Thermal Inspections - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

InspectorD · 07-15-2008, 03:59 PM

Given the "energy crisis" and the trend toward "Green" building, it's now time to look at new technologies for building inspection.

Thermal Infrared cameras have been around for a long time. Now they are becoming affordable for the average contractor. they are truly amazing tools in the right hands.

It takes training and a thorough knowledge of building science and thermodynamics to properly interpret the results. The results can be eye opening!

Thermography or thermal imaging is a way to "see" what cannot be seen by other visual means. It is not "x-ray", you cannot actually see through walls, but you can see the thermal signature of what is going on inside the wall.

At Thermal-Diagnostics these are some of the things I use it for:

Insulation verification. Did the insulation get placed properly? and in all the places it should have been? IR will tell you in short order.
Moisture intrusion. Did you know that there can be moisture intrusion happening that you cannot see on the surface? It can happen and will lead to deterioration and possible mold if not detected and handled. IR can find it.
CMU grout verification. Once a wall is built and grouted per plan, you are all done. Right? Do you know if ALL the cells that were supposed to got grouted, all the way down? IR will tell you without destructive testing.
Flat roof leak detection per ASTM C-1153 standards. Did you know that there is actually an ASTM Standard for Infrared inspection of flat and built-up roofing. Many hundreds of thousands of dollars are saved each year by using this technique. It allows you to thermally see the saturated areas of roof that need replacement without simply doing a full recover or tear-off and replace. Replace 100,000 Sq Ft because you cannot isolate the leak or find the exact area and repair a few hundred SqFt. Which would you do?
Do you have potentially dangerous electrical problems in your home or commercial building? IR can find them befor they fail and burn down the building or kill someone. IR has been used by industry for many years for non-destructive testing and preventative maintenance. It has been proven by actual study that there is a 1:20 ratio of dollars spent versus dollars saved in this area alone.
HVAC IR inspection. Find leaking ductwork, uninsulated duct components that will condense moisture and cause damage, blocked coils, unballanced flow. This is all visible with IR
Medical and Vetenary diagnostics. Its been shown that IR can detect breast cancer tumors ten years before mamography. It is used in the Vetenary sciences to detect problems with expensive race horses befor the injury is irreversable and the horse can no longer compete.

these are but a few of the uses of IR Thermography. The list is long and growing. The other day I was able to spot and determine the extent of a bee infestation on a home I was inspecting. The bee filled wall cavity stood out like a beacon in my IR camera's viewfinder. I could see the heat signature they were producing very easily.

This is a "High Tech" world we live in today. Embrace it or be left behind by those that do! I can make more in one evening doing an IR flat roof inspection than I could make in an average week doing my "normal" home inspections. Being a lazy bum by nature, I much perfer this to actually having to work!

InspectorD

**Ed the Roofer** · 07-15-2008, 08:20 PM

I have seen some amazing Thermal Imaging photos on a Home Inspector site, called, www.Nachi.org

How well do they represent moisture intrusion on a roof-top photo in direct sunlight in the middle of the day.

I'm interested.

Ed

InspectorD · 07-15-2008, 08:44 PM

Hi Ed,
Flat roof inspections are done just after sundown. The roof is hot, the sky is cold. This creates the best thermal differential. Because the wet roofing and deck hold the heat longer, the temperature difference is "visible" to the thermal camera. The bigger the "thermal difference" , the better it will show up. This technology is very condition dependent. No temperature difference, no thermal signature to see.

I had a bunch of great pics that illustrated this but this forum will not let me post them from my PhotoBucket site. If you go to my website at Thermal-Diagnostics dot com, you can see some of them.

Does this answer your question?

**Ed the Roofer** · 07-15-2008, 09:29 PM

I think you need 20 posts to include attachments, so keep on posting.

Go say Hi to a few guys in the Introduction Forum if you can't be creative with another pertinent topic or response.

I primarily do Residential shingle roof projects now, but have done every flat roof system for years previously.

So, tell me more about its use with residential roof materials, especially multi-layered roofing systems requiring a complete tear-off that can show potential moisture laden sub-sheathing or decking.

Ed

InspectorD · 07-15-2008, 09:49 PM

Sloped roofs are a bit more problematical. The water doesn't stay where it came in but runs down slope until it hits something that stops it or allows it to enter the structure. Kind of like looking for a pipe leak above drywall. The water will run along the surface until it hits a seam then drip into the room. I've done this many times when I was a plumber up in Lake Tahoe in the Sierras. The leak was rarely where it finally popped out. I made a lot of work for drywall repair guys. LOL
For flat roof systems, it's an established method. Enough so that it has an ASTM standard on how it's done. It is mostly done at night. It's done by direct walk on inspection or by aerial scanning from a Heilo or small plane on the very large structures. When done by air fly-over, the scans are matched to CAD drawings of the footprint and overlayed on a digital photo so the areas in questions can be scaled out, measured and identified by repair people.

I typically charge $.05 per square foot for a walk on scan. 20K sqft = $1000. A lot of money you say? How much can you save by identifying the saturated areas and only repairing those as opposed to doing a full recover or tearoff? Pays for itself. The roofers I work with out here love it.
they can look like heros to their customers and word of mouth gets them tons more business. On the conservation side, it's tons less good roof in the landfill.
Dana

CO2Solutions · 07-15-2008, 10:18 PM

I've seen a couple demos for FLIR thermal imaging cameras, quite amazing! and like you mentioned, they are beginning to become more affordable---I believe you can get them(basic models) for around $7000 now. I just do enough mold inspections to warrant it - but for home inspectors it opens the doors for other types of work.

InspectorD · 07-15-2008, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CO2Solutions

I've seen a couple demos for FLIR thermal imaging cameras, quite amazing! and like you mentioned, they are beginning to become more affordable---I believe you can get them(basic models) for around $7000 now. I just do enough mold inspections to warrant it - but for home inspectors it opens the doors for other types of work.

IMHO (and others) using a Thermal Imager far exceeds the typical SoPs of most inspection organizations. I have been known to use it for "show and tell" to amaze the Realtors but do not actually do any scanning during a HI. I give them my separate business card to Thermal-Diagnostics and have them call for a separate inspection with the imager. See my links in the sig.

thom · 07-17-2008, 11:33 AM

Are you suggesting that I go out and check a roof for leaks and while I'm there I do a breast exam on the owner?

InspectorD · 07-17-2008, 12:14 PM

Sure, If they will let you!

I'm going to get a T-shirt that says "I'm not a Gynecologist, but I'll take a look"

Quote:

Originally Posted by thom

Are you suggesting that I go out and check a roof for leaks and while I'm there I do a breast exam on the owner?

Aiken Colon · 11-15-2008, 12:07 AM

Older thread, but here is a video from the Fluke site that also shows a little more what you can do with one of these. The technology is getting better pretty much day by day. The price on these has come down to where they are affordable now, and in a couple years you will see units for less than 1k. Heck in 6 years you will be taking goofy pictures of your buddies through your new I Phone with a thermal camera in it.

http://assets.fluke.com/cw/ChipWade_Player6.html

JJ

parts · 01-28-2009, 06:43 PM

Cheap ones are still over $5000 that's a lot for a small company like mine a grand I could do so I'll wait a bit longer

Aiken Colon · 02-05-2009, 08:37 PM

The cheap units do not really do your application very well. It requires higher thermal sensitivity. In order to see missing insulation, insulation sags, energy (heat & air) loss, moisture, etc it is highly recommended to go with a thermal sensitivy of <.08C or greater (lower is better). Those units start at 7k and go up. Most companies, including large ones usually lease something like thermal imagers with a buyout at the end of the lease ($1). The marketing value of thermal imagers is actually worth more than the tool itself, and that is why most contractors get in to thermal imaging more than any other reason.

JJ