Bruce King
07-04-2010, 07:21 AM
I did an inspection on a large new house that had major vented crawlspace moisture problems. The floor system has regular lumber and engineered lumber. The readings varied greatly but some areas had up to 28 percent. The builder had some fans installed to dry it out some and then had a sealed crawlspace installed. I went back for a reinspection and found a very humid sealed crawlspace with the supply air duct not yet installed. The regular wood had dried to 15-17 percent but the lower flanges/chords on the I-joists that have LVL type material were 20-26 percent still.
The builder disputed this and said LVL material will read higher moisture.
The builder hired an engineer that checked the whole installation but refused to check or report the LVL moisture levels because "his meter was not accurate for that".
I check these materials all the time and have no problem, in fact, I find the LVL to be a drier product to start with but once it gets damp it takes longer to dry out than regular wood.
This crawlspace simply needs a dehumidifier for at least the time it takes to get all the wood below 20 percent. The builder does not want to install one since code does not require it.
Anyone ever see any pin type moisture meters that can't check LVL material?
The builder disputed this and said LVL material will read higher moisture.
The builder hired an engineer that checked the whole installation but refused to check or report the LVL moisture levels because "his meter was not accurate for that".
I check these materials all the time and have no problem, in fact, I find the LVL to be a drier product to start with but once it gets damp it takes longer to dry out than regular wood.
This crawlspace simply needs a dehumidifier for at least the time it takes to get all the wood below 20 percent. The builder does not want to install one since code does not require it.
Anyone ever see any pin type moisture meters that can't check LVL material?