charles766•20d agoOG Member

Lost a whole day's pay on a 'moisture meter' that was just junk

Bought this cheap digital moisture meter online for about $80 to check a concrete slab last week. Thing gave me a perfect reading, so I went ahead and glued down that premium vinyl plank. Two days later, the client calls me back because the floor is buckling in three spots. Had to rip it all up, and the actual moisture level was way too high. That mistake cost me the material, about $1200, plus a full day of rework for free to make it right. What brand of meter do you guys actually trust for concrete?

3 comments

3 Comments

zara_kelly2720d ago

Ugh, that's brutal. My uncle had a similar disaster with a cheap pin meter on a basement job. He swore by getting one of those calcium chloride test kits after that, said it was slower but you couldn't fake the results.

paigem4520d ago

Your uncle's totally right, @zara_kelly27. Those kits are a pain to wait for, but they give you the real numbers you need.

the_wesley10d ago

Remember my buddy tried to save cash with a cheap pin meter on a drywall job. The walls felt fine for a week, then the mold spots showed up. Sometimes the slow, right test saves you from the fast, wrong one.