Exposed drain and plumbers putty

[Dale L. Staben]

Originally Posted by dvalley

I've never had a false alarm on any moisture meter that I've used.

I will not do an inspection without one.

I'm planning on getting one this week, finally bringing in the extra funds to afford real tools instead of crayons, if it had not been for the free NACHI pens I would be doing reports with charcoal pieces.

[Harold E. Miller]

Mike
So did the meter tell you the wall had too much moisture? Or had it dried out as a result of the previous repairs?
I always find discussions of moisture meters interesting and it would be enlightening to hear the legal angles that Joe Ferry and Kieth Swift could add.
I personally have never used one, but I am a former GC that specialized in real estate work orders and have repaired alot of bathroom floors and shower walls. I know what evidence to look for, and never felt I needed a meter.
For this reason I have to say that I agree with Tonys' position on meter use. I don't know of any fellow GCs that use a meter either.
The real factor in my reluctance to use a meter however is the numerous stories I have heard from agents. They impart stories of a listing they had, that the inspector used a meter and reported a high moisture condition, and subsequently the bathroom floor or wall was torn out to find absolutely nothing. I just talked to a GC two weeks ago that was in the same boat. He stated he has a floor that they were hired to repair due to high moisture readings from an inspection. No water damage existed.
I am sure there are many stories to the contrary, but those probably have visible damage to the vinyl floor, or the drywall is soft to the touch. These are visibly evident.
Interesting discussion.

[David P. Valley]

Originally Posted by mgault

And somewhat less reliable. That is what I think Tony is leery of...

And how much destruction do you really think is caused?

Those probes are not 1/16th of an inch into the sheetrock and 4 inches above the baseboards... All I ever hear is "oohs" and "wows" when I whip it out

I carry both moisture meters (probes and non-destructive). I find to get more accurate readings with the Tramex verses the Delmhorst. The probes don't cause much damage (to the testing area) at all, but the Tramex is a much more professional tool and gives me more accurate readings.

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

I have a Tramex also, but don't like it in a crawl space. Difficult to get up on the subfloor perfectly flat sometimes. Like the pin meters in a crawl space--they are also easier to put in my pocket.

[Jay Moge]

Originally Posted by mgault

And somewhat less reliable. That is what I think Tony is leery of...

And how much destruction do you really think is caused?

Those probes are not 1/16th of an inch into the sheetrock and 4 inches above the baseboards... All I ever hear is "oohs" and "wows" when I whip it out

there may be children present ya know. geesh. keep it in your pouch cowboy.