Craig DeWitt

Craig DeWitt, PhD, PE, is president of RLC Engineering LLC in Asheville, N.C. Craig has a PhD in engineering and specializes in wood, moisture and indoor environments. He has provided inspection and consulting services for over 20 years.

Inspector Reports: Fact, Fiction or Opinion?

Fact, fiction or opinion: In writing and evaluating reports, I am often faced with determining whether something is fact or fiction, or just an opinion. Some "facts," like my "grits come from grit palm" statement from last week's blog, are easy to verify or disprove with a simple web search. On the other hand, we've all faced an unusual name for a product or material, and "grit palm" could be someone's proprietary name for their material.

January 10, 2012

A Closer Look at Bamboo & Palm

My house has been below 30% RH for over a week now. A couple gaps have opened in my hickory floor, but nothing in the oak floors.

January 5, 2012

Bamboo End Grain 10x

What's Going on with this Cupped Floor?

Here's a question related to my fellow blogger Howard Brickman's last post about what causes cupping:

December 19, 2011

When Is Your House Outside the Right Range?

Friday, December 2, 2011, 9 a.m. in Clemson, S.C.: Conditions in my house were 65 degrees F and 34% RH. It's Dec. 2 (not even winter yet), South Carolina (classified as a warm, humid climate) and my hardwood floors are exposed to conditions outside what many wood floor warranties and installation and use guidelines allow.

December 2, 2011

The Fungus Among Us

November 30, 2011

Fungus In Wood Floor Subfloor

Can We Fix These Dents?

Some inspections just break my heart. This was a nice old historic home that was being restored. Old furniture was moved out to allow for plaster repair and re-painting, but the piano was simply rolled out of the way. The result was some nice deep tracks across this floor.

October 31, 2011

Dents In Wood Floor From Piano Wheels

What Pest Control Has to Do With Wood Floors

This week I am in New Orleans at the National Pest Management Association meeting. What, you ask, does pest control have to do with hardwood floors? Well, the pest control industry deals with termites (the topic of my post from last week), as well as many other wood destroying organisms. Those organisms include wood boring beetles of several types, and mold, mildew and wood decay fungi. Those organisms like moisture, and moisture affects hardwood floors.

October 21, 2011

Mystery Bugs in a Rubberwood Floor

I was asked by a flooring distributor to look at some insect damage to a rubberwood parquet floor. Rubberwood is pretty susceptible to insect attack. Holes were appearing in the surface of the floor, so there was a possibility of an active infestation. The distributor was concerned that the insects were in the whole container of flooring… and that would mean other floors could have the same problem.

October 13, 2011

termites in rubberwood floor

Where in the World Was Craig?

September 28, 2011

Burj Khalifa Worlds Tallest Building

Can You Guess Where This Is?

Well, Johannes, ya didn't even give people time to think about my last post showing some teak on the deck of a boat with some caulking between the boards. The flooring (or decking) was left unfinished, and in some spots not sanded very well or with torn grain. And on this boat, you spend the whole time barefooted, so some of us got a few splinters. The caulk appears to have been trimmed flush with a razor blade, which would have been a lot of knee time. Has anyone done this system in a residential setting?

September 20, 2011

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Craftsmanship Across the Globe: Introducing the Winners of the 2024 WFB Design Awards

Hailing everywhere from Italy to Portugal to Cincinnati to Washington, D.C., to Brazil to Chicago (by way of Poland), the recipients of this year’s WFB Design Awards prove, through sweat and creativity, that true craftsmanship has no borders.

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Meet the Repairman Turning Edgers Into Artwork

Talk Shop 424 Header

What’s Your Top Advice for When Things Get Slow?

This 7-inch-wide, 5/8-inch-thick engineered rift-and-quartersawn red oak floor was coated with Bona Natural Seal and Bona Traffic HD Satin waterborne finish. (Photo courtesy of Floors by the Shore)

White Oak vs. Red Oak: As Pressure Increases on White Oak, Red Oak Is a Versatile Alternative

Custom Stain Application Techniques with Loba-Wakol North America

Custom Stain Application Techniques with Loba-Wakol North America