Certified Thermographer

John:
ITC which is the training arm of FLIR conducts a Certified Infrared Thermographer, (Building Sciences), which is directly related to locating and identification of building defects resulting from water incursion. The course I took was 40 hours residence and I took it in Orlando, FL. They schedule classes all over the US.

This class is not a level I class. It starts the first day with the physics of building construction. In my class were Disney and Universal Industrial Hygienest who were having difficulty convincing Corporate that they needed to change the interiors of their Hotels to products that were not mold friendly. The took back to their bosses a knowledge base that ultimately forced the decision to remove things like wall paper and other products that were high in cellulose and nitrogen. They learned that most Hotels HVAC systems product cold but damp air. This provides the moisture on products high in cellulose and nitrogen to start mold colonization on those products. We had assignments every night and after the second day, it was less physics and more practical applications.

The real problem is how do you intigrate IR into a Home Inspection. Well it’s the same way you would intigrate Indoor Air Quality. You have to sell it to the client on the basis that the use of IR will assist in locating potential problem areas and complement it witht he results of the Indoor Air Qualilty Testing. Now you reports will be quite robust and impressive.

The average charge for IR was quoted to us at $175.00 per hour. The software helps present your images or if you are computer savy, you can design your own templates. The images allow you to import lables and the camera time/date stamps the image. Great if you have to testify as an expert witness. I have done several depositions and the first thing they want to see is your ITC Certified Infared Thermographer ID Card.

Finding roofing defects, is tricky with IR. you can’t do it during the heat of the day. As the roof cools, defects begin to show their face as there becomes a separation in temperatures and based upon which pallet you are using, you can actually separate exterior layers from layers under the top which contain water pockets and shouldn’t. The real problem is that you have to have illumination so you don’t walk off the edge of the roof. For flat and pitched roofs we take a couple of light stands with Halogen lamps and that solves the walking of the edge problem. The best pallet is the white and black pallet where the white is normal and the black is cold and cold indicates traped water.

When using IR indoors, you should also complement the investigation with a penetration type moisture meter. Again, it you do depositions which pay 2 to 4 times as much per hour.

Now with the new IR Cameras, they are less expensive and have a normal digital black & white image showing you and your client what is in the area your are shooting. It’s like having two cameras in one. Your output should be easy for the client to relate to.

Bruce Sage
ITC Certified Infrared Thermographer
State of Florida, Certified Building, Electrical, Mechanical and Plumbing Inspector.

Bruce,

Good stuff.

For your flat roof inspections you might want to consider changing to LED type spot lights. They generate a ton less heat, which can also throw off false positives. I would also highly recommend backing up any findings with core samples and/or nuclear testing.

John…why were there level I, II and III people in your course you took at ITC? It seems to me they were already “certified” beyond the course material you were taking.

Jason Kaylor
VP of Specialty Products
AC Tool Supply
jason@aikencolon.com
877-207-1244

At the time, the level I, II, III people in our BS certification class were
mandated by their employers to take CE courses every year. There were
a lot less courses to choose from back then and when they heard about
FLIR-ITC presenting a course they had not taken before, they came over
to our BS class.

Also, some wanted to expand their marketing into the building side of
things, but after the class, they understood it was going require more
than they had anticipated to learn all the building systems and components
required to do a proper inspection. Building inspections cannot be learned in
a 3.5 day class.

Ditto.

Jason, you must remember that this was 4 1/2 years ago! Back when the Flir BCAM was “the” home inspection camera.

A lot has changed since then, but not John! :slight_smile:

Good suggestion about the LED lights.
More than the heat, reflection is the major issue due to the low angle of view present during roofing scans. (just to clarify for others, I know you know the heat is what causes the reflection) the further away you get from the lights, the more effect it has in your scans.

Personally I don’t recommend using detached lighting because they cast shadows and further deteriorate your night vision. I utilize a high-grade wide-angle LED headlight that illuminates about 10 feet around my feet so I can see before I walk into or off of something.

Also if I am doing a roof that can be easily walked off of, the client must supply a spotter or pay for me to bring along one. Nighttime work on a roof is a two-man job no matter how you look at it.

Bruce, just for the info: The Flir building science course is now a level I certification course as well. John’s building science instructor sat in on this course and told me about it. Still working out the bugs.

A little off topic, but for you guys that have this exact camera, with the NTSC (RCA jack) video out, it actually still sells well today.

The reason is, ghost hunters. Ghost hunters look for this exact camera due to the NTSC video out. NTSC video out is basically “live” infrared video. So do not sell your BCAM based on other camera prices with the same resolution, age, etc. They are worth more due to this niche industry that seeks out the BCAM.

We get calls for them all the time.

JJ

:-), :-), :-), :slight_smile:

John, did you go Fluke?

Jason, tell me about Ghost hunting with thermal imaging!

You can’t see air temp changes. What are they looking for?

I like FLUKE for home inspectors because they will not break when you drop them.

Butterfingers!

Strap it around your neck and it won’t drop.

Oh, that would get in the way with your “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up button”!?
:-0

I have seen FLIR camera’s break when dropped from less than 3 feet while still in a hard case with padding inside the case. It happens sometimes.

lol, got me. Out of my expertise. However, John might have a “certified GH” course for you, he has been haunting these parts forever.

JJ

Well John, 5 yrs ago I’ve seen a Flir Tech fling one across the floor and it still worked (that was before Fluke made that video).

I had a light bulb blowout when I turned it on last night! Oh my!
We have all had things break unexpectedly under less than adverse conditions.

I like the scene in the fall test where the battery comes out. Fluke camera used doesn’t have that problem because you can’t take out the battery…
Now that’s a desirable point! Have to stick your camera on the charger lock stock and barrel.

Let’s see, when I do my 140,000 ft.² roof inspection job this evening, should I bring a camera that I can drop off the building or might I want to be able to change batteries and get the job done before the sun comes up?!

I love how you promote the qualities of the thermal camera by its ability to be abused. There is no question that fluke makes most of its equipment to hang around in toolboxes and in harsh environments.

The point is, using equipment in harsh environments requires a camera capable of harsh environments. Other camera manufacturers have a whole list of special application cameras designed to withstand an environment where your fluke camera will melt into a lump of plastic. What’s the point?

Most of the home inspector’s out there that used to work in construction are in this job to get out of those harsh environments and backbreaking work. All of the professional thermographers I personally know from here have never commented to me how thrilled they were to have a thermal camera built like a Sherman tank because they can’t seem to hold onto it… :?:

Mine is better than yours… Because I can throw it around and not break it … :|.)