Measuring Moisture Content In Concrete Walls

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.

Measuring moisture content in concrete walls.

To test for moisture inside the walls start with manual tests and proceed to moisture meters. In the wood scale the meter can detect moisture accurately over a range of 6 mc to 40 mc. A separate reference scale setting can be used for getting qualitative readings of moisture in other wall materials like plaster. This is a relative scale.

Additionally some meters also offer a third scale for readings of gypsum. You see the cacl test and most other concrete moisture testing procedures employ methods such as the plastic sheet application only measure moisture escaping from the surface of the concrete slab. Moisture meters include visual led indicators related to the percent reading on the scale for dry moderate and saturated or wet readings. 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.

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. In 2016 the society for protective coatings sspc expects to publish a new guidance document field methods for the determination of moisture in concrete and masonry walls and ceilings that will describe the types of instruments used for determining moisture content of walls prior to painting including recommended test frequencies. According to astm f2170 when drying concrete slabs have lower moisture levels near the surface and higher levels towards the bottom of the slab. Since we know that moisture within a slab varies by depth any moisture test that only measures moisture at the surface can t give you consistently reliable usable results.

The bd 2100 s drywall moisture meter readings are accurate in gypsum to moisture content percentages as low as 0 2 and as high as 50. Often more than one method is used to get an accurate reading of actual moisture content. Structural and safety hazards such as mold rot and decay are all potential consequences of elevated moisture levels in these materials. How concrete hardens and dries concrete is manufactured by mixing cement aggregates such as sand and gravel and water.

When measuring moisture in concrete the best and most reliable method is to use the astm f 2170 testing method. Look at the wall surface carefully. The ability to detect moisture accurately in both wood and drywall makes this device particularly suited for building inspection work. There are three standard methods for measuring concrete moisture.

Check for surface discoloration such as yellowing material. These scale readings can range from 0 2 to 50 moisture content.