Moisture content?

[Les Symonds]

What's the wisdom out there on moisture content (mc)?

My understanding is something like this...

• the percentage figure that we tend to quote refers to the moisture in a piece of timber, as a percentage of that piece's overall weight
• typical mc in a modern home is around 12%
• typical mc for fresh-swan timber is around the 50% mark
• typical mc for air dried timber, stored under cover and off the ground, will be in the mid 20s at this time of year

....is this about right?

Les

[bodrighywood]

As an average that may work but the ambient humidity can vary quite a bit around the country. Wood that was stable and 'dry' in Cornwall split when I moved up to Wiltshire. With Central heating etc nowadays it can be a problem when selling things. We aren't as bad as the states where some homes have close to 0 humidity in their homes but it can be a lot lower than we expect.

Pete