Real Estate Due Diligence Infrared Scanning - Part 4

I'm sure you've been waiting anxiously for the next installment of a Day in the Life of a Thermographer. So far I've showed how how I did a roof and building envelope thermal scan as part of a Real Estate Due Diligence Infrared specific transaction. This week I'll tell you what it all means.

The results from the roof and building scan were pretty good.  As a brief review, I began the thermal inspection while the sun was still heating the roof and building surfaces. I then watched the temperature drop over several areas so I could check for irregular and elevated temperatures in different areas of the roof and building (remember, if it has moisture, it cools down slower than dry areas).

I also noted any equipment because equipment (and the areas below equipment) will generally exhibit a hotter temperature. In other words, I can't compare the temperature of the roof surface to the temperature of an air conditioning unit; I have to compare the temperature of the roof surface to the same area on the roof surface as it cools, and likewise I have to compare any equipment to the same equipment.

There were no significant anomalies as the roof cool. However, I always recommend that areas however around the floor drains and roof mounted equipment be included in a regular maintenance program since they are very vulnerable.

The exterior wall system also showed very small temperature differentials as the surface cooled, indicating there no significant moisture entrainment in the sheathing areas. However, when I did a visual inspection, I did see some areas where the caulk was cracking. This means that even though moisture hadn't gotten in yet, maintenance should be done to make sure the integrity of the EIFS system remains intact.

So far so good, right? But wait until you hear what happened when I took a look at the mechanical and electrical systems.
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!

We believe so strongly in using Infrared Thermal Imaging for your Real Estate Due Diligence, that we created a Discount Membership for our repeat customers. Learn more about it here: http://www.irinfraredservices.com/PremierMember.html

IR Infrared Services provides top quality thermographic service at a competitive price to commercial and residential end users in North Carolina and South Carolina. For more information, visit www.irinfraredservices.com or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/infraredscans. We are proud to offer the very best thermography services in North and South Carolina!

Real Estate Due Diligence Infrared - Part 3

So I've been telling you about a commercial roof scan as part of a Real Estate Due Diligence Infrared project in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. (A Day in the Life of a Thermographer Part 1 and Part II).


I also had to scan the building itself. One challenge with EIFS (Exterior Insulation Finishing System) is that it is dependent upon proper installing. If flashing installing isn't properly installed around the windows, water can get in and pool, resulting is structural damage that you can't see until it becomes extensive, resulting in large repair bills.


This means I needed to "see" if water had penetrated below the surface or caulk and see if the wood underneath was soaked.

Just like scanning a roof, I needed to check the daytime heat of the sheathing and how it cooled down at night. Remember that a wet surface will take a longer time to cool - so if there were areas that cooled down at a different rate, we would know that moisture had gotten in.

View with infrared and without.

Of course, I took a lot more pictures than this, but this gives you an idea of what it looked like during the day and then at night with the thermal scan.


So far so good. Next week, I'll tell you results of what I found.


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!

We believe so strongly in using Infrared Thermal Imaging for your Real Estate Due Diligence, that we created a Discount Membership for our repeat customers. Learn more about it here: http://www.irinfraredservices.com/PremierMember.html

IR Infrared Services provides top quality thermographic service at a competitive price to commercial and residential end users in North Carolina and South Carolina. For more information, visit www.irinfraredservices.com or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/infraredscans. We are proud to offer the very best thermography services in North and South Carolina!

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!

We believe so strongly in using Infrared Thermal Imaging for your Real Estate Due Diligence, that we created a Discount Membership for our repeat customers. Learn more about it here: http://www.irinfraredservices.com/PremierMember.html

IR Infrared Services provides top quality thermographic service at a competitive price to commercial and residential end users in North Carolina and South Carolina. For more information, visit www.irinfraredservices.com or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/infraredscans. We are proud to offer the very best thermography services in North and South Carolina!