Sorry, the husband cannot be saved. However, the husband may be able to 
save the day.

> the   question is at what % is the moisture acceptable

This is the wrong question. Better put:

How much water is left in the wall, and does it have a way out of the 
wall that will not damage the gypsum plaster.

The  moisture content can only be measured within the capability of 
moisture meter and the person holding it. For example, with my 
Electrophysics RF (radio frequency) meter, this is 5/8" of an inch from 
the detecting panel on the back of the meter. This meter cannot possibly 
tell how much moisture is deeper within the wall, and for that matter 
does not even tell the moisture content, rather it tells the density, 
which must be interpreted by the meter user.



 >>the contractor(a pirate not pyrate)  is in a hurry to finish and 
wants to go
back with a gypsum plaster
as it dries fast and .....he can get out like a good pirate
<<

Of course, the perfect moisture meter is a full interior coating of 
gypsum plaster. Once in place it is self monitoring and will tell you 
exactly when and where there is too much moisture--it may take some time 
to give you a reading.

Consider the Fast/Cheap/Good triangle, where you can have only two at a 
time, but not all three at once. It appears the contractor is operating 
in the Fast/things/Cheap miasma where Good work cannot happen. You (and 
probably her building) are operating in the LowCost/people/Good realm, 
when the slower you go, the closer the work is to Good. The contractor 
and your wife can have the work Fast and Cheap, but it probably will not 
be Good. Your wife is asking you to skate (on thin ice) back and forth 
between the two realms, so what makes a better lubricant for your 
skating, water in the wall, or rum in the gut. Water does make a very 
excellent lubricant--when it is in the solid state. I suggest rum on 
ice, for you, for your wife, and a double dose for the contractor. This 
ought to slow the bunch of you down a bit to get a little closer to Good.

Slow down, you move to fast. You've got to make the moment last...

John (don't listen to him) Leeke
www.HistoricHomeWorks.com

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