Wasted $200 on a moisture meter that lied to me for 6 months

Bought a cheap pinless meter off Amazon. It kept telling me my subfloor was dry. I did a whole kitchen that way. Customer calls me back 3 months later complaining about cupping. Pulled the floor up and the moisture was at 18%. Had to eat the cost of the material and labor refund. Bought a Tramex meter after that and checked the same subfloor. Totally different readings. Has anyone else had a bad meter cost them a job?

4 comments

4 Comments

gracej9916d agoMost Upvoted

Gotta disagree, pinless meters work fine if you calibrate them right.

river_thompson16d ago

Oh boy, here we go again with the pinless meter debate. Calibrate them right? Sure, and my toaster could probably give weather forecasts if I calibrated it right too.

hernandez.gavin16d ago

The last time I tried a pinless meter, @gracej99, the thing told me my drywall was at 14% moisture when it was literally raining inside my basement through a hole in the foundation. Calibration only gets you so far when the tool is basically guessing based on surface conditions. I get that some folks swear by them for quick scans, but pinless meters just don't give you the real story when you're dealing with old framing or weird insulation. Give me a good old pin meter any day, because I'd rather poke a hole than trust a magic box that can't even tell the difference between water and metal studs.

blair_torres7012d ago

My buddy Mike bought a top of the line pinless meter for his restoration company and tried using it on a ceiling that was clearly sagging from water damage. It read 8% moisture and he almost walked away. He poked it with a pin meter out of habit and got 92% right above the same spot. Never seen a tool lie that bad before.