In a new home construction, what are the pros and cons to shooting the home with the thermal imaging camera before or after the fiberglass batts are installed over the spray foam?
Are you going to use a blower door?
And
And
And welcome back to our forum, Kevin!..Enjoy! 
Shoot the house after it’s complete, insulated, draft stopped, weather-stripped, fully weathered-in, has fully functional HVAC system, plumbing, water using appliances and energized electrical system.
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To better answer your question, why would you want to scan without the insulation?
If your scanning before insulation, what are you looking for with IR?
I was thinking Kevin wanted to see how good of application the foam guys did.
I may be wrong thinking that.
I know, that’s what I assume too. But you can’t inspect the insulation when it’s not there. Thought he may be looking for something else. I guess he wants to check the spray foam before fiberglass gets in the way.
He does use a Blower Door… and a big Flir Camera!
Don’t know where this is going. Maybe different Insulation companies?
Exactly Larry! I live in Montana at a high elevation so insulation is very important. I am trying to determine what is the most realistic way to make sure the home is tight. Obviously waiting for the whole home to be completely sealed would be best but most of the times that is simply not the case. Usually the front door is a piece of plywood until the very last minute before the permanent door is installed, and the insulators may be installing batts over the spray foam in one part of the home and the the drywall is being stocked in another part of the home, so I am usually called in somewhere in the middle of all that. These homes are usually well over 5000 square feet and not your average construction. So I am trying to figure out if looking at the spray foam with the thermal imaging camera before or after the batts are installed over the spray foam is the best course of action. Thank you for your responses.
Do it when you can, but the spray foam phase is the critical one as it is the air barrier. Air leaks are the greatest loss factor. The fiberglass just increases the R-Vlaue, but also could stop an air leak through the Foam.
Inspection of the total installation is the final factor, but your clients $$$ may limit the extent of your inspection. But the contractor has a greater expense to fix a completed product.
I would talk with you client and builder if necessary as to how to proceed and charge the job. Each type of testing produces it’s own results. Your client is likely concerned about the finished product.
Flir T640 Thermal Imaging camera is a really nice imager, Kevin!