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Posts tagged with “Moisture Content”

Everything Moves

I’ve heard carpenters and trim installation contractors complain that PVC trim expands and contracts too much. My comment to them is: Yes, cellular PVC trim does move, but so do all other exterior building products, and many of them just as much as, if not more than, cellular PVC.
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Trestle Tables, Videos, and the Moisture Monster

I spent the first 15 years of my working life as a cameraman for—and then producer of—television commercials. In that career, your “film reel” was more important than your resume. It was a collection of a dozen or so of your best TV spots. By the same logic, when I finally switched over to woodworking, and started my own cabinet shop, I found that I would land more jobs when I could show a potential client photographs of our work. Over time, I carried an increasingly larger photo album in my attaché. Read the full article…

Understanding Moisture Content and Wood Movement

(with Gene Wengert, The Wood Doctor.)

Expected movement can be accurately predicted, which means avoiding potential problems down the road.

In this article, we’ll explain the importance of understanding wood movement, how to use a moisture meter to measure the moisture content (MC) of trim, how to decide when a load of trim should be rejected, and how to accurately estimate how much trim will move after it’s installed. Read the full article…

Carpenters of Steel

Earthquake Defense mechanical connections require a lot of planning.

With the 2007 CBC codes addressing Earthquake Defense more progressively, we’re feeling more like Carpenters of Steel than carpenters of wood! The amount of steel in new buildings in California for seismic structural engineering is changing the way carpenters frame. For production framing here in California, we used to use the words “blow and go” a lot. But those days are over. Now all anyone talks about is “mechanical connections.” Read the full article…

Exterior Porch Details for Traditional Materials

Drive through a new subdivision today and you’re greeted by homes covered with large swathes of vinyl and plastic. Step onto a porch and meet more plastic—floors, railings, columns…the list goes on and on.

In many homes, plastic has replaced wood and permeated almost every exterior building product. Not surprisingly, builders have become fluent at installing plastic, while wood skills have begun to disappear. Just when we need them most. Read the full article…

Moisture Content & Wood Movement – Toolbox

Wood is hygroscopic, which means its moisture content (MC) will fluctuate based on the relative humidity (RH) of the surrounding air. As humidity increases, the MC increases, and the wood expands, and as the humidity decreases, MC decreases, and the wood shrinks. This relationship is referred to as equilibrium moisture content (EMC), and can be accurately predicted. Read the full article…