Wood moisture content furniture
A practical guide to wood moisture content furniture: what to check on site, what a photograph cannot establish, and what to write in your purchase specification.
Wood moisture content is the number most likely to cause a problem you did not see coming. Timber is dimensionally stable at one moisture level and moves at every other one. A chair that passes inspection at 18 per cent in a humid workshop can crack in a heated room in another hemisphere.
The numbers
| Material | Normal expectation | Contract requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Hardwood | 8–12 per cent | 8–10 per cent |
| Softwood | 10–14 per cent | ≤12 per cent |
| Outdoor furniture | ≤12 per cent softwood | ≤10 per cent hardwood |
The instrument matters more than most buyers realise. A pin-type meter gives a reading at one point. A pinless meter averages over a surface and can be affected by surface moisture and coatings. Both are legitimate; they answer different questions.
Why the reading on site is not the reading on arrival
Sea transit changes moisture content. Goods shipped from a humid coastal factory and delivered to a heated inland warehouse can lose several per cent. Goods shipped from a dry interior factory and delivered to a humid port can gain.
No inspection performed at the factory can predict the condition on arrival. outdoor furniture verification states this as an explicit limitation rather than implying coverage that does not exist.
How to specify it
"Moisture content measured with a calibrated meter on every sampled unit. Hardwood 8–10 per cent, softwood ≤12 per cent. Reading recorded per unit, not averaged across the batch."
Recording per unit matters. An average conceals an outlier, and the outlier is the piece that cracks.
dining verification covers the same check as part of a dining furniture order.
Common questions
What does AQL mean in furniture inspection?
AQL is the Acceptable Quality Limit under ISO 2859-1 — the quality threshold used to accept or reject a sampled lot. It is an input to a decision, not a statement about how good the goods are.
How many units are inspected on a furniture order?
Under ISO 2859-1 general level II, a lot of 501 to 1,200 units is sampled at 80. A lot of 3,201 to 10,000 is sampled at 200. The report states the lot size, sample size and accept/reject numbers.
Can I verify goods without sending anyone to the factory?
Partially. A remote photo review can identify gross problems but cannot establish count, dimensions, materials or physical performance. Those require someone on site.
Verifying a furniture order?
We check your goods at the factory against your PI, your agreed specification and your approved sample. Three levels, published prices, report within 24 hours.