Bought a cheap moisture meter for $15 and it cost me a whole drywall job in Austin

I picked up one of those no-name moisture meters off Amazon for about $15 because I figured it would do the trick for a quick check on some framing. Big mistake. It kept reading everything as dry, so I signed off on the studs and we hung the drywall. Three days later the homeowner noticed a musty smell, and sure enough there was hidden moisture behind the brand new walls. I had to rip out 12 sheets of drywall and rent a dehumidifier for a week, which ran me over $800 in materials and lost time. The contractor I work with told me he'd rather use a pin meter that actually pushes into the wood, and now I'm kicking myself for not spending the $60 on a proper one. Has anyone else had a cheap tool ruin a job like this? What do you guys use for moisture checks on commercial builds?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_james8d ago

@emmam67 nailed it. Pin meters are the only way to go on commercial jobs. Those cheap pinless ones are garbage for anything other than surface level checks. I learned that the hard way too, just like you did. The $15 meter cost you way more in the long run, same thing happened to me on a warehouse remodel in Dallas. Now I run a Tramex meter for framing, and I still double check with a pin meter on any spot that looks suspicious. You gotta treat moisture testing like insurance, cheap out and you pay triple later.

emmam678d ago

Had the same thing happen on a hotel job in Phoenix. Picked up a $20 pinless meter and it missed moisture behind the tile backer board. Switched to a $65 pin meter from General Tools and it caught everything after that. Worth the extra cash for sure, pin meters don't lie.

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