There is a serious danger in CO. You should make sure to have CO detectors install at your clients home, not just because it is a requirement.
When CO is inhaled, it displaces the oxygen that would ordinarily bind with hemoglobin, a process the effectively suffocates the body. CO can poison slowly over a period of several hours, even in low concentrations. Sensitive organs, such as the brain, heart and lungs, suffer the most from a lack of oxygen.
In this photo we have a fully equipped kitchen drain system. No problems were found. With the use of infrared thermal imagine, a view of possible wet conditions behind and beneath the cabinetry can be observed. This comes as a great advantage for the inspector and client.
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The photo shows the heat exhaust and moisture transfer at the walls. The owner had just boiled water for tea. The second photo shows De-lamination of the upper cabinets protective layer to the precast MDF(medium density fiberboard) board door, above the stove, at the base of the door. It is suspected the heat exhaust concentrates on the door directly when the ductless exhaust fan expels heat exhaust directly at the base of the doors from the exhaust termination vents and causing the base of the door to De-laminate over time as seen in the 3rd photo.
My analysis was of an illustration labeled House, Uploaded September 26, 2011. The photo was relevant to the topic at hand in regards to energy loss and thermal imaging. Since the home as a hole encompasses the vast majority of components, to which play independent and collective roles in energy loss/gain, I found the illustration fitting for this topic.
This picture from my dining room shows an area where insulation is missing. The outside temperature was 85 degrees when with this was taken. The air conditioner was running, bringing the indoor temp down to around 74 degrees. Further investigation in the attic revealed an area where insulation had been compressed and removed near the soffit.
IR Cameras: Electrical Inspections
In this article Nick and Ethan discuss one of the best applications of the IR Camera in home inspecting, identifying electrical issues. The IR camera is particularly useful for this because it allows the inspector to preemptively detect what will likely become a major safety problem. An excessively hot or overloaded circuit represents a potential fire hazard, but may not show signs of overheating for quite a while. The IR camera being used by a qualified inspector reveals these issues much sooner.
I currently don’t have a camera yet but have been working with another inspector who uses one on a regular basis. So I thought I would get some on training on this site as well as on the job training. This is a photo of an electrical panel under load that appeared to be functioning properly.
Aluminum Siding Inspection
I did not know aluminum siding has been around since the 1940’s being used on home. I do not see much of it in my area. I have run across it on a few occasions in some of the older home. I did notice that on the home that had it installed were pretty banged up with a lot of dents. I guess it served its purpose of not getting brittle over time and keeping the structure dry as it was intended to unlike the vinyl siding of today, whereas all it takes is a weed eater to cut a hole in it or a rock being thrown from a lawn mower to punch a pretty good size hole in it.
The thermal image I took is of a dining room near a light fixture. There was evidence of moisture on the ceiling in the thermal image. I confirmed the image with a moisture meter with a reading of 34 percent. There is no plumbing leak in the washroom above, but the grout has not been sealed in a significant time according to the home owner who had just had a shower. This is the most likely reason for the water entry.
The article I read was, “Condensation Inspection”. This article is great because the entire building envelope could be contributing to material condensation including but not limited to air intrusion. Thermal imaging can not only help diagnose where possible condensation has caused material degradation, but also help come up with why along with knowledge of the building envelope.
The photo is of an electrical panel using thermal imaging. There is an apparent hot spot in the panel. The temperature is over 110 degrees. I would recommend this panel be further evaluated by a licensed electrician. There were other deficiencies in the panel that contributed to that recommendation, such as no dead front, no main shut off breaker with more than 6 individual breakers, and double lugging.
I read the article Thermal Imaging Reports. It discusses what to put in reports and why. It discusses how to market thermal imaging. Your clients should understand what can and cant be done with thermal imaging. Explaining the capabilities is necessary in order to ensure that clients have an understanding and have the proper expectations.
This is a thermal image of attic pull down stairs. The stairs were uninsulated while the the attic was insulated quite well. There is a stark difference in the temperature on this sunny 85-degree day.
Article: IR Cameras: Inspecting Roofs
The article was full of good information. We use IR cameras and it was nice to brush up on where and when IR is effective and where we can get false readings. Attic and roof heat loss is a major factor up here in the great white north.
This image was acquired using a FLIR E8. We can see that there is something causing a power wire going across several receptacles and a switch to get a little warm, there was nothing operating on that circuit at that time. We discovered that just outside the back door seen here in the image was a outdoor receptacle that had clearly had a short. I recommended the client get a qualified electrician to take a look at it.
An Introduction to Foreclosures is a very informative piece of information. I had absolutely no idea it was so easy to forclose on a home or property, I do now. I can see that it is like most contracts, you need to ensure you take your time to read the fine print.
This is a thermal image of electric panel. In this pic the yellow part shows which brackets and wires are under load.
With this course we get good understanding of which factors effects the building. And how we can prevent the building from these factors. And we can check others component of building with thermal image if there is anything wrong with it.
This picture I have found online is one the best representation of what the thermal camera can actually do. There is a clear cold spot in the window opening in the contrast the rest of the house. I would assume it’s either very hot inside, or the window is a poor quality.
