Best Moisture Meter

"These Babies Are Expensive!"

A BEST moisture meter will be, right?

They all pay for themselves, MANY TIMES OVER if you're a pro and are cheap insurance for the longest life of any wood floor!

I won't spend much time on this. Let me just tell you what I have, why, and then you make the call.

Best moisture meter for wood

I settled on the Delmhorst J-4 you see here. Two, in fact.

Way back in the 1900's there weren't as many moisture meter choices.

If you are a pro, the Delmhorst J-4 is still my recommendation for wood because:


- it's so easy to use.

- easy to explain and leave with client for material monitoring.

- no calibrating and re-calibrating necessary for accuracy. Just a fresh battery, is all.

- full 6% to 30% range means you're ready for any conditions.

- pins give the EXACT location of moisture, be it on the top of a board, bottom, or end grain, for that matter, which is VERY important for troubleshooting water invasion.

- comes with a TOUGH carrying case...

for those plywood runs to Home Depot.

Moisture Meter at Home Depot

Is the plywood you buy dry?

Or did it just come through a driving rain?

Or was it just returned from someone's soggy basement project?

It might LOOK dry, but

there's only one way to know for sure.

The J-LITE version of the J-4 has the LED readout, if you prefer that over the needle guage.

I don't, but it costs a little less and still has the full reading range.

Best moisture meter for concrete...

I have one of these. Unless you are an inspector, this is the best moisture meter for simply determining DRY.

That's all it tells you and that's all you need to know when:


- you need to determine whether or not a slab has a moisture barrier underneath it.

- the in floor radiant heat system has cured the gypcrete in which it was laid.

- the self-leveling compound you poured has dried.

Dry is dry. IF WHATEVER YOU ARE MEASURING IS NOT DRY, THEN THERE'S NO REASON TO PROCEED WITH THE PROJECT.

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