Critiqe My IR Report

What recommendations should be suggested to the clients concerning remediation?

Thermal imaging is still a nonintrusive inspection. However, we are generally doing it for the home or property owner and they can give us permission to do intrusive inspection. This is when I start pulling out the bore scopes and Saws-All ! :slight_smile:

This is all about more money guys!
For those that are interested in getting away from the home inspection part of thermology, our bag of tools may need to change a little bit.

I suggest possibilities of what the thermal anomaly depicts. We must evaluate how extensive or important the condition is to the owner and how they want to proceed from here. If the owner is going to take definitive action on your thermal report knocking a hole in the wall with a hammer is not beyond possibility!

This is a point to consider. Is our interpretation of the thermal scan accurate enough for you to pick up a hammer and knock a hole in the wall to see what’s going on? That’s what you are recommending someone else to do! This is the importance of accurate interpretation. This is why we need to justify even considering a thermal anomaly for mediation. This is the problem I have with energy audit inspections. When you have a roof leak you see it in the thermal image. It takes you to where water is entering the structure. You go there and see a roofing deficiency and recommend a repair. Getting into thermal efficiency is a whole new ball of wax. We need to visualize, or better yet conceptualize heat transfer. It is similar to a fluid. Air is a fluid like water and has similar properties. If we can visualize air movement as water movement we can also visualize heat movement as air movement. This will come with experience.

Thanks for posting your sample report Dave. I like the lay out which is similar to what I created in a Word document.

As other have indicated about the insulation issues… It’s amazing what we can “see” with an infrared camera. Often it can become overwhelming or seem to be quite alarming what we are viewing when in reality a minor lifting of the batt can create a large area of “cold” spot on the wall.
2 of the things I was taught was that corners will 99% of the time appear problematic (hot or cold compared to the wall surface) simply because of construction. These areas should be ignored. 2nd that when discovering missing or marginal insulation a quick mathematical comparison of the overall room area affected will help you explain to the client whether the issue is significant or not. 3/4 of a wall missing insulation is significant. 10% of an entire room is not so significant and correcting the issue may not be financially feasible or justified… but the decision is entirely the client’s to make.
Although your pictures do indicate a “sloppy” job of installing insulation, I propose that as compared to the overall insulation, this is in fact a minor issue.

I find the difficulty in reporting infrared findings is the ability to explain to the client what is and is not a huge issue. They see a section of a stud cavity which is cooler than the rest of the wall and tend to freak out claiming “none of my walls are insulated”. I try to quell their mindset by indicating that infrared images can often appear to exaggerate the condition. Interpreting the images can only be performed by a qualified individual.

I’d be happy to post one of my samples here or in another thread for critique and learning as well. I think this is a great idea to help each other out!:slight_smile:

Thanks for the post David, agree with Cookie, learning alot . . . since I’m learning with others, why black and white over color? Maybe this is not the place to ask the question, but that’s what stood out to me as I quickly glanced over your report. Layout looked good, agree with David Andersons post #21.

When it comes to the junction of the ceiling/wall, think of it this way; the majority of homes have ventilation at the soffit. It is imperative that this ventilation not be blocked by insulation. Baffles are installed to keep the insulation out of the path of ventilation. Can we install R-26 insulation at the eve? No. There’s no room for both insulation and ventilation. So inevitably we are going to see the cooler spot at the ceiling/wall. If we compress the insulation we get a cold spot. If the insulation is not as thick at the eaves as it is a the rest of the attic floor it will show up as a temperature differential. Ventilation air is going to be colder at the eve than the rest of the attic because it is the point of entry.

The thing to look for it is consistent temperature variation across the ceiling juncture. If you see erattic anomalies reaching far into the room you may have a concern.

Accessibility has a lot to do with what should be mediated. Insignificant deficiencies which can be easily accessed 2 feet from the pull down attic stairs (or the attic stairs themselves) should be corrected. However, those that require removing sheet rock should be more closely scrutinized.

If you don’t have access to the deficiency, you can not very well recommend anything beyond further investigation anyway.

The black & white images were taken previously to taking Level 1 with minimum experience. Also, I decided to keep the different colors just to use as a sample, so everyone can see the difference.

Report looks good.

Needs introduction to explain Thermography and its limitations.

You state something about boring black and white photos. For me working in grayscale gives the best focus and quick to see defects. Once the picture is snapped you can change the palette for the most dramatic effect. Thermal tuning the picture is also very helpful to bring out the defect. My reports use many palettes.

Appears to be inadequately installed, compressed or missing insulation.

Needs a summary.

I know this is a sample report however get used to producing REAL reports all the time, be it for your brother or that multi-million dollare law firm.

Go into Dual-View and change the date from 2006 to 2008

Chuck

In my report, the outside ceiling area (in question) is not the attic area where the ventilation is installed. It’s the one foot cantilever that I have from 1st floor to second floor. 2nd Floor cantilevers out (front and rear) wider than first floor. No ventilation is required there. See the image on my cover page. But I can definitely see your point if this were the attic ceiling.

Chuck,

As I stated earlier…

As for the 2006 date, that date is not able to be revised. That is the copyright date.

It is the copyright date.

Yet you might want to ask Palm-Tech if it can be updated to make you report more Professional and up to date looking.

Chuck

Chuck,

Copyright dates can not be revised. That is intended to stand out as it is the date of the software design.

It doesn’t bother me.

I agree. Use what is best for the situation.
You keep saying these were first time pics. They are often the best! Focus is critical (not an issue in your report). Everything else you can deal with with software.

I was watching for that from your page #1. I know. I was working the point from the attic scenario.

David, Did I tell you I **LOVE **your aviator?

That has got to be the Best! I think you can give Nick some help! :slight_smile:

Thanks, Dave.

I’ve given Nick plenty of help in the past, and will continue to assist anytime he needs it, and he’s aware of it.

Thru software all the info can be removed from the photos. It is quite easy to do.

Chuck

On Page 9 of the report I am confused. Air coming in is shown like sharp lines, insulation missing is usually squared off, so the only other option I would go with is moisture.

Your feedback please. I am just starting this as well.

Thanks
Lawrence Olsen
Universal Inspections

Yes, text can be removed if you would like the IR picture with no text. You do this through the camera or QuickView software program.

But, keep in mind, having the temperature scale embedded in the IR image explains everything.

Lawrence,

This is my 8 y/o house, no moisture issues there. It’s simply missing lots of insulation. Shoddy installation of insulation throughout my entire first floor and finished attic, which I did not include. I kept this report to a minimum.

If this weren’t my house (and I were viewing this IR picture), I’d think it was a moisture issue also, but it would have been confirmed with a moisture meter.

Thanks for this David it , The question and aswers have made me look at things differently.
Thanks to all ,for your thoughts.
It is great to see and hope others do the same in the future .
…Cookie

Not a problem, Roy.

Anytime.

I’m hoping there are other IR reports posted here, so we can learn even more.

Any volunteers? PLEASE…

How do you uplaod a report over 256KB?