Thermal Imaging vs The Naked Eye

[Jeffrey R. Pope]

Moisture does not always appear as "dark spots."

These are from today. . .

[Michael W. Gault]

That moisture is however 'warmer' than the surrounding Sheetrock and covering.

It it had been 'cooler' it would have been dark...


It's the observation of the anomaly and verification by an independent inspection of the area that says it's 'moisture'... I'm slow but learning.

[Jeffrey R. Pope]

Yep.

[whandley]

Originally Posted by jmckenna1

In picture 2, the darker areas running down the wall, on the upper left,
are moisture problems. The very dark spot on the lower right is also moisture.

None of this could be seen with the naked eye.

This house was cooled with AC that day... so images that show some
bright areas would indicate something warm... like missing insulation
causing the wall to heat up. See picture 3.

Ok, so the FLIR camera shows surface temps. Do you then use your trusty old moisture meter to see if actual moisture is present as opposed to maybe a central air duct leak which is just discharging cooler air into the inaccessible area?

For example, we find ac evaporater and or plenum leaks with cold air being discharged into the FAU enclosure. However no moiture is present even though the enclosure is extremely cool.

Thanks for the information,

Very interesting...

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

John, are you shooting every room in the home? Every exterior wall? If so, and if you then have to analyze a large number of IR photos it almost sounds like a separate inspection. How much time does it add to your inspections?

[ldapkus]

What you see is real time imaging of what you target. You don't take photos to analyze down the road. You need to follow up at this time with moisture detection devices and other analysis to back you up. Training, training, training.

[William J. Decker]

Permission to steal these inages for educational (non-profit) purposes, John?



PLEASEEEEEE!!! They are really good, you old codger, you. Way to get subtle!

[John McKenna]

Anyone can have these photos and IR images.

And... yes, you find the moisture... test it with the moisture meter
and move on. The IR image is inserted into the report in order to
document the location of the problem... that's it.

I scan every room in the house and a limited amount outside,
depending on the location of the sun. 80% of your major
moisture penetration problems are going to be found inside.

The exterior has some limitations based on the time of day,
but I am not as worried about the outside as much, because
I still do my regular inspection to all areas.

The IR camera has limitations and is not a silver bullet.
If you know your limitations and communicate these to
your client, then everyone will be on the same page.

[William J. Decker]

Originally Posted by jmckenna1

Anyone can have these photos and IR images.

And... yes, you find the moisture... test it with the moisture meter
and move on. The IR image is inserted into the report in order to
document the location of the problem... that's it.

I scan every room in the house and a limited amount outside,
depending on the location of the sun. 80% of your major
moisture penetration problems are going to be found inside.

The exterior has some limitations based on the time of day,
but I am not as worried about the outside as much, because
I still do my regular inspection to all areas.

The IR camera has limitations and is not a silver bullet.
If you know your limitations and communicate these to
your client, then everyone will be on the same page.

Well said.

[William J. Decker]

Originally Posted by ldapkus

What you see is real time imaging of what you target. You don't take photos to analyze down the road. You need to follow up at this time with moisture detection devices and other analysis to back you up. Training, training, training.

Also well said.

I would add.

More emphesis on the training abd less on the increased fees.

If you focus on the first, the second will come,easily.

Hope this helps;

[gporter]

Always always great info.

[Jeffrey R. Pope]

Originally Posted by whandley

For example, we find ac evaporater and or plenum leaks with cold air being discharged into the FAU enclosure. However no moiture is present even though the enclosure is extremely cool.

You also have to consider the area you're looking at. Many areas are more likely to be moisture of sorts, rather than air, and visa-versa.

[whandley]

Hey Jeff;

Any estimate of the field inspection time being added to your normal inspection as a result of using the IF camera.

[William J. Decker]

Originally Posted by whandley

Hey Jeff;

Any estimate of the field inspection time being added to your normal inspection as a result of using the IF camera.

For me, it's about 15 minutes or so.

[David A. Andersen]

Hey Jeff;

Any estimate of the field inspection time being added to your normal inspection as a result of using the IF camera.

I'm not Jeff, but I find that the camera can add and delete some inspection time depending upon what you find. As with everything else in the inspection world, once find a situation you have to stop and go get some other equipment or go back upstairs or crawl back under the crawlspace, all of which takes additional time. The main thing is that with the camera you find more things, so there's more things to investigate further and report about. This all takes time.

The average infrared service is about $330 (without a home inspection).
If the client is paying $330 for an inspection you're going to have to spend several hours scanning and an hour or two of scan evaluation and reporting.

Now, if you're using your camera to assess a visual observation that you have made and your only focusing on the inside and outside of one particular place, your fees are much less (maybe $100), and it may take you an extra hour for scans and reporting.

You'll save time in assessing electromechanical components such as circuit breaker panels, pumps and motors, air distribution from HVAC air ducts, electric water heaters, drain blockage in exposed pipe etc.

The camera basically becomes nothing more than a flashlight. You set the camera to scan and just walk around the house turning on the lights and whatever else you normally do to get started in your inspection. If you miss those suttel temperature differences associated with condensation/or very minor moisture issues, it really doesn't matter, if your client hasn't paid for an IR inspection you wouldn't have found the leak anyway.

This is where it's important not to even mention the use of IR equipment. You're using the equipment for you, not the client. If the client doesn't pay and they see me using the camera, I advised them that I am using the equipment only for protection of my own personal liability. Often they will want to know if you found anything. That's when you sell the IR program.