I was doing a draw inspection on a home this morning that was having spray foam insulation installed. I struck up a conversation with the builder who is also an insulation contractor and asked him if he would like a demonstration of the BCam to show him areas that he missed insulating. He was amazed at what he missed! We scheduled an appt. for next week when he’s done insulating to go over the spots he missed. He said his spray insulation business is starting to pick up with the increase in Green Building construction.
I just scanned a small area to get his attention. One area was around an electrical switch/junction box. The foam didn’t seal around the corners of the box very well.
So when an IR camera detects small voids in a wall from air bubbles, you expect him to do what ? We need to get real when detecting insulation defects.
I always let the small issues go… as I’m looking for huge voids.
I’m gonna point with my little red pointer and he’s gonna mark the areas with a can of spray paint. I don’t really care what he does. I’ll be on the clock. I will encourage him to take his time and get it right.
Your absolutely right, that’s his problem and by the sounds of it he is concerned and actually wants to take a pro-active approach. Good for him.
I am going to market to blown in insulation contractors or their clients because we all know that is not a perfect science and many obstacle can get in the way of a proper insulation job.
I did a scan for a client who had a second story addition built on his home and he was complaining that the upstairs was cold in different areas. A scan revealed areas of no insulation in the attic. The insulation contractor blew in the attic insulation while positioned at the attic hatch and didn’t bother to get into the attic and insulate on the other side of obstacles. He didn’t get any insulation behind ducts and the depths ranged from 4-12".
If the service is what the client wants and the inspector does it well and the client is satisfied with the quality and price, well isn’t that just good business?
It’s simple. He wants my service at $150/hr. No report to write. He’s happy. I’m happy. I get more referrals. I saw his need for my service and I have a new client. That’s how it works for me. I’ll scan dog houses or outhouses. It’s still $150/hr.
Maybe the client doesn’t know what he really needs. If he thinks he needs IR and really doesn’t know the field, its limitations, etc, should we be selling them the service. This is so new to the public…it looks like magic and xrays…seeing the invisible. Could sell it up north to scan igloos!!!
It’s being sold for “energy audits”…a good energy audit would include a furnace /HP/AC efficiency test, a blower door air leakage test, infrared (if exterior temps are favourable), a trained energy auditor and a good energy audit program that would help that the customer prioritize their energy conservation investments.
The client is a builder and insulation contractor. He installs Geo-thermal systems and has one in this home which he is building for himself. He knows what he wants. Energy audit on a home under construction?
