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.