What to record before fitting timber or a wood floor

Scope: a record, not an installation certificate

This guide helps woodworkers and floor installers organise evidence. It is not a substitute for the current flooring manufacturer’s instructions, a subfloor test specification or a site assessment. We have not selected a particular floor or adhesive, so we cannot supply its acceptance threshold.

The wood-science explanation draws on The Wood Database, a US-based author reference. Its general principles about moisture, equilibrium and movement are useful in the UK; example target percentages in such an article are not British installation requirements. Source.

Keep three questions separate

What to put in the timber record

1. Identify the material. Record species where known, solid or engineered construction, product/batch, thickness and the face being measured. “Wood floor” is not a sufficiently precise material description.
2. Identify the instrument. Keep make, model and your instrument identifier. Record the mode, scale, species or density setting and any applied correction. Preserve the unit on every reading.
3. Describe the measurement. Record location and repeats; pin arrangement and depth or the pinless sensing mode as applicable. Follow the instrument’s requirements for contact and material thickness.
4. Document the pre-use check. Name the procedure and result rather than writing only “calibrated”. A field check is not automatically a calibration certificate.
5. Record the environment and history. Note temperature, RH and storage or acclimatisation conditions. The elapsed time alone does not show that material has reached the needed state.
6. Attach the decision basis. Identify the actual installation documents and test requirements, including their version/date where available. State who evaluated the record and what remains uncertain.

The MMS3 manual illustrates why modes and wood settings matter; it is not an endorsement that this model meets every flooring test specification.

Use repeated observations intelligently

Wood can have different conditions at its surface and interior, and boards can vary. A meaningful record identifies positions and preserves unusual results for investigation. A convenient average should not hide a suspect board or a unit mismatch.

Moisture gradients and drying defects are discussed in Drying Wood at Home. That source is about timber drying, not a floor-installation pass/fail standard. If a pin and a pinless reading disagree, first investigate the method, setting and sensing volume; see the comparison guide.

Download the blank record

Download timber & floor record (.csv) ↓

The file contains headings and one empty row. Add rows for your own identified boards, points or visits. No sample numbers or acceptance criteria are pre-filled. Keep the original record as well as any later summary.

The “required test method and criterion” field is deliberately blank. Fill it from the applicable installation instructions or professional specification. If those requirements cannot be identified, record that gap rather than selecting a commonly quoted percentage from the internet.

Limits

A snapshot does not predict all future seasonal movement. A room RH reading, a wood MC estimate and a subfloor result are not substitutes for one another. This template does not establish a sampling frequency, approve underfloor-heating commissioning or certify workmanship. Obtain the relevant product instructions and competent advice for those decisions.