so my first thoughts when reading the forum are that i thought and it is implied that you will be able to use and advertise as a infared thermographer with the internatchi logo. Now i’m being told its just a primer? Why wouldnt you be transparent and say that? After watching the 3 hour video? i would have jumped in another course if i knew thats what i had to do. so which is it?
Attached photo of a moisture issue discovered around a wall-mounted A/C unit, using infrared camera. Notice the moisture around the power outlet and in the carpet. Not only is this area potentially a spot for mold but also electric shock. The moisture is coming from condensation on the A/C coil that is not properly draining due to inadequate sloping of the unit, causing it to run down the wall.
Air sealing and insulating are two of the ways to reduce energy use and to make your home more comfortable. Using an infrared camera to find air leaks and areas of inadequate insulation will allow you to find areas normally missed during visual inspections but also give a visual to support your claim regarding location air leaks.
Using a blower door pulling the home to negative pressure along with using an infrared camera will amplify the leaks allowing you to detect even subtle leaks. The blower door can also be used to pressurize the home allowing you to find leaks from the conditioned space to the attic with the infrared camera.
Writing Assignment
Article - IR Cameras: Electrical Inspections
Using an IR camera as part of inspecting an electrical system has the advantages of being safe because there’s no contact involved and nonintrusive as it does not require a power interruption. The IR camera can detect several things including hot or loose connections; overloaded wires, circuits, transformers and motors as well as acing. The circuits should be compared to other circuits under similar load to determine if there is a heat differential. The IR inspection allows to detect potential problems before they become serious or cause damage or potentially a fire.
Article - IR Camera: Inspecting for Moisture Intrusion
IR Cameras have many advantages with the most important being it allows you pick out issues not visible to the naked eye and examine areas difficult to reach or unsanitary. It is especially useful in “high risk” areas such as basement walls, around toilets and the ceilings in areas with bathrooms on the floor directly above. It is important before starting the inspection to become familiar with the building layout. Any moisture detected with the IR Camera needs to be confirmed with a moisture meter. The images must be accurately interpreted which comes with training and experience.
Performing of visual check of the temperature of 20 amp.service panel breaker switches, and comparing the average temperature of those with the same amperage while under a similar load. The temperature range did not vacillate more than .5 to 1 degree.
Finishing with the Infrared training and look forward to doing this with the dead front removed and “seeing” the difference.
Jon Birkett
My picture WAS right side up when I attached.
IR Cameras: Inspecting Roofs:
I found interesting how you may posses the proper tools like an ir camera, however the weather conditions and daylight and cloudiness come into play with the slower heating and cooling of the roof system. Example not being able to notice water build up when hot and sunny all parts are warm.
IR Cameras: Electrical Inspections:
Good to understand that when viewing IR thermography in reference to electric systems and the service panel how sometimes it will be normal for hot readings on components to appear as if it could be an issue. Or how until there is a load on the breaker is there differential is reading.
Logging in
This picture is a good example of failing sealant around the air conditioning Freon lines exiting the outer wall of a home. This is a good example of routine maintenance that gets overlooked by most home owners. This along with resealing roof penetrations is something that should be addressed every 1-3 years to ensure sealing against water penetration into the home.
v/r
karl
Karl Eichholtz
Oakwood Home Inspections
www.oakwoodhi.com
Inspection and Writing Assignment
Rear Door
Rear Door has air and water leakage. Carpet at rear door has a high moisture content and door trim has swell up and detached from door due to water intrusion. Recommend a qualified professional contractor do further investigation as to source of water intrusion and repair.
Reading and Writing Assignment
IR Cameras: An Overview for Inspectors
Article cover history, usage and advantages of using Infrared cameras in inspections as well as shortfalls of the individual using it as they have to know what they are looking at and be able to inturpet it. Being able to measure temperature differences in this manner allows quick evaluation of large areas and should insure a more through inspection.
IR Cameras: Inspecting for Air Leaks
How It works, What to do before the inspection, setting up for a thermal imaging inspection, finding insulation defects, locating air leaks, and areas to check. Also has a good graph showing where most ar leaking occurs in a building.
Inspection and Writing Assignment;
Gentlemen; We are an Asbestos and Mould remediation company operating in southern Ontario in Canada. I think the IR course so far is great and will really help us finding water intrusion problems. We had a mould call in a row of townhouses because a tenant had mould growing on his lower wall. After cutting through his drywall and the center set of drywall, we realized that the neighbors drywall was the worst. After contacting the neighbor, we realized his furnace was there. While removing the furnace we saw that his AC drip tray was plugged and he had major water damage/mould in the small furnace area. It ended up being a very expensive repair because he did not perform routine maintenance on his HVAC.
To whom it my concern I chuck reney am starting this course .
Reading and Writing Assignment;
Bathroom Ventilation Fans:
This was a very good article about how bathroom fans and ducts should be installed. I have performed a lot of mould jobs in bathrooms and until now did not realize everything was installed improperly. I have seen fans that are not caulked around ceiling and ducts that went straight up to the roof. This would explain why tenants were complaining about water dripping from fans. Because of the condensation running down the inside of the ductwork.
Asbestos:
What was deemed the perfect insulation for its time. It is everywhere. You were born in a hospital covered with asbestos, went to school in a building covered in it. It is in most homes built here in Canada up to around 1986.
It was used in the movie “The Wizard of Oz” as snow. You could buy it as fake snow for your windows in the 70’s. Now you can still find aerocell around heating pipes and crysotile around the elbows. Floor vents, wall vents and some ductwork still has ACM wrapped around it. In Ontario, Canada, every building that is rented out must have an Asbestos Survey and Management Plan. However this is not communicated to people from the government so they are very surprised when we tell them about the extra costs that will be incurred. Samples taken of drywall joint compound, plaster, linoleum, floor tiles and vermiculite in the attic all add up in cost.
This is the submission for the Inspection & Writing Assignment for the Infrared Thermography Inspection Training Cousre. There is a technical issue in uploading the image per Tanya Nascimento and I’m just to do the text.
Imagine the picture of a standard toilet here.
The toilet is an Eljer brand low water usage toilet, located in the master bedroom ensuite. There is no apparent damage or flaws in the visible parts of the toilet. There are no signs of past or on going leakage from the supply plumbing or around the toilet or on the ceiling in the room below. The toilet operated normally when flushed. No apparent deficiencies noted.
For this module I inspected my attic hatch and the toilet with my Flir One camera. The attic picture was observed displaying cooler air coming from the attic hatch. This makes sense as the temperature outside is about 20 degrees cooler, therefore, the delta T is high enough to discern the difference. In the second picture I took an image of the toilet using the black/white setting. There was no color variance around the toilet.
For the reading and writing portion of this module I chose the following two articles:
Thermal Imaging Reports
Since this class is about thermal imaging, I thought it was appropriate to use this topic for the reading and writing portion of this module. This article was very helpful in clarifying what can and cannot be seen with an IR camera. I used the information in my website in fact. I’m looking forward to implementing this new service in my business. One particular thing I would like to mention in regards to the article is the idea of scheduling a re-inspection once repairs are completed. This is a great idea and an easy source of revenue.
Moisture Meters for Inspectors
Again, going with the theme of thermal imaging, moisture meters are a big part of verifying findings. At the moment I carry a pin-type moisture meter. I haven’t found the need yet to use a pin-less or search mode type water meter. While the article points out that having both, even in the same device, is preferable I can’t see spending the extra money at the moment to get such a device. The one instance mentioned in the article with regards to the toilet, I would probably use my IR camera to detect the moisture and comment accordingly. If I wasn’t able to confirm with a moisture meter, I would notate that in the report.
Inspection and writing assignment
Its was noted in the master bathroom (2nd floor), at the initial time of the inspection, that the connector for the cold water supply to the faucet was disconnected and the stop valve was slightly opened (inducing a steady flow of water). The stop valve was also steadily leaking at its shut-off and compression joint (regardless of being shut-off - loss of seal). The cabinet decking and adjacent surfaces (side panels) were warped and bubbled due to the condition. According to Thermal Imaging, moisture was visible to the ceiling and walls within the laundry area, kitchen and living rooms (first floor). Moisture was also present to the baseboard, walls and flooring within the master bathroom (adjacent), with moisture content being confirmed by the additional use of a moisture meter to all accessible areas. Recommend further evaluations and proper repairs be performed by a qualified professional contractor to inspect and correct the extent of any and all issues that may be present to the affected areas (due to the condition) [protect against mold growth, degradation of materials, pests, etc…].
Michael Petras
Absolute Inspection Services, LLC.
Reading and writing portions:
The two articles I have chosen are:
IR Camera - Electrical inspections:
Although very vague in what sets wiring and breakers out of range from ambient temperature (above the realm to call out) [or shall I say apparent temperature differences], it was awesome to know that a side-by side comparison of a properly functioning components to a similar one that is not operating correctly is a good way to present clear documentation without exceeding InterNACHI’s SOP (depending on load, amp, wiring, OCPD rating, etc… i’m assuming - so again, details on range?).
IR Camera - Inspecting roof
Wonderful article and definitely something I wish to incorporate into my business. Good to know that the wet areas of low sloped roof surfaces (depending visibility due to materials installed) release heat slower than dry. Like how the article sets parameters for best weather conditions; winds of less than 15 mph, sunny and clear condition on the day prior and a quick decrease in the ambient temperature right before colleting images.
Michael Petras
Absolute Inspection Services, LLC.