That $15 moisture meter saved my basement reno

Overheard a guy at Home Depot say he never drywalls a basement without checking every inch with a pin meter first, and after poking around my own walls I found a damp spot behind the old paneling I would have sealed right over. Anyone else had a bad experience skipping the moisture check?

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margaret_nelson3mo ago

Honestly, pin meters are great but they only measure moisture at the surface. If you had old paneling, the moisture could have been deeper in the framing behind it. Ngl, you really need a probe-type meter with longer pins or even a non-invasive one to check through drywall and tile. Otherwise you might get a false sense of security and miss a bigger issue hiding further in.

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willow7323mo ago

@margaret_nelson old paneling can hide mold colonies right behind the vapor barrier too.

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