robbin Mod join:2000-09-21 Leander, TX |
to iLearn
Re: Help. Toilet maybe leaking? Not suresaid by iLearn:said by robbin:said by iLearn:If you are still looking for an answer/solution, you can have someone use a moisture meter to see if there is water damage or to what extent. Or you can just buy a moisture meter for about $30 at Lowes, etc. You always get what you paid for, and that goes for just about everything in life. The moisture meter I carry is a $450 meter. In my opinion, you either invest on a good tool that will give you right results and is good for several materials Nice that you have an expensive meter. The $30 meter does a good job and would be more than adequate for this purpose. It also does several materials including wood, drywall, and concrete. It is easy to use and would certainly give the answer to the the question the OP has asked. |
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iLearn
Member
2013-Jun-18 10:08 pm
said by robbin:Nice that you have an expensive meter. The $30 meter does a good job and would be more than adequate for this purpose. It also does several materials including wood, drywall, and concrete. It is easy to use and would certainly give the answer to the the question the OP has asked. You did not have to say "Nice that you have an expensive meter". It was not like we are using our real identities here and I was somehow trying to promote my company/services on this message board by mentioning that I have an expensive moisture meter. Anyways, care to share the link to the $30 moisture meter? How much do you know about moisture meters? Do you know how to use moisture meters in high humid areas and how the you may get incorrect reading from cheap meters? |
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robbin Mod join:2000-09-21 Leander, TX |
robbin
Mod
2013-Jun-18 10:39 pm
This is the meter I have. I bought it at Lowes where I think it was about $35 -- their site is currently down so I can't check. If you didn't think it was nice to have a $450 meter perhaps you shouldn't have posted how much yours cost. Personally I don't think the price makes any difference for this application. I know enough about moisture meters to use the one I have for the purpose I bought it for which was locating plumbing leaks. I have successfully done this in two different houses. In one house the hardwood floor which was laid on sleepers was getting wet. I was able to go across about 25 feet of hardwood floor and then about 10 feet of tile floor (testing the grout lines) to get to the source of the leak. In the other house I was able to locate an under slab leak which was showing up as moisture in both drywall in a closet as well as moisture in the grout lines of a tiled bathroom which included testing both wainscoating as well as the floor. In both cases I was able to locate the source of the leak to an area of about 1 foot which was all I needed. For this usage, accuracy is not as important as relative accuracy between measurements. In other words, whether the moisture is actually 5 or 7% is not an issue. The ability to be able to track a change of moisture from 5% to 8% to 12% to 15% etc is what is important. This meter excels at that and for the price can't be beat. If I were buying a meter to build and finish fine furniture I would pick a better meter but for what this meter does it should be in every do-it-yourself homeowner's tool collection. |
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iLearn
Member
2013-Jun-18 11:56 pm
said by robbin: Personally I don't think the price makes any difference for this application.
No, price does matter and you are dead wrong. Look at the datasheet for this product and compare it with a high end meter. I am not going to do this for you. If you believe a $30 product is as good as a $450 product then good for you. ah, also - your meter has pins, most high end meters are pin less. Tell me how do you check for moisture intrusion on ceramic tiles? Grout lines? If you come to my house and start poking into my grout lines then I will make you re-grout the area for me and yes - I will leave a bad review for you on the web as well (if you have a website). Anyways, you always get what you paid for - and I am sticking with that. |
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robbin Mod join:2000-09-21 Leander, TX |
robbin
Mod
2013-Jun-19 12:11 am
I never said that the cheap meter was equivalent to your $450 meter. I said the $30 meter was adequate for the job at hand. If you would have read my post then you would already know I checked the moisture of the grout joints. I wouldn't be coming to your house to poke anything as I was giving the homeowner a way to do the job without hiring anyone. But if I would have come to your house you would have no reason to make me do anything because the pins are NOT destructive to the grout. I am a tilesetter and will state that emphatically as a professional. |
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iLearn
Member
2013-Jun-19 12:29 am
said by robbin: I said the $30 meter was adequate for the job at hand. No, it is not. The OP has a problem in the bathroom. Bathroom (normally) has tiles and your pins can not penetrate through tiles. And no, using your moisture meter (with pins) on grout only does not serve the purpose. Moisture meters with pins come with limitations which is why they are worth $30...and I am not even talking about comparing the specs yet. |
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robbin Mod join:2000-09-21 Leander, TX |
robbin
Mod
2013-Jun-19 12:52 am
I have used it for the exact purpose described and it does in fact serve the purpose. |
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EGeezer Premium Member join:2002-08-04 Midwest |
to robbin
I personally like tp0d 's suggestion to slip a couple of pieces of paper under the caulking to see if they get damp. Also Hall 's test is a good second test. If the commode is loose or rocks, it will soon leak if it doesn't already. Before you pull the commode, follow kherr 's advice and have on hand the replacement supplies he listed in his post. quality parts and stainless mess over plastic feeds aren't that expensive relative to the time and trouble you spend installing the stuff. |
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to robbin
said by robbin:I have used it for the exact purpose described and it does in fact serve the purpose. You probably got lucky - moving on. thanks |
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