Measuring Moisture In Concrete Walls

Improper selection and application of coatings and water repellents.

Measuring moisture in concrete walls.

Apart from design issues with the building itself causes include. The upside of the near infrared and concrete moisture meters is that they are non destructive. The intrusion of moisture into concrete and masonry walls is a widespread problem. How moisture gets into concrete.

Tape a 12 inch by 12 inch piece of plastic wrap onto a part of the basement wall. 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. To test for moisture inside the walls start with manual tests and proceed to moisture meters.

Measuring moisture in walls. 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. 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. 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.

Check for surface discoloration such as yellowing material. Meaning they will not leave any unsightly holes in your drywall with each test. So how can you be sure if the walls in a structure have a safe level of moisture. 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.

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. Under this method you ll use a thermo hygrometer with in situ probes along with a series of prepared holes to get readings of relative humidity deep in the concrete slab. Structural and safety hazards such as mold rot and decay are all potential consequences of elevated moisture levels in these materials. Inadequate repair of cracks prior to painting or sealing.

Check the plastic for the next several days noting when moisture. When measuring moisture in concrete the best and most reliable method is to use the astm f 2170 testing method. Moisture meters include visual led indicators related to the percent reading on the scale for dry moderate and saturated or wet readings. Look at the wall surface carefully.

This is a relative scale. Some flooring system manufacturers have products that can handle 95 rh or mor 2.