Now that I have the wood stacked and drying (https://mytimberhome.com/2022/07/23/the-next-project-a-12×14-post-and-beam-shed/) I am beginning what seems like the eternal process – the measuring of the wood for moisture levels. For this I use a tool commonly called a moisture meter. The brand I have used is a Delmhorst “J-Lite” and according to Amazon I purchased it in April of 2011. The current one measures a range from 0 to 30 percent. Mine only measures up to 20%. It currently cost $185 and if mine broke I would buy the same one. I have never had a single issue with it and I don’t exactly baby it. If you are using wood from a local sawmill that is green you will NEED a moisture meter. If you are serious about this just go ahead and spend the money and buy a good one.
I went out this afternoon and tested the wood. As expected every piece tested 20+ percent .. it can’t measure the level as it is too high. I’m estimating that the wood will down into a range where I can build by the middle of October. If the excessive rain continues that we have had for a month already it won’t be ready but I have no control over that unfortunately.
What is a good moisture level? Great question! Google it and you will find moisture levels all over the place. It is dependent on what you are building with the wood. For furniture your moisture levels typically need to be quite low – eight or nine percent is quite normal. For construction I have seen levels up to nineteen percent. I’m pretty sure I have seen pressure treated wood at the “big box stores” — think Blue and Orange — that are well above twenty percent.
For me, when I build, I like to have the lumber at a twelve percent or less moisture level. One reason for that is that interior paint can be applied when the level is twelve percent or less (exterior paint typically requires fifteen percent or less). A more important reason is that at twelve percent moisture level MOST of the shrinking of the wood will have occurred. It will be fairly stable. If the moisture content is too high you will see gaps in the joints as the wood continues to shrink. Maybe not life-threatening but certainly not pleasing to the eye.
So for the next several months I will continue to check levels every couple of weeks. If the humidity drops and the rains stops maybe by the first of September I will actually be to measure the level because it drops below twenty percent. In the meantime I just have to be patient…