Is spending extra on a moisture meter worth it or a waste?

I dropped $120 on a pinless moisture meter before refinishing my basement floor in Portland. It caught hidden damp spots near the old concrete slab that saved me from covering up a mold problem waiting to happen. But my buddy used a $20 pin meter on his kitchen reno and got the same basic info without the fancy screen. The high end one gave me readings down to 0.1%, but I honestly didn't use that feature after the first check. Did the extra cost actually pay off for me, or did I just fall for nice marketing? Has anyone else gone cheap here and regretted it when things went wrong later?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_miles3d ago

Used to think pin meters were a total gimmick but you just sold me. Was the extra precision mostly just a comfort thing or did it actually help you catch stuff earlier?

elizabeth_king3d ago

Nah @the_miles, that extra precision just made me obsess over stuff I would've fixed anyway.