Large Thermal Job

Specific Inspection Topics Thermal Imaging, Infrared Cameras & Energy Audits
#1

If anyone has thoughts on handling an approximately 80000 SF (wall area) thermal job I’d love to hear them.

The building is a 4 story condo/hotel. About 10 years old experiencing major wall/window rot issues. Very bad detailing on siding and underlayment, flashing etc.

I’ve considered that a standard report won’t be all that useful. (I’m guessing over 2000 scans). So I’m thinking on a naming scheme that identifies location on the building and link all scans into a database so they can be accessed and show the surrounding scans (all above/below as well as to either side.)

Fortunately winter is coming and our night temps will make getting good delta T fairly straight forward.

I would love any feedback on surprises youi’ve encountered doing big jobs. So I can make new mistakes.

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#2

Are you just doing the exterior wall or the whole building? That thing looks a heck of a lot bigger than 80k sq ft, if it is all walls.

It looks like a hotel or condo complex of some sort at a ski resort. If that is the case I would simply break it down in to individual units and treat each unit as an individual job as far as reporting goes.

As far as a stumbling block I run in to with large structures is the shadows and reflections it creates upon itself. The picture shows what I would consider an ideal day to work in as far as the cloud cover goes. It looks overcast at least.

Are you just doing air loss? Or electrical, industrial gear, roof (sloped roofs are not optimum for IR), moisture, pests, etc?

JJ

#3

Donald,

Fly me out there and you and I can charge them by the hour.

Looks like a lot of fun scanning that building. The Delta T conditions are right around the corner.

I’m doing my second IR scan (this season) in the AM.

#4

Building about 750 feet long. 4 floors (call that 40 feet tall). So one wall has about 30000 sf of surface area. (very roughly). One end about 100 feet for another 4000. Other end about 400 for another 16000. So 80K of wall surface seems about right.

The issue is water damage to the wall structure. Both known and unknown. The idea at this point is to do a full thermal mapping to try and discover most issues. That will be done from the interior.

Also looking at the idea of trying to map the known issues so they can be better defined for repair (instead of ending up as time and materials which is always more costly)

One idea I had was to do the scans at night. More consistent Delta T with no chance of masking by solar issues. Easier to acquire as well since outside temps at that point will be in the low 40’s and perhaps lower. Also less annoyance/disturbance of and by hotel guests.

The individual condo units will be one way of identifying where the scans come from. But because these water issues extend the entire height of the structure I have to relate the scans to those above and below. Hence my thought for a naming scheme that uses a consistent reference so a scan from the 1st floor can be related to a scan on the floors above.

And yes it’s a ski resort with the lift just outside the back door. But my hope is to get this together so I can do the job after the leaves fall but before the snow does. That way I won’t be tripping over all the skiers.

#5

You might also want to do it under ideal moisture circumstances. IE after rain, humid day, make sure the entire plumbing system has been “circulated”, etc. Without knowing the source of the moisture you would probably want to allow any possibilities to present themselves.

So are you looking for moisture only in the exterior walls? If so, you might actually want them solar loaded. The exterior wall looks like brick, is that the case? What exposure are these walls (east/west/north/south)?

I am not trying to bring up a training thread by asking this next question, so all that want to attack it please refrain. What is your experience with flat roofs and exterior wall moisture penetration? What training do you have for IR?

JJ

#6

You don’t need a Delta T.

Evaporative cooling under a 0° delta will generally provide a 4° differential even at the same ambient temperature!

As Jason mentioned, you’re probably better off doing your testing when the most moisture is present.

Maybe you’re moisture intrusion is related to ice damning. This would require testing during the wintertime (under freezing conditions). But if you have water intrusion during summer rains, you probably won’t find it in the winter time.

Personally, I have no problem with making several trips to an inspection site to get a baseline under different conditions.

I’m sure the ski area would provide you with a lift ticket (at no cost) just to come on by!

#7

[quote=“dbelmont, post:4, topic:42556”]

Building about 750 feet long. 4 floors (call that 40 feet tall). So one wall has about 30000 sf of surface area. (very roughly). One end about 100 feet for another 4000. Other end about 400 for another 16000. So 80K of wall surface seems about right.
quote]

That’s the exterior walls only. Looks like you left out the interior wall area.