A Day in the Life of a Thermographer: Part II

Last week I began the series A Day in the Life of a Thermographer. If you recall, I was in Myrtle Beach getting ready to do a commercial roof scan as part of a Real Estate Due Diligence Infrared effort for a local hotel. After a few Mai Tais and a couple of hours on the beach (just kidding honey!) it was time to start. Actually, to tell the truth - I didn't have time for any of that because you have to start fairly early. Let me explain how roof scanning works so you have an idea.

Infrared scanning measures temperature change and differentials. A surface that is dry will cool faster than a surface that is wet. This means I have to take a couple of different measurements so I can compare the rates of cooling to see where the moisture is entrained.

But Brian, you're saying - it just gets hot during the day at Myrtle Beach - how can you track if the roof is getting cooler?

Great question - which is why I have to take thermal images both during the day to measure temperature and then into the night as the heat from the day is released. We started at approximately 6pm when the sun was still bright and shining on the roof surface. I measured the temperature drop until about 9:30 pm, well after the sun went down and the roof surface temperature stabilized. We started at about 120 degrees Fahrenheit (and yes, it was VERY hot) and measure the temperature drop about 40 degrees.

 I've written before about the likely areas where moisture can get into a roof. We paid special attention to those places, especially the flashing, any equipment penetration and heavy traffic areas. Since the roof was covered with gravel, I also moved various areas of gravel were moved to verify what I found.

Here's a "before" and "after" thermal image so you can see what I mean.

Pretty cool to see the temperature changes as the sun goes down.

 But if you remember - we had a whole building to scan as one part of this Real Estate Due Diligence project. What else did I do?
When was the last time you checked what was going on behind the walls? Want more information? Call me at 803-328-2889 or drop me an email!

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