Dallas Inspector finds shower leaks using Infrared Thermal Imaging

[kweiss]

More examples of the power of infrared.

Noticed the moisture in the door trim immediately on initial scan when shower had just been turned on for testing. Confirmed moisture in the trim with moisture meter. Location was unusual in my experience - I have found other leaks in this development - and was subtle.

But it was enough to cause me to Spend extra time investigating the shower. Let the shower run for a while aimed in different areas of the shower seat. That produced the second and third pictures - these confirmed/prove leakage as water was visible on floor, in addition to being visible behind tile to the infrared.

[John McKenna]

Very Nice.

[Jeffery L. Haynes]

Nice find Kevin..........

Many custom showers are installed improperly, I make it a habit to turn the water on and let it run for about 15 minutes prior to inspecting same......I do the same with whirlpools and garden tubs before going under crawlspaces.......most of the time I find small leaks which typically would be undetected......infrared is great....... good inspecting habits are even better, doing both is CYA.

Again, nice job.

[ldapkus]

I found one today.

[William J. Decker]

Here is a little trick I use, when scanning.

a) Turn on all the bathroom vent fans and the range hood and the dryer to air fluff. This produces negative pressure in the house and makes air leaks more visable.
b) Rub every water fixture (shower, tub, basins, sinks, etc) with hot water. If there are any leaks, they will show up as hot, which is easier to see with IR as an anomoly. Let it run for awhile (usually, while I do the kitchen appliances). Also good for separating defects (drain and pan leaks vs. roof leaks).
c) always check tile shower enclosures with a deep probimg moisture meter. Especially check aroun the fixtures (under them). Now I will be adding exterior corners of the tile construction, based upon these pictures.

Hope this helps;

[jbettencourt]

That is a nice job! I did an inspetion with Thermal Imaging add on yesterday, but I didn't need the camera to catch this one. When we walked in the basement bathroom I mentioned that tile showers are notorious for leaking when not properly built or maintained and that I had my suspisions about this one. We walked into the storage room next to the bathroom, moved a couple empty boxes and found this.

[kweiss]

It was a good leak week - or bad depending on your perspective. Found two more yesterday (the IR was icing as they leaked visibly) and one today. Today I spent the day in a development I have worked in a lot JUST doing Shower Moisture checks. Checked 6 and found one leaking. Was a good day.

[Michael Roberson]

I did an inspection for a client that was worried about an old water stain on the wall. I was able to conclude that there was no longer a leak. The date on the toilet next to the stain, showed it was less than a year old. Judging by Infrared, the lack of surface rust on the shutoff, and supply line, I determined that the leak was the Old toilet, and had already been replaced. Client was happy.

[Bryce W. Jeffrey]

Kevin:

I would be interested in knowing what type of camera you are using. Those pictures are very good.

Regards:
Bryce

[kweiss]

They were taken with a Fluke TiR1. I have been very happy with the photo quality of the TiR1.

[Bryce W. Jeffrey]

Kevin:

Thank you.