from design issues with the building itself causes include. When measuring moisture in concrete the best and most reliable method is to use the astm f 2170 testing method. This is a relative scale.

Measuring moisture in walls. And separated sealants in joints gaps around openings and at. Meaning they will not leave any unsightly holes in your drywall with each test. Seal the edges of the plastic wrap with tape.

How moisture gets into concrete. Look at the wall surface carefully. Check for surface discoloration such as yellowing material. Acceptable moisture levels in concrete according to astm standard when testing via astm f2170 the rh level of a concrete slab needs to be at or below 75 unless the flooring system manufacturer provides alternate guidelines.

Check the plastic for the next several days noting when moisture. Structural and safety hazards such as mold rot and decay are all potential consequences of elevated moisture levels in these materials. The upside of the near infrared and concrete moisture meters is that they are non destructive. Inadequate repair of cracks prior to painting or sealing.

If the concrete is at 5 percent moisture content it will neither absorb nor desorb moisture if the air above it is 70 f 21 c and 75 percent rh. This particular moisture meter is ideal for checking the moisture content of walls because it has reading scales for both drywall and wood that allow for precise quantitative moisture measurements in these materials. To test for moisture inside the walls start with manual tests and proceed to moisture meters. A moisture meter is a device designed to measure the percent of moisture content of various building materials such as roofing siding insulation drywall plaster wood tile fiberglass and concrete.

When testing the moisture content in non wood materials such as concrete a relative scale of 0 to 100 is often used where 0 is bone dry and 100 is saturated. Some flooring system manufacturers have products that can handle 95 rh or mor 2.