How Wood Reacts to Moisture

Dr. Eugene Wengert, known as the Wood Doctor, explains wood’s relationship and reaction to moisture.

We would like to give credit to the presenters of this video information: The Wood Component Manufacturers Association and the University of Wisconsin, and acknowledgment of the cooperation of Richardson Brothers Company for use of their plant in the production of these video clips.

More from the Wood Doctor: see the full Wood & Moisture Training series.

What is Moisture Content (MC)?
Wood Manufacturing Problems Associated with Moisture
How to Correct Wood Moisture Content (MC)
How Wood Reacts to Moisture (this video)
How Relative Humidity Relates to Wood Moisture Content
How to Determine the Correct Wood Moisture Content
Storing Lumber and Wood Products

Questions? Call 800-585-3023.

Shop Orion Moisture Meters

By Dr. Eugene Wengert
Copyrighted material
Used with permission by Wagner Meters

631views

Last updated on October 6th, 2026

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

img:is([sizes=auto i],[sizes^="auto," i]){contain-intrinsic-size:3000px 1500px}.wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none}:root{--wp-internal-comment:"Placeholder for wp_hoist_late_printed_styles() to replace with the block styles printed at wp_footer."}:root{--wp-internal-comment:"Placeholder for wp_hoist_late_printed_styles() to replace with the global-styles printed at wp_footer."}body{--aiovg-color-primary:#3b82f6}.aiovg-player{display:block;position:relative;border-radius:3px;padding-bottom:56.25%;width:100%;height:0;overflow:hidden}.aiovg-player iframe,.aiovg-player .video-js,.aiovg-player .plyr{--plyr-color-main:#3b82f6;position:absolute;inset:0;margin:0;padding:0;width:100%;height:100%}.ctl-bullets-container{display:block;position:fixed;right:0;height:100%;z-index:1049;font-weight:normal;height:70vh;overflow-x:hidden;overflow-y:auto;margin:15vh auto}.saboxplugin-wrap{-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;-moz-box-sizing:border-box;-ms-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #eee;width:100%;clear:both;display:block;overflow:hidden;word-wrap:break-word;position:relative}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-gravatar{float:left;padding:0 20px 20px 20px}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-gravatar img{max-width:100px;height:auto;border-radius:0}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-authorname{font-size:18px;line-height:1;margin:20px 0 0 20px;display:block}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-authorname a{text-decoration:none}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-authorname a:focus{outline:0}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-desc{display:block;margin:5px 20px}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-desc a{text-decoration:underline}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-desc p{margin:5px 0 12px}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-web{margin:0 20px 15px;text-align:left}.saboxplugin-wrap .sab-web-position{text-align:right}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-web a{color:#ccc;text-decoration:none}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-socials{position:relative;display:block;background:#fcfcfc;padding:5px;border-top:1px solid #eee}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-socials a svg{width:20px;height:20px}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-socials a svg .st2{fill:#fff;transform-origin:center center}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-socials a svg .st1{fill:rgba(0,0,0,.3)}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-socials a:hover{opacity:.8;-webkit-transition:opacity .4s;-moz-transition:opacity .4s;-o-transition:opacity .4s;transition:opacity .4s;box-shadow:none !important;-webkit-box-shadow:none !important}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-socials .saboxplugin-icon-color{box-shadow:none;padding:0;border:0;-webkit-transition:opacity .4s;-moz-transition:opacity .4s;-o-transition:opacity .4s;transition:opacity .4s;display:inline-block;color:#fff;font-size:0;text-decoration:inherit;margin:5px;-webkit-border-radius:0;-moz-border-radius:0;-ms-border-radius:0;-o-border-radius:0;border-radius:0;overflow:hidden}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-socials .saboxplugin-icon-grey{text-decoration:inherit;box-shadow:none;position:relative;display:-moz-inline-stack;display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;zoom:1;margin:10px 5px;color:#444;fill:#444}.clearfix:after,.clearfix:before{content:" ";display:table;line-height:0;clear:both}.ie7 .clearfix{zoom:1}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-twitch{border-color:#38245c}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-behance{border-color:#003eb0}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-deviantart{border-color:#036824}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-digg{border-color:#00327c}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-dribbble{border-color:#ba1655}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-facebook{border-color:#1e2e4f}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-flickr{border-color:#003576}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-github{border-color:#264874}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-google{border-color:#0b51c5}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-html5{border-color:#902e13}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-instagram{border-color:#1630aa}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-linkedin{border-color:#00344f}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-pinterest{border-color:#5b040e}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-reddit{border-color:#992900}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-rss{border-color:#a43b0a}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-sharethis{border-color:#5d8420}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-soundcloud{border-color:#995200}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-spotify{border-color:#0f612c}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-stackoverflow{border-color:#a95009}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-steam{border-color:#006388}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-user_email{border-color:#b84e05}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-tumblr{border-color:#10151b}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-twitter{border-color:#0967a0}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-vimeo{border-color:#0d7091}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-windows{border-color:#003f71}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-whatsapp{border-color:#003f71}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-wordpress{border-color:#0f3647}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-yahoo{border-color:#14002d}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-youtube{border-color:#900}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-xing{border-color:#000202}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-mixcloud{border-color:#2475a0}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-vk{border-color:#243549}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-medium{border-color:#00452c}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-quora{border-color:#420e00}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-meetup{border-color:#9b181c}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-goodreads{border-color:#000}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-snapchat{border-color:#999700}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-500px{border-color:#00557f}.saboxplugin-socials.sabox-colored .saboxplugin-icon-color .sab-mastodont{border-color:#185886}.sabox-plus-item{margin-bottom:20px}@media screen and (max-width:480px){.saboxplugin-wrap{text-align:center}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-gravatar{float:none;padding:20px 0;text-align:center;margin:0 auto;display:block}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-gravatar img{float:none;display:inline-block;display:-moz-inline-stack;vertical-align:middle;zoom:1}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-desc{margin:0 10px 20px;text-align:center}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-authorname{text-align:center;margin:10px 0 20px}}body .saboxplugin-authorname a,body .saboxplugin-authorname a:hover{box-shadow:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none}a.sab-profile-edit{font-size:16px !important;line-height:1 !important}.sab-edit-settings a,a.sab-profile-edit{color:#0073aa !important;box-shadow:none !important;-webkit-box-shadow:none !important}.sab-edit-settings{margin-right:15px;position:absolute;right:0;z-index:2;bottom:10px;line-height:20px}.sab-edit-settings i{margin-left:5px}.saboxplugin-socials{line-height:1 !important}.rtl .saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-gravatar{float:right}.rtl .saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-authorname{display:flex;align-items:center}.rtl .saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-authorname .sab-profile-edit{margin-right:10px}.rtl .sab-edit-settings{right:auto;left:0}img.sab-custom-avatar{max-width:75px}.saboxplugin-wrap{margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;padding:0px 0px}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-authorname{font-size:18px;line-height:25px}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-desc p,.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-desc{font-size:14px !important;line-height:21px !important}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-web{font-size:14px}.saboxplugin-wrap .saboxplugin-socials a svg{width:18px;height:18px}.bdpp-style-mngr-2 .bdpp-rdmr-btn{border-radius:5px}.bdpp-post-grid-wrap.bdpp-design-10 .bdpp-post-cats a{border-radius:5px}#main-menu .mymenu-nav>li .mymenu-search{padding-top:0px !important}.woocommerce-checkout .c4wp_captcha_field{margin-bottom:10px;margin-top:15px;position:relative;display:inline-block}.login #login,.login #lostpasswordform{min-width:350px !important}.wpforms-field-c4wp iframe{width:100% !important}#countdown-banner-2{background-color:#00c875;color:#fff;text-align:center;padding:10px;padding-left:10%;padding-right:10%;display:none}#countdown-banner{background-color:#fa0;color:#fff;text-align:center;padding:10px;display:none}#countdown{font-size:24px;font-weight:bold}#countdown-banner-3{background-color:#d3011c;color:#fff;text-align:center;padding:10px;padding-left:10%;padding-right:10%;display:none}#countdown-banner-3 a{color:#fff !important}