Moisture content
Also called MC
The proportion of water in wood or in a subfloor, measured before installation and used to decide whether the two are compatible.
Both the subfloor and the flooring material have a moisture content, and both must be measured. Testing only the subfloor measures half the system: every board arrives with its own moisture history.
Testing happens twice — at the free estimate, and again immediately before installation. Conditions change between quoting and installing, and a single reading months earlier describes a building that no longer exists.
Related
Terms this one depends on
- Moisture differentialThe difference between the moisture content of the flooring material and that of the subfloor, which must sit inside an acceptable range before installation.
- AcclimationThe period during which flooring material equalises to the conditions of the room it will be installed in — a minimum of 72 hours, in the actual conditioned space.
- SubfloorWhat the finished floor is installed onto — plywood over joists, a concrete slab, or a radiant assembly — and the thing that determines the installation method.
- CuppingA board whose edges sit higher than its centre — the visible record of moisture entering the floor from below.
- Kiln dryingControlled drying of sawn boards to a target moisture content before they are milled into flooring.
Referenced by
Terms that point here
Provenance
Where this definition comes from
Framework pillars this term is material to
If you are dealing with this on a real floor: floor restoration, or get a fixed written price after a measure.
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