The Moisture Content Of Hardwood And Softwood

When fully dried in an oven this means that a total of 30 lbs.

The moisture content of hardwood and softwood.

If a board reads 100 difficult to measure accurately then the weight of the water equals the weight of that wood. Moisture content weight of water ovendry weight of wood x 100 for instance suppose that a freshly sawn piece of eastern cottonwood populus deltoides weighed 50 lbs. In its initial green state and ended up weighing only 20 lbs. Wood is a hygroscopic material constantly absorbing and giving off moisture until it reaches an equilibrium moisture content with its surroundings.

Softwood quality fuel is more important than species traditionally hardwood has been the preferred fuel in wood stoves and fireplaces because it naturally has a lower moisture content is a denser fuel burns longer and has hotter coals. How humidity influences ideal wood moisture. Classifying wood as either a hardwood or softwood comes down to its physical structure and makeup and so it is overly simple to think of hardwoods as being hard and durable compared to soft and workable softwoods. Percent moisture content in wood is the ratio of the weight of water compared to the overall weight of a piece of wood.

As every wood flooring professional knows wood species fall into two main categories. After that however it gets more complicated. Softwood is known for burning. In short the more humidity that is present in the air the more moisture wood building materials such as flooring will absorb.

A 10 moisture content reading means that 10 of a wood sample s weight is due to water in the wood.